Angela Richardson v. Tami Jo Aiken, No. 20-3205 (8th Cir. 2021)
Annotate this CaseCourt Description: [Per Curiam - Before Benton, Kelly, and Erickson, Circuit Judges] Prisoner case - Prisoner civil rights. Plaintiffs' official-capacity claims for damages were barred by sovereign immunity; the district court did not err in granting defendants' motion for summary judgment on plaintiff's equal protection claims as there was no evidence she was treated differently from similarly situated inmates or that any unequal treatment was purposeful or motivated by her race or sexual orientation.
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United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 20-3205 ___________________________ Angela Schuncey Richardson Plaintiff - Appellant v. Wendy Kelley, Chief Director, Arkansas State Prison; Dexter Payne, Assistant Chief of Director, Arkansas State Prison Defendants Tami Aiken, Assistant Warden, McPherson Unit Defendant - Appellee Christopher Johnson, Major, McPherson Unit Defendant Jeannie Long, CO, McPherson Unit Defendant - Appellee Clara Robinson, Program Specialist Coordinator, McPherson Unit; D. Golden, Warden, McPherson Unit Defendants Roger L. Ayers, Sergeant, McPherson Unit; Virginia Spence, Coach, McPherson Unit (originally named as V Spence); John Herrington, Assistant Warden, McPherson Unit Defendants - Appellees ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Batesville ____________ Submitted: August 19, 2021 Filed: August 24, 2021 [Unpublished] ____________ Before BENTON, KELLY, and ERICKSON, Circuit Judges. ____________ PER CURIAM. Arkansas inmate Angela Schuncey Richardson appeals following the district court’s 1 adverse grant of summary judgment in her 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action raising equal protection claims related to a prison separation order. Having jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, this court affirms. After careful review of the record and the parties’ arguments on appeal, this court concludes that the district court properly granted summary judgment. See Whitson v. Stone Cnty. Jail, 602 F.3d 920, 923 (8th Cir. 2010) (de novo review). Richardson’s official-capacity claims for damages were barred by sovereign immunity. The evidence was insufficient to show that Richardson was treated 1 The Honorable D.P. Marshall, Jr., Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, adopting the report and recommendations of the Honorable Patricia S. Harris, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas. -2- differently from similarly situated inmates, or that any unequal treatment was purposeful and motivated by her race or sexual orientation. See Patel v. U.S. Bureau of Prisons, 515 F.3d 807, 815 (8th Cir. 2008) (for equal protection claim, prisoner must show that he is treated differently than similarly situated inmates and that the different treatment is based on suspect classification or a fundamental right); Lewis v. Jacks, 486 F.3d 1025, 1028 (8th Cir. 2007) (unequal treatment of persons entitled to be treated alike is not denial of equal protection unless intentional or purposeful discrimination is shown); Weiler v. Purkett, 137 F.3d 1047, 1052 (8th Cir. 1998) (en banc) (few individual examples of unequal treatment are insufficient to more than minimally support inference of purposeful discrimination). The judgment is affirmed. See 8th Cir. R. 47B. ______________________________ -3-
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