Brown v. McAdory
Plaintiff proceeds pro se from his detention in the Rushville Treatment and Detention Center. His claims arise from his segregation between July 22-August 8, 2010, and again from March 24-April 4, 2011.
In Higgs v. Carver, 286 F.3d 437, 438 (7th Cir. 2002), the Seventh Circuit stated that "[a] pretrial detainee cannot be placed in segregation as a punishment for a disciplinary infraction without notice and an opportunity to be heard; due process requires no less." Defendants do not label the confinement Plaintiff experienced "segregation," but it effectively was.
Plaintiff was placed in an empty room by himself with nothing but the clothes on his back and, in the 2010 incident but not the 2011 incident, a mattress. He had no freedom of movement, no property, no hygiene supplies, and no change of clothes. His conditions were not like the mild punishment imposed on a Rushville resident in Miller v. Dobier, 634 F.3d 412 (7th Cir. 2011), as Defendants argue. The resident in Miller could leave his cell, have visitors, and have some property. Higgs clearly establishes that Plaintiff was entitled to due process before his placement in segregation. Defendants are not entitled to qualified immunity.
On October 14, 2014, the Court denied summary judgment and identified the following claims for trial: (1) lack of procedural due process before Plaintiff's placement in what amounted to segregation cells; (2) a violation of Plaintiff's First Amendment rights to communicate while he was in those cells; and, (3) a claim that the conditions of the cells on both occasions deprived Plaintiff of basic necessities. The Court assumes familiarity with that opinion.
Before the Court are Defendants' supplemental summary judgment motions on the First Amendment and procedural due process claims.
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IT IS ORDERED:
1. Defendants' supplemental motions for summary judgment are granted in part and denied in part (109, 110). Summary judgment is granted to Defendants on Plaintiff's First Amendment claims and on his procedural due process claims arising from the 2010 incident. The motions are otherwise denied.
2. Defendants' unopposed motion to compel is granted (102). Plaintiff is directed to respond to any outstanding discovery requests by June 1, 2015.
3. Attorney Daniel Noll is appointed as pro bono counsel to represent Plaintiff at the trial and in any further pretrial proceedings. Discovery will not be reopened.
4. A status conference is scheduled for June 12, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. to discuss whether the parties will consent to Magistrate Judge Schanzle-Haskins and to set a trial date. The final pretrial conference remains scheduled for July 8, 2015, at this point.
5. The clerk is directed to alert the pro bono coordinator of the appointment of pro bono counsel in this case.
6. The clerk is directed to issue a video writ to secure Plaintiff's presence at the status conference on June 12, 2015. Counsel shall appear in person.
