By Colleen Murphy
nj.com
FAIRTON, N.J. — A federal appeals court ruled that a New Jersey inmate cannot sue prison officials over medical care that allegedly led to the amputation of his toe.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals said Rolando Muniz, an inmate at FCI Fairton, could not pursue a constitutional claim because he had access to the prison system’s grievance process, even if it didn’t fully resolve his complaint.
Muniz, who has diabetes, alleged that prison staff ignored his worsening condition in 2019, resulting in a serious infection and the eventual loss of his toe.
He claimed that medical staff discontinued his medication based on a single blood test and falsely recorded his requests for treatment as refusals.
Muniz sued under a Bivens theory, which allows individuals to seek damages from federal officials for constitutional violations.
In an opinion issued last week, Chief Judge Anthony J. Scirica wrote recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings have significantly narrowed the circumstances under which such claims can proceed.
The Bivens doctrine, established in a 1971 Supreme Court case, allowed a man to sue federal agents for violating his Fourth Amendment rights.
Since then, the high court has permitted Bivens actions in only three specific contexts — an unlawful home search, gender discrimination by a federal employer, and denial of medical care in prison.
Scirica said that the Supreme Court has repeatedly cautioned lower courts against expanding the doctrine.
Scirica said that because the prison system had a formal process for inmates to file complaints, the courts didn’t need to step in and create a new way for Muniz to sue.
The court also upheld the dismissal of Muniz’s separate claim under the Rehabilitation Act, noting that sovereign immunity barred his lawsuit because he sought only monetary damages, not injunctive relief.
The government defendants were represented in the case by John T. Stinson, Jr. of the Office of the United States Attorney. Muniz was represented by D. Dangaran and Samuel Weiss of the legal non-profit, Rights Behind Bars.
Neither immediately returned requests for comment.
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