James Boyd Mackey v. Raymond K. Procunier
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
477 F.2d 877 (1973)
- Written by Monica Rottermann , JD
Facts
James Boyd Mackey (plaintiff) was imprisoned at Folsom State and argued to the district court that prison officials, including Raymond K. Procunier (defendant), had engaged in cruel and unusual punishment by experimentally administering the drug succinylcholine without his consent and when he was fully conscious. Mackey had only consented to shock therapy. The recommended usage of the drug is in conjunction with shock treatment and anesthesia but should not be given to fully conscious patients, due to the frightening effect it has. Mackey argued that the prison was testing whether prisoner behavior could be changed based on the fear and pain inflicted by the drug. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Procunier, finding the claim to be one of malpractice. Mackey appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Merrill, J.)
Dissent (Wright, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.