Bell v. Johnson.U.S. Appeals Court RETALIATION Bell v. Johnson, 308 F.3d 594 (6th Cir. 2002). A former state inmate sued prison officers, alleging that they retaliated against him in violation of the First Amendment because he filed a civil rights lawsuit. The district court granted judgment as a matter of law Judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) is a motion made by a party, during trial, claiming the opposing party has insufficient evidence to reasonably support its case. JMOL is similar to summary judgment, which is a motion made before trial. in favor of the officers and the inmate appealed. The appeals court reversed and remanded, finding that the inmate engaged in protected conduct when he filed his initial complaint against the officers, and that the officers were not entitled to qualified immunity Qualified immunity is a doctrine in United States law providing immunity from suit to government officials performing discretionary functions when their action did not violate clearly established law. Qualified immunity was created by the U.S. . The inmate alleged that the officers twice left his cell in disarray, confiscated con·fis·cate tr.v. con·fis·cat·ed, con·fis·cat·ing, con·fis·cates 1. To seize (private property) for the public treasury. 2. To seize by or as if by authority. See Synonyms at appropriate. adj. his legal papers without returning them, and stole medical diet snacks that had been provided to alleviate his weight loss from AIDS. The inmate testified that he was afraid to leave his cell and worried that the officers were tampering with his food. (State Prison for Southern Michigan Southern Michigan is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a region of rolling farmland and scattered urban centers. Southern Michigan is commonly considered to be the area west of the Southeast Michigan area and east of Battle Creek, consisting of ) |
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