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Sixth Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Sheriff in Tennessee Prisoner’s Assault Case
Loaded on Jan. 1, 2021
by David Reutter
published in Prison Legal News
January, 2021, page 22
Filed under:
Prisoner-Prisoner Assault,
Failure to Protect (General),
Overcrowding,
Immunity - Absolute and Qualified,
Deliberate Indifference.
Location:
Tennessee.
by David M. Reutter
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on August 10, 2020, reversed a Tennessee federal district court’s order denying defendant’s motion for summary judgment on a claim that a sheriff was deliberately indifferent to a pretrial detainee’s safety because his jail was overcrowded.
Zachery …
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More from this issue:
- Tougher Than the Rest: No Criminal Justice Reform “Miracle” in Texas, by Marie Gottschalk
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- North Carolina Prisoners at Deadliest Federal Prison File Suit on COVID-19 Response, by Matthew Clarke
- Sixth Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Sheriff in Tennessee Prisoner’s Assault Case, by David Reutter
- Preliminary Studies: Black/Latino Populations Disproportionately Affected by COVID-19, by Douglas Ankney
- North Carolina Cancer Patient Dies From COVID-19 After BOP Denies Compassionate Release and Sentencing Judge Rejects Appeal, by Derek Gilna
- Federal Lawsuit Claims Texas Jail Released Man When Medical Problems Became Too Much Trouble, Resulting in Coma, by Dale Chappell
- Pandemic Medical Update: The Latest on Vaccines and Prisoners, by Michael D. Cohen, MD
- Magic as Rehabilitation, by Jayson Hawkins
- CoreCivic Sued Over Prisoner Who Committed Suicide in Tennessee Prison, by Matthew Clarke
- In Prisons, the Press Also Yearns to Be Free, by Casey Bastian
- California: Prisoner-Run Journalism Thrives with San Quentin News, Ear Hustle, by David Reutter
- My Ankle Monitor Won’t Let Me Take Out The Garbage, by Eleanor Bader
- Tennessee Juvenile Murderer’s Sentence Commuted, by Edward Lyon
- How Jails Became a Breeding Ground for the Coronavirus, by Keith Sanders
- Charges Finally Announced 32 Months After South Carolina Prison Riot, by David Reutter
- Salt Lake County, Utah, Settles Federal Civil Rights Wrongful Death Claim for $950,000, by Derek Gilna
- Alabama Court Allows Lawsuit Over Indigent Traffic Offenders Jailed for Not Paying Fines, by David Reutter
- Court Rejects Class Status for Nebraska Prisoners Facing Substandard Health Care, by David Reutter
- Urban Redo: Lorton, Virginia Prison Recreated as Liberty Village, by Kevin Bliss
- Second Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment in New York Prisoner’s Due Process Lawsuit, by David Reutter
- Seventh Circuit: Nurse’s Deliberate Indifference to Prisoner’s Pain Negates Summary Judgment Grant, by David Reutter
- St. Louis, Missouri Guard Has History of Taser Abuse, by Daniel A. Rosen
- South Florida: Jail Hotline Releases Report on Inadequate Health Care During Pandemic, by Saraana Jamraj
- Former Prisoners Making Less Than Minimum Wage Working for Nonprofit Doe Fund, by Dale Chappell
- Rapper Sues BOP Alleging Torture, by David Reutter
- Montana Supreme Court: Jail’s Blanket Strip Search Policy Violates Law, by Matthew Clarke
- As Prison COVID-19 Cases and Deaths Rise, Washington State Supreme Court Looks Away, by Mark Wilson
- Some Prisons Bear Names of Enslavers, Oppressors, Racists and Segregationists, by Matthew Clarke
- Over Half the Prisoners Test Positive for COVID-19 at Arizona Prison, by Matthew Clarke
- New Book on Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration, by Edward Lyon
- Louisiana’s COVID-19 Prisoner Furlough Panel Next to Useless, by Edward Lyon
- COVID-19 Hits Fairfax, Virginia Juvenile Detention Center, by Kevin Bliss
- Seventh Circuit Holds Illinois Prisoners Retain Fourth Amendment Rights to Bodily Privacy, Overruling Circuit Precedents, by Matthew Clarke
- Federal Class Action Settlement Aims to Eliminate Horrific Conditions at Santa Barbara, California Jails in Three Years, by Derek Gilna
- Almost Half of North Dakota Jail Tests Positive for COVID-19, by David Reutter
- Former Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Complaint Cures Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies, by David Reutter
- U.S. Prisons Originally Designed to Prevent Spread of Disease Become Breeding Ground During Pandemic, by Edward Lyon
- Opioid Crisis in Canadian Prisons Needs to be Addressed, by Kevin Bliss
- Georgia Prisoners Lacked Food, Water, Leading to Melee, by Jayson Hawkins
- CoreCivic and Securus Technologies Agree to Pay $3.7 Million to Settle Suit for Illegally Recording Attorney-Client Conversations, by Douglas Ankney
