Prisoner – 8th Amendment Violation

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Jeffrey D. Leiser v. Karen Kloth, et al.

Case No.: 17-3378

Officials: EASTERBROOK, HAMILTON, and SCUDDER, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Prisoner – 8^th Amendment Violation

Jeffrey Leiser was an inmate at the Wisconsin Stanley Correctional Institution where Sergeant Karen Kloth was employed. Leiser, who was later diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder while at Stanley, alleged that beginning in 2013 he self-reported his disorder to Kloth and “informed” her not to stand directly behind him because doing so triggered his mental health symptoms. He claims Kloth did not comply with his request but instead increased the amount of time she stood behind him while patrolling common areas. Leiser filed this suit against Kloth, her supervisor, and the warden, claiming that Kloth’s behavior violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. The district court denied the defendants’ motion for summary judgment after determining they were not entitled to qualified immunity because Leiser had a well-established right to be free from intentionally inflicted psychological harm. The defendants filed this interlocutory appeal, asking us to resolve the legal question of whether they were, in fact, entitled to qualified immunity. We reverse. Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity. At the relevant times, it did not violate clearly established constitutional law for non-medical correctional staff to refuse to provide a prisoner with what amounts to a medical accommodation that had not been ordered by medical staff and the need for which was not obvious to a layperson.

Reversed and remanded

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.