The HCBullet: The blog of the Attorneys at HCB

Court Rules Jail Medical Staff Did Not Act With Deliberate Indifference

October 17, 2017

Judge James Shadid of the U.S. District Court of Central Illinois granted summary judgment in favor of the county jail medical staff at Jerome Combs Detention Center (“JCDC”) in Taylor v. Huffines, et al., No. 16-cv-2100. Inmate Travis Taylor claimed that his constitutional rights were violated when the staff acted with deliberate indifference to his…

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Seventh Circuit Reiterates Specificity Requirement to Overcome Defense of Qualified Immunity

September 26, 2017

On August 22, 2017, the Seventh Circuit reiterated the long-standing doctrine that qualified immunity cannot be decided at a “high level of generality,” requiring the law to have been clearly established in sufficiently similar circumstances to those facing an officer before finding officers liable for damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. In Green v. Newport,…

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Jail Officials and Staff Win Summary Judgment in Jail Death Case

September 26, 2017

District Court Judge Frederick Kapala granted summary judgment in favor of the jail staff on plaintiff’s Section 1983 claims arising out of the death of a jail inmate in McCann v. Ogle County, et al., No. 11 C 50125 (N.D. Ill. Sept. 18, 2017). Patrick McCann died of respiratory depression caused by an overdose of…

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Court Grants Summary Judgment for Defendants in First Amendment Retaliation Case

September 26, 2017

Summary judgment was granted in the Kankakee County Defendants’ favor in Gilmore v. Briseno, Case No. 15 C 2963 (C. D. Ill. Aug. 28, 2017). Christopher Gilmore filed suit against the Kankakee County jail staff, alleging that they illegally denied him access to a law library and legal resources in retaliation for a suit Gilmore…

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Court Rules Plaintiff’s Access to Courts Claim is Barred by Heck v. Humphrey

September 26, 2017

Judge Sara Darrow of the U.S. District Court of Central Illinois granted summary judgment in favor of the Livingston County Jail Superintendent in Carter v. Cox, et al., No. 15-cv-1512. Jail inmate Anton Carter claimed that his constitutional right to access the courts was violated when he was prohibited from bringing his legal property with…

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