By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//June 2, 2011//
Civil Rights
Prison conditions; due process
The plaintiff failed to present sufficient evidence to determine whether 240 days in segregation at Columbia Correctional Institution is a deprivation of liberty under the Due Process Clause.
“When answering Marion’s complaint, defendants denied that conditions in DS-1 confinement deprived him of liberty or property. Marion had to come up with evidence to demonstrate otherwise. His status as an inmate does not change that burden. He could have used discovery to gather information bearing on the ‘liberty’ question but did not try the procedures of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26. When a plaintiff fails to produce evidence, the defendant is entitled to judgment; a defendant moving for summary judgment need not produce evidence of its own. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317 (1986). Marion failed to meet his burden of production. The answer to the question ‘does 240 days of DS-1 confinement at Columbia Correctional Center deprive a prisoner of a liberty interest?’ must await another day.”
Affirmed.
10-2446 Marion v. Radtke
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, Crabb, J., Per Curiam.