Gibson

concurring:

While I concur fully in the court’s opinion, I write separately to expand on a point that the opinion relegates to a footnote (n.9). Although Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825 , 114 S.Ct. 1970 , 128 L.Ed.2d 811 (1994), establishes a subjective test for determining deliberate indifference in the case of individual defendants, in that case the Supreme Court made it reasonably clear that the same standard does not apply in actions against government entities involving the adoption of affirmative government policies. The Farmer Court stated that, while a subjective standard is appropriate for determining the liability of prison officials, “considerable conceptual difficulty would attend any search for the subjective state of mind of a governmental entity, as distinct from that of a governmental official.” Id. at 841 , 114 S.Ct. 1970 .

Here, whether we import the more stringent Farmer subjective standard or apply the less stringent objective standard employed in City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378, 388-89 , 109 S.Ct. 1197 , 103 L.Ed.2d 412 (1989), 1 the record, when *1199 viewed in the light most favorable to Ms. Gibson, shows that the County’s failure to respond to her…

On February 3, 1996, Stephen Gibson suffered a heart attack and died while in the custody of the Washoe County, Nevada, Sheriffs Department. Gibson’s wife Michelle (“Ms.Gibson”) brought this lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 , on behalf of herself, their two children, and Gibson’s estate, against the County, the sheriff, and a number of the sheriffs deputies who were on duty at the Washoe County jail the night Gibson died. Ms. Gibson contended in the district court that the County and the individual defendants violated Gibson’s substantive due process rights by the manner in which they treated him on the night he died. She now appeals from the district court’s grant of summary judgment for the defendants. We affirm with regard to the individual officers and, in part, with regard to the County. We conclude, however, that summary judgment was improperly granted on the question whether the County was deliberately indifferent to Gibson’s mental illness while he was in custody at the county jail.

Because this appeal follows a grant of summary judgment for the defendants, review is de novo. To determine whether there is a genuine issue of material fact, we take into account all the…

290 F.3d 1175 Michelle GIBSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. COUNTY OF WASHOE, NEVADA; Richard Kirkland, Washoe Co. Sheriff; Ray Wright, Washoe Co. Chief Deputy Sheriff; John Williams, Washoe Co. Supervising Sgt.; Rob Bowlin; Jereme Wormington; Michele Youngs; Scott Thomas; Robert Cook; Mary Jean Cloud, individually and in their capacities as deputy sheriffs of Washoe Co., Defendants-Appellees. No. 99-17338. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted April 12, 2001. Filed May 22, 2002. COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED Jerry H. Mowbray, Reno, Nevada, for the appellant. Gregory R. Shannon, Washoe County District Attorney's Office, Reno, Nevada, for the appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada; David Warner Hagen, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-97-00410-DWH/RAM. Before: REINHARDT, TASHIMA and BERZON, Circuit Judges. BERZON, Circuit Judge. 1 On February 3, 1996, Stephen Gibson suffered a heart attack and died while in the custody of the Washoe County, Nevada, Sheriff's Department. Gibson's wife Michelle ("Ms.Gibson") brought this lawsuit under…