The Supreme Court appeared likely to bar federal inmates from suing over denied medical care
The Supreme Court appeared likely to bar federal inmates from suing officials who deny medical care, NBC News reported. In the case, former federal inmate Kekai Watanabe alleges officers at a Honolulu facility denied care after other prisoners beat him during a July 2021 gang riot. The court may leave Bivens intact but nullify Carson v. Green, the 1980 expansion.
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The Supreme Court on Monday appeared likely to bar federal prison inmates from suing officials who deny them medical treatment, NBC News reported, as it heard arguments in a case brought by former federal prison inmate Kekai Watanabe. Watanabe alleges officers at a Honolulu-based facility denied him care in July 2021 after other prisoners beat him during a gang riot.
The case concerns the scope of the Supreme Court’s 1971 ruling in Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotic Agents, which first allowed people to sue federal officials, including prison officials, for civil rights violations. The court may not overturn Bivens itself, but NBC News reported that it seemed likely to nullify Carson v. Green, a 1980 ruling that allowed federal inmates to sue officials for deliberate indifference to their medical needs under the Eighth Amendment.
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