By Jess Bravin
The Associated Press via The Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that an inmate injured in a privately run federal prison may not sue its employees in federal court, holding that state court was the proper venue for his claim.
Under high-court precedents, inmates in federal institutions can file federal lawsuits against prison employees for mistreatment that violates the Eighth Amendment prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishments.”
By an 8-1 vote, however, the court refused to extend that right to inmates held in private prisons operated under contract to the U.S. government. In an opinion by Justice Stephen Breyer, the court observed that in contrast to federal employees, whom prisoners generally can’t sue in state court, employees of the private company enjoy no such immunity.
“State law remedies provide roughly similar incentives [for prison employees] to comply with the Eighth Amendment while also providing roughly similar compensation to victims of violations,” Justice Breyer wrote. So, there was no need for the court to expand liability to federal court, he said.
Full Story: Court says inmate can’t sue for injury