California Appeals Court Revives Transsexual Inmate's Negligence Suit
Against Prison Officials, but Rejects State Constitutional Claim
LinkLeonard Link, NY, USA
11/18/2008
The state argued that there was no general duty under tort law for
prison officials to protect inmates from attacks by other inmates.
Under the federal constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that
prison officials may be liable for damages for deliberate indifference
to the likelihood that a transsexual inmate might be assaulted by
other inmates, thus recognizing a federal constitutional tort claim,
but no similar ruling has been made under the comparable provision of
the California Constitution. The court was unwilling to recognize such
a claim in this case, pointing out that California has sharply limited
the right of individuals to sue for damages for violation of state
constitutional rights, especially when damages might be available
through alternative, non-constitutional theories, such as common law
tort liability.
