Walton v. Alexander
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
44 F.3d 1297 (1995)
- Written by Kyli Cotten, JD
Facts
Christopher Walton (plaintiff) was a student at the Mississippi School for the Deaf, which was under the direction of its superintendent, Alma Alexander (defendant). The school was one of several schools in the state, public and private, that offered an education to deaf children. Students enrolled at the school resided on campus, were under the 24-hour supervision of school officials, and were subject to strict rules relating to when they could leave campus. While enrolled, Walton was twice sexually assaulted by a fellow classmate. The first assault was reported to Alexander, and the school moved his assaulter to another dormitory. However, when the two dormitories were consolidated, Walton was assaulted for a second time. This incident was not reported to Alexander. Walton filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that Alexander’s failure to protect him from sexual assault violated his substantive-due-process right to bodily integrity. The district court denied Alexander’s motion for summary judgment, and Alexander appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Jolly, J.)
Dissent (Parker, 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.
