Olivier v. Baca, No. 13-56371 (9th Cir. 2019)
Annotate this Case
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment for the sheriff in an action brought under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging that the sheriff violated plaintiff's Fourteenth Amendment rights by failing to provide him with a bed during his three-and-a-half day stay at an inmate reception center (IRC). The panel held that the exigent circumstance of inmate disturbances and lockdowns justified denying plaintiff a bed for his three-and-a-half day stay.
Even if a Fourteenth Amendment violation did occur, the district court correctly held that the sheriff was entitled to qualified immunity because the right asserted by plaintiff—not being forced to sleep on the floor during a jail lockdown—was not clearly established at the time of the events. Finally, plaintiff failed to show that the district court abused its discretion in rejecting his various ancillary claims.
Court Description: Prisoner Civil Rights. The panel affirmed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of defendant Sheriff Baca in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging that Baca violated plaintiff’s Fourteenth Amendment rights by failing to provide him with a bed during his three-and-a-half day stay at the Los Angeles Inmate Reception Center while he was a pretrial detainee. The panel held that the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department was well within the scope of its authority to maintain security when it carried out the lockdowns that delayed plaintiff’s transfer to permanent housing, resulting in three-and-a-half days without a bed. The panel held that, in view of the deference the Supreme Court has prescribed in the area of correctional facility policy, along with Baca’s clarifications of the rationale underlying Department procedures, there was no basis in the record on which to conclude that the response to the inmate disturbances constituted an unnecessary or unjustified response to problems of jail security. The panel further held that even if a Fourteenth Amendment violation did occur, the district court correctly held that Baca was entitled to qualified immunity because the right asserted by plaintiff—not being forced to sleep on the floor during a jail lockdown—was not clearly established at the time of the events. OLIVIER V. BACA 3
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.