Byrd

Charles Edward Byrd, an Arizona state prisoner and former pretrial detainee, appeals from the district court’s sua sponte dismissal under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A of his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action challenging defendants Maricopa County Sheriffs Department, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, and Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s alleged policy of allowing female guards to observe daily, from four to five feet away, male pretrial detainees showering and using the bathroom. The district court dismissed Byrd’s pro se complaint without requiring a response because it thought that Ninth Circuit precedent foreclosed his claims. This was incorrect. Because the district court should have required defendants to file an answer to Byrd’s complaint, rather than immediately dismissing it under section 1915A, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.

I. Background

This is not the first time Byrd has challenged defendants’ policies for pretrial detainees. See Byrd v. Maricopa Cty. Sheriff’s Dep’t, 629 F.3d 1135, 1147 (9th Cir. 2011) (en banc) (agreeing with Byrd and holding that a cross-gender strip search in the absence of an emergency violates a pretrial detainee’s Fourth Amendment rights). This…