U.S. Appeals Court: RACIAL DISCRIMINATION.

Powells v. Minnehaha County Sheriff Dept., 198 F.3d 711 (8th Cir. 1999). A Black jail inmate filed separate actions under [sections] 1983 alleging violations of his constitutional rights. The district court dismissed all five actions and the inmate appealed. The appeals court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. The appeals court held that the Black inmate stated an equal protection claim based on allegations that he and his white cellmate, who followed the same procedures in requesting an extra mattress and extra blanket, were similarly situated but that a defendant officer, for racial reasons, denied the Black inmate's request for the items but granted the white inmate's request. The appeals court also held that the inmate stated a constitutional claim by alleging that officers opened his "legal mail" when he was not present. (Minnehaha County Jail, South Dakota)