Mahone v. Lehman
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
347 F.3d 1170 (2003)

- Written by Darius Dehghan, JD
Facts
Sylvester James Mahone (plaintiff) was an inmate at a prison in the State of Washington. Mahone was placed in solitary confinement for 10 days without clothing or a mattress. Mahone brought suit against Joseph Lehman (defendant), the director of the Washington State Department of Corrections. Specifically, Mahone alleged that he suffered from mental trauma as a result of the solitary confinement. A therapist conducted an evaluation of Mahone. The therapist stated that Mahone was lying about suffering from mental trauma. At the trial, Lehman sought to introduce the therapist’s out-of-court statement into evidence. The statement was offered to prove Lehman’s claim that Mahone did not suffer from mental trauma. The district-court judge admitted the therapist’s statement into evidence. Subsequently, the jury ruled in favor of Lehman. Mahone appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Alarcón, J.)
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