Davis v. Wessel, No. 13-3416 (7th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseDavis, a civil detainee under the Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act, sued security guards under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging that they refused to remove Davis’s hand restraints while he used the restroom and then laughed as he struggled to unzip his pants and urinate. A jury awarded him $1,000 in compensatory damages. The Seventh Circuit vacated, based on an improper “elements” jury instruction, but rejected an argument based on a Facility directive that permitted removal of restraints only “[w]ithin a secure facility in order to utilize the restroom.” There was conflicting testimony as to whether the corridor behind the courtroom was “secure.” The directive allowed Wessel and Lay to call their supervisor for permission to remove the restraints, and a reasonable jury could find that they chose not to do so for the purpose of humiliating Davis. Davis had no means of escape from the windowless restroom other than by force through Wessel and Lay (while Davis still wore leg shackles), and Wessel and Lay were each considerably larger, younger, and healthier than Davis. A jail cannot shield a cruel and unusual punishment from legal challenge simply by imposing it on everyone equally.
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