Ricks v. Shover — prisoner civil rights — reversal — Rendell

The Third Circuit today issued an important new prisoner-rights ruling, holding that a single act of sexual abuse without force or injury can violate the Eighth Amendment:

Whether sexual abuse can constitute “cruel and unusual punishment” under the Eighth Amendment is a matter of first impression in our Court. We write today to state in plainest terms that it does. Our society requires prisoners to give up their liberty, but that surrender does not encompass the basic right to be free from severe unwanted sexual contact.

The court reversed the district court’s dismissal of the prisoner’s Eighth Amendment sexual-abuse claim against a guard who allegedly rubbed his erect penis against the prisoner during a pat-down search. It stated, ” Absent more specific allegations as to the severity of Keil’s conduct or the surrounding context, including the need for the search, we cannot conclude that he plausibly violated Ricks’ right to be free from “cruel and unusual punishments,” but remanded to allow the prisoner to amend his complaint. The court also reversed the dismissal of an excessive-force claim against a supervisor who allegedly slammed the prisoner into a wall when he protested.

Joining Rendell were Chagares and Scirica. Arguing counsel were former Smith clerk and Boies Schiller associate James Kraehenbuehl for the prisoner and Claudia Tesoro of the PA Attorney General’s office for the guards. The court noted that Kraehenbuehl represented the prisoner pro bono and thanked him for “the high caliber of representation” he provided.