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Sexual Harassment Actionable
Loaded on June 15, 1998
published in Prison Legal News
June, 1998, page 26
The court of appeals for the seventh circuit held that sexual harassment by prison staff is actionable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The ruling is important because it defines when prison staff act under "color of state law" for liability purposes. Eric Walker, an Illinois state prisoner, filed suit against …
Filed under:
Staff-Prisoner Harassment,
Failure to Protect (General),
Civil Procedure,
Defenses,
Parties.
Location:
Illinois.
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More from this issue:
- Mis-Managed Health Care in Texas Prisons
- Pelican Bay Cellie Slayings
- From the Editor, by Dan Pens
- Human Rights Watch Condemns Indiana Control Units, by Daniel Burton-Rose
- Descent Into Madness: An Inmate's Experience in the New Mexico State Prison Riot, by Daniel Burton-Rose
- Prisons and Aids: A Public Health Challenge, by Daniel Burton-Rose
- Pro Se Tips and Tactics: Limiting the Burdens of Pro Se Inmate Litigation, by John Midgley
- New York Prisoner Awarded $56,000 for Beating
- Bureau of Prisons Sexual Abuse Suit Settled for $500,000
- Delay in Medical Treatment States Claim
- Bob Bensing, Hero, Dies Suddenly
- Spokane County Corrections Officials Accused of Cover-up
- PLRA Filing Fee Provisions Not Retroactive
- PLRA Termination Provisions Unconstitutional
- Some PLRA Fee Questions Answered by the Seventh Circuit
- Eighth Circuit Issues PLRA IFP Procedures
- Fatal Mismanagement at Ohio CCA Prison
- California Prison Psychologist Kills Child, Self
- Parolee Must Receive Morrissey Hearing
- $6.5 Million Spent in California Sexual Harassment Suit
- Involuntary Medical Experiments Violate Due Process
- PLN Writer Exiled by CCA
- Illinois Court Access Suit Dismissed
- Refusal of Non-Lethal Injection Kills Arizona Prisoner
- State Weasel Monitors Private Prison Chicken Coop in Texas
- San Francisco City and County Jail Conditions Held Unconstitutional
- Discriminatory Policy Enforcement Actionable
- Michigan's Parole Amendments Constitutional
- Colorado Prisoners Passing Up Parole
- Alabama HIV+ Prisoners Case Remanded Once Again for Proper RA Consideration
- Segregation Conditions Defined for Sandin Purposes
- Attention Veteran Prisoner Activists
- Race Requirement for Religion Struck Down
- Washington Good Time Cap Clarified
- Trial Required in Religious Diet Claim
- Repeal of South Carolina Furlough Law Violates Ex Post Facto
- Beating by Unknown Guards States Claim
- News in Brief
- Vigilante Attack on Prisoner Requires Trial
- Sexual Harassment Actionable
- PA County Medical Co-Payment Constitutional
More from these topics:
- Oregon Supreme Court: Jail Credit Statute Focuses Upon Legal Custody Not Physical Custody Location, July 1, 2026. Civil Procedure, Sentencing, Appeals/Appellate Jurisdiction, Criminal Justice, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
- Multiple Detainees Escape from Dilapidated North Carolina Jail, July 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding, Staffing, Jail Specific, Security Systems, Criminal Justice, Prison Conditions.
- Video Shows Guards Watched as Oklahoma Detainee Died in Cell, July 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Contractor Misconduct, Guard Misconduct, Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death).
- Washington State Supreme Court Ruling Supports Broad Immunity in Overdose Cases, June 1, 2026. Drug Overdose, Failure to Protect (General), Defenses, Immunity/Liability, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death).
- California Pays $15,000 to State Prisoner Who Claimed He Was Targeted by Guards, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Snitch Jacketing, Failure to Protect (General), Summary Judgment, Settlements.
- Fourth Circuit Revives North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit Blaming Lazy Guards for Assault by Detainee, May 1, 2026. Failure to Protect (General), Qualified Immunity, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Deliberate Indifference.
- $1.25 Million Paid for Special Needs Teen’s Fatal Beating in Houston Jail, May 1, 2026. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Liability but Reverses Damages in Lawsuit Over Illinois Warden and Investigator Using Prisoner as Bait to Catch Staff Member Raping Her, May 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Damages, Evidentiary Ruling, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Nevada Non-Profit Founder Under Investigation for Misconduct, May 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Staff-Prisoner Harassment, Contractor Misconduct, Complaints, Restrictions, discrimination.
- “Large Fight” Broke Out at Alaska Prison After Downsizing Effort, April 1, 2026. Transfers, Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding.

