Date: 02-02-2006

Case Style: Boxer X v. A. Harris

Case Number: 04-13083

Judge: Birch

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on appeal from the Southern District of Georgia, Chatham County

Plaintiff's Attorney: Unknown

Defendant's Attorney: Unknown

Description:

Boxer X appeals the dismissal, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, of his civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Angela Harris, a guard at his Georgia prison, who, according to the complaint, made him strip and masturbate for her enjoyment. The district court adopted the magistrate judge's report and recommendation, which found that Boxer's complaint did not state an Eighth Amendment violation and that he failed to name the correct defendant for his claim under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. We VACATE the entry of judgment and REMAND for proceedings consistent with this opinion, because Boxer has stated a claim under our privacy jurisprudence and for retaliation under the First Amendment.

I. Background

Between July and November 2003 in Smith State Prison in Glennville, Georgia, Harris repeatedly approached Boxer's jail cell and demanded that he strip naked and perform sexual acts of self-gratification.1 On 5 July 2003, Boxer complained that his food was cold and that his tray was dirty. Harris stated that she would get him a new dinner if he did her a "favor": "to show her [his] penis" while she watched through the flap in the prison door. R1-1 at 5. Boxer declined, and Harris promised retribution.

Incidents of this nature continued for the next several months. Sometimes Boxer disobeyed Harris's commands, but sometimes he obeyed her. On 1 August 2003, Boxer received two disciplinary reports that followed an encounter with Harris in which he did perform for her. These reports were for failure to follow instructions and exposure/exhibition. Boxer received these reports in the prison distribution system and was not afforded the opportunity to challenge Harris's statements in front of a disciplinary hearing officer.

On 28 August 2003, Harris approached Boxer again offering not to write further false disciplinary reports if Boxer followed her orders without question. Boxer acquiesced to Harris's orders on six occasions from September to November 2003. Boxer subsequently filed grievances against Harris, which were denied. Boxer sued in December 2003.

The magistrate judge's report construed Boxer's complaint as alleging two claims: one for relief under the Eighth Amendment and another under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The court decided that the harassment that Boxer endured was not severe enough to state a claim under the Eighth Amendment and that Boxer had not factually or legally implicated Harris in denying him an opportunity to be heard during the administrative punishment process such that he had stated a claim against her under the Due Process Clause.

Boxer objected to the report and recommendation on the grounds that he had stated a claim that Harris violated his Due Process, Eighth Amendment, and constitutional privacy rights and alleged, for the first time, that he was retaliated against for petitioning the supervisors of the prison for redress for Harris's improper treatment of him.

The district court adopted the magistrate judge's report and recommendation. Boxer argues on appeal that Harris's conduct at his jail cell violated his Eighth Amendment and privacy rights; that the retaliation for exercising his rights under the grievance process violated his First Amendment rights; and that he was administratively punished without a hearing in violation of the Due Process Clause. Harris, for the first time on appeal, raises issues related to the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Pub. L. No. 104-134, 110 Stat. 1321 (1996), codified in relevant part, 42 U.S.C. § 1997e ("PLRA"). We discuss these issues in the following section.

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Outcome: Boxer’s civil rights complaint was dismissed for failure to state a § 1983 claim because the district court concluded that there was no violation of the Eighth Amendment or the Due Process Clause. Because Boxer, as a pro se plaintiff, stated a claim within the purview of our privacy rights jurisprudence and because he stated a claim for retaliation, it was improper for the district court to dismiss his case. While we AFFIRM the dismissal of Boxer’s Eighth Amendment and Due Process claims, we VACATE the entry of judgment and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Plaintiff's Experts: Unknown

Defendant's Experts: Unknown

Comments: None