King v. Zamiara, No. 09-2469 (6th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseAn inmate with the Michigan Department of Corrections sued several MDOC employees under 42 U.S.C. 1983 for violating his First Amendment rights when they transferred him from a Level II security facility to a Level III facility in 2000. He claimed that the increased security level and corresponding transfer were retaliation for his participation in a state-court class action regarding inmate property, as well as for his assistance to other inmates in filing grievances. Following two appeals, the district court held that participation in the class action and assistance to other inmates in filing grievances are protected activities and that the increase in security level, though not the transfer itself, was an adverse action, but entered judgment for defendants for lack of proof of causation. The Sixth Circuit affirmed with respect to two defendants and reversed with respect to others, who produced no evidence that they would have taken the challenged actions absent the inmate’s protected conduct.
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