Cerniglia v. Sacramento County
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM
Steven Cerniglia was detained in 1997 pursuant to California’s Sexually Violent Predator Act (SVPA), Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 6000 et. seq., and adjudicated to be a sexually violent predator (SVP). Two years later, during his civil recommitment process, Cerniglia was held in “total separation” (T-Sep) at the Sacramento County Jail. He alleges in this civil rights action that jail officials there treated him “in a manner more harsh than both other civil detainees and the convicted prisoners in the jail” and thus violated his constitutional rights. The district court granted summary judgment, ruling the individual defendants were entitled to qualified immunity. The court reasoned that SVP detainees did not have a “clearly established right not to be housed in a county jail” and that “a reasonable correctional officer ... would not have concluded that Cerniglia’s constitutional rights were being violated.” The court also ruled the institutional defendants were immune because the SVP detainees were confined pursuant to state law rather than county policy. After the court’s decision, we issued two opinions reviewing the constitutionality of treatment afforded to SVP detainees. Those opinions compel us to reverse the district court in this case and remand for further proceedings.
DISCUSSION
In Jones v. Blanas, 393 F.3d 918 (9th Cir. 2004), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 126 S.Ct. 351, 163 L.Ed.2d 61 (2005), we considered whether an SVP detainee’s constitutional rights were violated when he was held in T-Sep at the Sacramento County Jail in 1999. We reversed summary judgment in favor of defendants, reasoning that “an individual detained under civil process ... cannot be subjected to conditions that amount to punishment.” Id. at 932 (internal quotation omitted). We rejected the County’s contentions that confinement in T-Sep is neither punitive nor “a disciplinary category.” Id. at 934. We also rejected the County’s assertion that its treatment of SVP detainees is directed by state law rather than local policy. Id. We noted that “[i]f the criminal population can be safely housed without the restrictions of T-Sep, it is difficult to see why SVPA detainees could not be so housed as well.” Id. at 935.
More recently, in Hydrick v. Hunter, 466 F.3d 676 (9th Cir. 2006) (petition for
We conclude that Jones and Hydrick, taken together, require us to reverse the district court’s grant of summary judgment and remand for further proceedings in light of those opinions.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9 th Cir. R. 36-3.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Steven Robert CERNIGLIA v. SACRAMENTO COUNTY Lou Blanas, Sheriff Harris, Sacramento County Sheriff and Jail Commander McGuire, Sacramento County Sheriffs Deputy Kobza, Sacramento County Sheriffs Deputy Mendoza, Deputy Kremkin, Deputy Winn, Deputy Edwards, Deputy Harris, Deputy Hidalgo, Deputy Petersen Deputy Koontz, Deputy Dillon, Sacramento County Sheriff, Sgt.
- Status
- Published