Opinion · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Clyde Stevenson v. Sue Koskey

877 F.2d 1435

Type
Opinion
Court
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Jurisdiction
Federal
Date
1989-06-26
Topic
general

How later courts describe this case

  • recognizing that “the relevant event for purposes of analyzing [the defendant’s] culpability is the alleged constitutional injury, the guard’s opening of the letter outside [the prisoner’s] presence.”
  • holding that inadvertent opening of legal mail outside an inmate's presence, while not to be condoned, is not actionable as a constitutional violation
  • explaining that causation can be established by showing that the officer participated in the affirmative acts of another that, acting concurrently, resulted in a deprivation of federal rights
  • finding the improper opening of a prisoner’s letter no more than negligent, and thus insufficient to support a §1983 claim
  • finding 15 negligent mishandling of inmate mail insufficient to state a constitutional claim
  • “Stevenson has not shown, based on this record, that Koskey’s conduct concerning 16 plaintiff's mail rose beyond the level of mere negligence.”
  • “Stevenson has not shown, based on this record, that Koskey’s conduct concerning plaintiff's 1 mail rose beyond the level of mere negligence.”
  • “Stevenson has not shown, based on this record, that Koskey’s conduct concerning 20 plaintiff’s mail rose beyond the level of mere negligence.”

Citator

UpLaw has not yet analyzed Clyde Stevenson v. Sue Koskey. The absence of a flag is not a finding that it is good law.

Authority status
pending
Cited by
108 opinions