8th Amendment Violation

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Nathaniel Jackson v. Lieutenant David Willis, et al

Case No.: 14-3226

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and POSNER and ROVNER, Circuit Judges.

Focus: 8^th Amendment Violation

Nathaniel Jackson, an inmate in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections, filed a complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that his rights under the Eighth Amendment were violated by prison officials. He brought the lawsuit against David Willis, a Lieutenant a Logan Correctional Center, and Eddie J. Payne, a correctional officer at Pinckneyville Correctional Center, in connection with an incident that occurred at Logan on August 4, 2011, during his transfer from Dixon Correctional Center to Pinckneyville. Jackson alleged that he was unconstitutionally subjected to excessive force and also alleged a failure to protect by the refusal of his request to be placed in a prison in which he had no known enemies. The details surrounding the Eighth Amendment claim are of limited relevance to the issues in this appeal. In brief, Jackson was scheduled to be transferred from Logan to Pinckneyville, but when he arrived at Logan he refused to transfer to Pinckneyville stating that he had made enemies with correctional officers there. He asserted that he had a right to refuse a transfer. In support of that contention, he testified that he had witnessed other prisoners refuse transfers from Logan, and they were placed in segregation and issued a disciplinary ticket. He further asserted that in May 2007, he refused a transfer to Shawnee Correctional Center while he was at Logan because prison employees were his enemies there, and he was allowed to stay at Logan. In the August 4, 2011, incident, Jackson’s refusal to transfer met with a different reaction. He testified that a number of officers lifted him over their heads and threw him, head first, into the van, causing injury. The officers disputed his testimony as to the manner in which he was transported. They testified that he refused to walk to the van, and that they carried him there, but that he stepped inside of his own accord and was not thrown into it. They further asserted that once inside the van he never claimed any injury, nor did he request any medical treatment. Following a trial, a jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendants and against Jackson. On appeal, counsel for Jackson argues that he is entitled to a new trial because the court refused to grant a continuance when his attorney withdrew on the eve of trial, the court improperly admitted a 7‐year‐old disciplinary report without a limiting instruction or explanation, and the court abused its discretion in admitting a 12‐year‐ old burglary conviction as evidence of Jackson’s truthfulness. None of those alleged errors rendered the trial unfair and command a new trial.

Affirmed

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