[Download] "Sockwell v. Phelps" by United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit " eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Sockwell v. Phelps
- Author : United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- Release Date : January 10, 1994
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 55 KB
Description
ROBERT M. PARKER, District Judge: Plaintiffs-Appellants Gregory Sockwell, Raymond Rochon and John Crittle (the Prisoners)1 filed this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Defendants-Appellees C. Paul Phelps (Phelps), former Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, and Frank Blackburn (Blackburn), former Warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary, alleging that Phelps and Blackburn, in their individual capacities, violated their constitutional rights by racially segregating the prison's two-man cells. After a de novo review of the record, the district court adopted all except the amount of the punitive damage award of the report and recommendation of the magistrate Judge, holding that Phelps and Blackburn violated the Prisoners' right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment by knowingly permitting the continued assignment of prisoners to segregated two-man cells based solely on their race. The court awarded the Prisoners nominal damages of $1.00 each, and ordered Phelps and Blackburn to pay punitive damages of $2,000.00 each2 plus attorney's fees. All parties appeal the judgment of the district court. We AFFIRM.