Richardson v. McKnight
United States Supreme Court
521 U.S. 399 (1997)
- Written by Whitney Kamerzel , JD
Facts
Tennessee paid private companies to manage prison facilities. Ronnie McKnight (plaintiff) was a prisoner at one of these correctional facilities. McKnight sued Darryl Richardson and John Walker (defendants), prison guards, in federal district court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for subjecting McKnight to tight physical restraints that caused injury. The prison guards moved to dismiss the case based on qualified immunity. The district court denied this motion because the guards were employed by a private company and not the government. The court of appeals affirmed. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Breyer, J.)
Dissent (Scalia, J.)
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