Supreme Court·Oral argument
Court appears ready to throw out an inmate's damages suit against a prison paramedic in Nielsen v. Watanabe
During just over 80 minutes of argument on Monday in Nielsen v. Watanabe, a majority of the justices seemed poised to throw out a federal inmate's suit claiming a prison paramedic's failure to treat a fractured tailbone violated the Eighth Amendment, SCOTUSblog reported. Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh did not seem receptive to overruling the 1971 Bivens decision entirely, while the federal government urged the Court to treat the 1980 Carlson v. Green precedent as obsolete or overrule it. A decision is expected by late June or early July.
Sources
- SCOTUSblogCourt appears unlikely to side with inmate in lawsuit for violation of his constitutional rights