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Malicious Use of Force Violates Eighth Amendment
Loaded on Oct. 15, 2001
by John E Dannenberg
published in Prison Legal News
October, 2001, page 17
The Third Circuit held that in claims alleging the malicious use of force by prison guards the wantonness of the attack, rather than the degree of injury suffered, is the dispositive issue for courts reviewing such claims on summary judgment.
Filed under:
Guard Brutality/Beatings,
Restraints,
Summary Judgment,
Telephones,
Attorney Calls.
Location:
Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania state prisoner Alan Brooks filed suit claiming that prison …
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More from this issue:
- America's Jails: The Dungeons of the New Millenium, by Sam Rutherford
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- The Connally Seven - A Texas Prison Escape and its Aftermath, by Roger Hummel
- Not Part of my Sentence: The Rape of Washington Prisoners, by Silja JA Talvi
- The Cost of Running Washington's Rape Camps, by Paul Wright
- Male Prisoner Settles Guard Rape Suit for $6,000
- Qualified Immunity Denied in Washington Rape of Transsexual Prisoner
- Jury Awards $5,000 to Beaten Texas Prisoner
- BOP Lieutenant Pleads Guilty to Brutality Charges, by Robert Durkee
- Malicious Use of Force Violates Eighth Amendment, by John E Dannenberg
- Damages in Denial of Exercise Suit Reversed
- Use of Restraint Chair Not Cruel and Unusual Punishment
- Chinese Company Convicted of Using Forced Prison Labor
- The Prison Payoff: The Role of Politics & Private Prisons in the Incarceration Boom
- PLN Wins Nevada Censorship Suit
- California State Prisoner's Handbook, by John E Dannenberg
- Sanction Excessive When It Excludes Medical Expert's Testimony
- Administrative Exhaustion Not Jurisdictional, by John E Dannenberg
- Federal Appellate Rule 4(a)(6) Trumps Civil Rule 60(b)
- Diabetic Prisoner's Deliberate Indifference Claim to Proceed to Trial
- Denial of Interest Does Not Violate Takings Clause
- Ohio ACLU Challenges Supermax
- The Prison Activist Resource Center: It's About Sharing Resources and Working Collectively, by Marti Hiken
- Sixth Circuit Upholds PLRA Attorneys' Fees Cap
- News in Brief
More from John E Dannenberg:
- California’s “Realignment” Law Sends 38,000 State Prisoners to County Control, Aug. 11, 2016
- Pennsylvania Prisoner Gets $12,500 in Retaliation Suit After Remittitur, Jan. 15, 2010
- Nebraska Muslim Prisoner Wins Religious Concessions, April 15, 2009
- Illegal Strip Searches During Minor Charges Net Sacramento Jail Detainees $1,000 Each, May 15, 2007
- California: Knowing Waiver of Conduct Credits at Plea Agreement Controls Upon Later Probation Violations, May 15, 2007
- Arizona Internet Ban Permanently Enjoined, May 15, 2007
- California: "Mailbox Rule" Extended to Civil Complaints Against Public Entity, May 15, 2007
- California Attorney Richard Dangler Sanctioned for "Shameful, Frivolous" Prisoner Appeals; Resigns, May 15, 2007
- PLN Wins FOIA Suit to Gain Copies of BOP Verdicts and Settlements without Charge, Sept. 15, 2006
- Supreme Court: Banning Publications to Punish Recalcitrant Prisoners Trumps Their First Amendment Rights, Sept. 15, 2006
More from these topics:
- At Least Three Guards Charged for Assaulting Two Massachusetts Prisoners, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Assaults on Staff, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Death of Seattle Detainee—Jailed Despite Not Being “Grounded in Reality”—Costs King County $3.5 Million Settlement, Aug. 1, 2026. Restraints, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Monell Liability.
- Ombudsman Report Finds Use of Force Misapplied in Contraband Search, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Failure to Treat, Body Cavity Searches, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas.
- $1.2 Million for Elderly Detainee Shoved Out the Door of Sacramento Jail by Guard, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Summary Judgment Against Former Illinois Prison Guards Challenging Termination for Violating Use of Force Policy, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Summary Judgment, Employee Litigation, Vagueness/Overbreadth.
- Fourth Circuit Revives Disabled Prisoner’s Claim for Denial of Out-of-Cell Exercise Time, Aug. 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Eighth Amendment, Exercise, Summary Judgment, Qualified Immunity.
- $6.35 Million Paid for Ohio Jail Detainee’s Spinal Cord Injury Caused by Guard, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Malpractice, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Settlements, Wrongful Use of Force.
- San Diego Guard Sentenced for Shoving a Shackled Detainee, Aug. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, False Statements/Perjury, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Wave of Staff Arrests Exposes Persistent Misconduct at South Carolina Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Obstruction of Justice.
- Free Phone Calls Saved Prisoners and Their Families More than $600 Million, Report Finds, July 1, 2026. Conditions of Confinement, PLRA, Prisoner Privileges, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Telephones.