No Federal Eighth Amendment Inmate Claim Against Private Employees of Federal Prison

A prisoner who claimed he was denied adequate medical care while he was serving his sentence cannot bring a suit based on the Eighth Amendment against the employees of the privately operated federal prison in which he was incarcerated, the U.S. Supreme Court held Jan. 10 (Minneci v. Pollard, U.S., No. 10-1104).

The court, in an 8–1 opinion by Justice Steven G. Breyer, said that the prisoner’s claim under Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents, 403 U.S. 388 (1971), faltered because state tort law provided him with an adequate remedy.

One attorney told Bloomberg BNA that ...