Prisoner's Civil Rights Case Remanded for Trial

Miller v. Kastelic, 2015 WL 480354 (2/6/15) (Col.) (unpub'd) - The 10th overturns a grant of summary judgment to the prison defendants in a § 1983 case. Mr. Miller provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate a triable issue as to whether officers knew he was facing a substantial risk of serious harm in the following circumstances: members of the 211 gang learned that Mr. Miller was a sex offender; that gang is known for their actions against sex offenders; they tried to extort canteen items from Mr. Miller; Mr. Miller notified guards of the threat; Mr. Miller was told it would take a few days to transfer him to a different unit; when he returned to his cell after talking to the guards, his canteen items had been stolen; he told a captain about the intimidation; the captain said: "There are no protected units here, if you refuse your assigned room, I'll put you in seg and file charges against you"; "I'll be assaulted if I return to my cell," Mr. Miller said; "Man up," the captain responded; Mr. Miller was then assaulted after he returned to his cell. Mr. Miller didn't just express general concerns to the captain. He gave specific warnings. So relief is possible.