Hines v. Henson

293 F. App'x 261
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedSeptember 10, 2008
Docket07-40987
StatusUnpublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 293 F. App'x 261 (Hines v. Henson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hines v. Henson, 293 F. App'x 261 (5th Cir. 2008).

Opinion

*262 PER CURIAM: *

Plaintiff-Appellant Dennis Keith Hines appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendant-Ap-pellee Sherif Kent Henson. For the following reasons, we AFFIRM.

On December 20, 2004, at approximately 10:00 p.m., Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper, Douglas Minshew, stopped to assist Hines because his vehicle appeared to have broken down. After asking Hines a number of questions and receiving no response, Minshew called for back-up, observing that Hines appeared to be nervous and disoriented. Deputy Chad Wilson responded to the call for back-up. Eventually, Hines was arrested for public intoxication; Wilson transported him to the Angelina County Jail. During the ride, Wilson asked Hines whether he was hurt or haring any problems. Hines responded no to both questions.

Upon arrival at the county jail, Wilson observed that Hines was able to follow directions and did not appear to be in any physical pain or distress. Jail employees observed that Hines exhibited signs of intoxication including confusion, slurred speech, and loss of coordination. Hines was placed in a “detox cell” located across from the booking desk. He was released the next morning, December 21, 2004, at approximately 9:00 a.m. Following his release, Hines went to a hospital where he was informed that he had suffered a stroke just prior to his arrest.

Thereafter, Hines brought an action against Sheriff Henson, in his official capacity, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that his due process right to medical care had been violated as a result of the written policy of Angelina County. The district court granted summary judgment to Sheriff Henson, holding that: (1) the lack of medical treatment did not amount to deliberate indifference; and (2) even assuming that Hines could demonstrate deliberate indifference on the part of a county employee, he had failed to establish that there was a policy or custom of deliberate indifference to inmates’ medical needs. Hines timely appeals. Before this court, Hines contends that the district court improperly granted summary judgment to Sheriff Henson based on its finding that individual employees were not deliberately indifferent to his right to receive medical care. According to Hines, he was only required to show deliberate indifference on the part of Sheriff Henson in establishing the written policy of Angelina County.

We review a district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo. Pegram v. Honeywell, Inc., 361 F.3d 272, 278 (5th Cir.2004). Summary judgment is appropriate “if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). If the moving party meets the initial burden of showing there is no genuine issue of material fact, the burden shifts to the nonmoring party to produce evidence or designate specific facts showing the existence of a genuine issue for trial. Pegram, 361 F.3d at 278. “[Sjummary judgment is warranted if the nonmovant fails to ‘make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to [its] case.’ ” Nebraska v. Wyoming, 507 U.S. 584, 590, 113 *263 S.Ct. 1689, 123 L.Ed.2d 317 (1993) (quoting Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548.). To determine whether a material fact dispute exists, this court must view the evidence “through the prism of the controlling legal standard.” Id.

To prevail on a municipal liability claim under § 1983, a claimant must establish: a policy maker, an official policy, and a violation of a constitutional right whose moving force is the policy or custom. Piotrowski v. City of Houston, 237 F.3d 567, 578 (5th Cir.2001). A fundamental requirement for any § 1983 claim is the existence of a constitutional violation. Daniels v. Williams, 474 U.S. 327, 330, 106 S.Ct. 662, 88 L.Ed.2d 662 (1986). “[P]retrial detainees have a constitutional right, under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, not to have their serious medical needs met with deliberate indifference on the part of the confining officials.” Thompson v. Upshur County, 245 F.3d 447, 457 (5th Cir.2001). To show that the right to medical care has been violated, a plaintiff must establish that “the official had subjective knowledge of a substantial risk of serious harm to a pretrial detainee but responded with deliberate indifference.” Hare v. City of Corinth, 74 F.3d 633, 650 (5th Cir.1996). Negligence is insufficient to meet the standard for deliberate indifference. Id. Because we find that Hines has not succeeded in establishing deliberate indifference by the county jail officials, we conclude that there was no constitutional violation under the facts of this case.

Hines does not dispute that on the evening of his arrest he exhibited symptoms consistent with Trooper Min-shew’s and the county jailors’ conclusions that he was intoxicated, including slurred speech, glassy eyes, and the inability to provide complete answers to questions. Hines notes, however, that the booking jailor indicated on the Medical Disability and Suicide Form that he was considered a medical risk and that the arresting officer believed him to be a medical risk. However, even in light of this evidence, we cannot conclude that the officials’ actions rose to the level of deliberate indifference. See Domino v. Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice, 239 F.3d 752, 756 (5th Cir.2001)(holding that deliberate indifference is shown where a plaintiff can establish that the officials “refused to treat him, ignored his complaints, intentionally treated him incorrectly, or engaged in any similar conduct that would clearly evince a wanton disregard for any serious medical needs”) (quoting Johnson v. Treen, 759 F.2d 1236, 1238 (5th Cir. 1985)). Here, there is no showing that officials knew that Hines was in need of serious medical care and nevertheless denied him medical treatment or ignored his complaints. Indeed, Hines has offered no evidence to show that he complained of his condition or requested medical assistance, nor has he offered evidence showing that his medical condition was apparent and clearly necessitated medical care.

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293 F. App'x 261, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hines-v-henson-ca5-2008.