Ellis v. Evans
Opinion of the Court
Jerry Ellis, an Arkansas inmate, appeals from the order of the District Court
Interpreting Ellis’s claims against defendant hearing officers Byers, Biram, and Duke as asserting a constitutional violation for finding Ellis guilty at major disciplinary hearings and sentencing him without affording him the benefit of a counsel substitute, the magistrate judge
We review de novo a district court’s grant of summary judgment, Robinson v. Monaghan, 864 F.2d 622, 624 (8th Cir. 1989), and will sustain the district court’s decision only if “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). We are “required to view all evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and to ‘give that party the benefit of all reasonable inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts disclosed in the pleadings.’ ” Robinson, 864 F.2d at 624 (quoting Trnka v. Elanco Prods. Co., 709 F.2d 1223, 1225 (8th Cir. 1983)). “[T]he motion may, and should, be granted so long as whatever is before the district court demonstrates that the standard for the entry of summary judgment, as set forth in Rule 56(c), is satisfied.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
After carefully reviewing the record, we conclude that defendants adequately supported their motions for summary judgment and that Ellis failed to present a genuine issue of any material fact. Although defendants Perry and Evans did not submit copies of the prison regulations which, they attested, authorized an inmate’s removal from punitive isolation to punitive restrictions, we note that Ellis did not challenge their affidavits in this regard. The district court did not err in granting summary judgment before defendants complied with Ellis’s discovery requests. See Puckett v. Cook, 864 F.2d 619, 622 (8th Cir. 1989) (summary judgment properly entered prior to completion of discovery absent affirmative showing as to how postponement of ruling would enable plaintiff to rebut defendant’s showing of absence of genuine fact issue).
Accordingly, the district court judgment is affirmed.
. The Honorable Stephen M. Reasoner, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
. The Honorable John F. Forster, Jr., United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Jerry ELLIS v. Marvin EVANS, Warden, R.D. Perry, Major, D.C. Heflin, Captain, J.A. Byers, Hearing Officer, W.W. Warfield, Hearing Officer, M.D. Biram, Hearing Officer, J.R. Duke, Hearing Officer
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published