Qualified Immunity

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Patrick J. Werner v. Edward F. Wall, et al.

Case No.: 14-1746

Officials: FLAUM, RIPPLE, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Qualified Immunity

Appellant claims for violations of 8^th and 14^th amendment barred by qualified immunity

Mr. Werner brought this action pro se in the district court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He claimed that his continued detention beyond his mandatory release date was unlawful and named as defendants various DOC officials and several of his probation agents. In an initial screening order, the district court permitted Mr. Werner to proceed on the individual‐capacity claims under the Eighth Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. It also permitted him to maintain an official‐capacity claim for injunctive relief on the ground that AD 02‐10 violated the Due Process and Ex Post Facto Clauses. The district court ultimately granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants on all of Mr. Werner’s claims. It concluded that his Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment claims were barred by qualified immunity and that his official capacity challenge to the directive as a policy was moot. Mr. Werner timely appealed the district court’s decision with respect to his individual‐capacity claims. In due course, we recruited counsel and requested additional briefing.   After the benefit of briefing and oral argument, we agree with the district court that the defendants in this case are entitled to qualified immunity. We therefore affirm the district court’s judgment with respect to each of Mr. Werner’s claims.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.