Moore v. Mahone, No. 09-3515 (7th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseAn inmate filed suit against guards (42 U.S.C. 1983), claiming that they used excessive force against him in an altercation. After the altercation a disciplinary board found the inmate guilty of "Assaulting Any Person, Dangerous Disturbances, Insolence, and Disobeying a Direct Order," based on officers' statements that the inmate was belligerent and punched an officer repeatedly in the face and head before being handcuffed. He did not challenge the ruling. The district judge dismissed. The Seventh Circuit reversed and remanded. A civil rights suit cannot be maintained by a prisoner if a judgment in his favor would necessarily imply that his disciplinary conviction had been invalid, but the inmate can remain "agnostic" about the findings in the disciplinary proceeding. The inmate's factual assertions about the incident are in tension with the disciplinary findings. Because the inmate was proceeding pro se, the judge could have disregarded allegations in which the inmate denied those findings; could have warned the inmate to delete those allegations; or could have dismissed, without prejudice, with an explanation and consideration of equitable tolling of the statute of limitations.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.