- $2 Million Settlement in Lawsuit Over N.Y. Prisoner Denied Emergency Eye Surgery Until She Went Blind, by Matthew Clarke
- Scottish Prisoners Issued Mobile Phones During Pandemic, by Kevin Bliss
- Private Health Care Services in County Jails Comes at High Price, by Kevin Bliss
- Sixth Circuit Holds Ohio Prisoner Can Be Executed Despite Previous Botched Attempt, by Matthew Clarke
- Second Circuit: No Error in Blocking New York Parolee from Attending His Own Civil Rights Trial Against Prison Officials, by Matthew Clarke
- First Former Felon Elected to Washington State Legislature, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Tennessee Prisons “Naughty” List Shows Prison Staff Often Bring in Contraband, by Edward Lyon
- As Millions Suffer, Congress Awards BOP $356 Million for New Kansas Prison, by Mark Wilson
- Alabama Guards Accused of Excessive Use of Force, Hospitalizing One Prisoner and Injuring Another, by Kevin Bliss
- News in Brief
More from David Reutter:
- Sixth Circuit Announces State-Law Exceptions to Appeal Deadlines Preserve “Pending” Status Under AEDPA, Holding Belated-Appeal Procedures Toll Federal Habeas Limitations Period, April 1, 2026
- Florida Supreme Court Announces Rule 3.170(f)’s Good-Cause Plea-Withdrawal Standard Does Not Apply at Post-Appeal Resentencing, April 1, 2026
- Colorado Supreme Court Announces Defendant Must Be Competent Before Undergoing Mental-Condition Examination Under § 16-8-107(3)(b), April 1, 2026
- California Court of Appeal Announces Plea Agreements Cannot Bar § 1172.1 Resentencing, Holds Merit-Based Denial of Petition Is Appealable, April 1, 2026
- Georgia Supreme Court Clarifies That Failure to Object to Ineligible Juror Does Not Constitute Waiver Unless Party Knew or Could Have Discovered Ineligibility Through Ordinary Diligence, April 1, 2026
- Washington State Guard’s Conviction Affirmed in Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound Scheme, March 1, 2026
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Holds Motion Judge Abused Discretion by Denying Evidentiary Hearing on IAC Claim Where Plea Counsel’s Affidavit Was Not Inherently Inconsistent With Colloquy Statements Regarding Immigration Advice, March 1, 2026
- Washington Supreme Court Clarifies Double Jeopardy Analysis for Multiple Assault Convictions, Holding That Assaultive Acts Occurring Over Short Time Period in Same Location Without Intervening Events Constitute Single Course of Conduct, March 1, 2026
- New Jersey Supreme Court Reverses Drug Convictions Under Cumulative Error Doctrine, Holding Combined Effect of Improper References to Television Series, Gun Violence, and Search Warrants Deprived Defendant of Fair Trial, March 1, 2026
- New York Court of Appeals Announces Coercive Police Tactics Compelling Suspect to Exit Home Constitute “Constructive Entry” Violating Payton, Holds Attenuation Analysis Applies to Third-Party Consent, March 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Eighth Circuit Revives § 1983 Complaint Alleging Jail Detainees’ Death from Stroke was Due to Deliberate Indifference and Failure to Train, July 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Treat, Eighth Amendment, Failure to Train/Supervise, Deliberate Indifference.
- $25,000 Paid to Former New York Jail Detainee Subjected to Delayed Healthcare and Denied Mental Healthcare— Despite Seven Suicide Attempts, July 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Conditions of Confinement, Mental Health, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- Tenth Circuit Upholds $33 Million Jury Award in Suit Over Detainee’s Horrific Death in Oklahoma County Jail, July 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Treat, Failure to Train/Supervise, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
- 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.
- Three Women Died at a Michigan Prison in Less than a Month, July 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- 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).
- Wisconsin State Prison Population Approaches Record High, July 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Overcrowding, Staffing, Pardons/Clemency, Reduction of Prison Population.
- FTC Substantiates Allegations Against ViaPath Related to Data Breach and Orders Remedial Action, June 1, 2026. Contractor Misconduct, Trust Accounts, Telephone Monitoring, Deliberate Indifference, Global Tel*Link Corp.
- Over $2 Million Paid by Otero County and VitalCore Health Strategies for New Mexico Jail Suicide, June 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Suicides, Immunity - Sovereign/Municipal, Deliberate Indifference.
- Sixth Circuit Upholds $10 Million Wrongful Conviction Verdict for Exonerated Michigan Prisoner, June 1, 2026. Wrongful Conviction, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified, Damages - Compensatory, Failure to Disclose.

