Ali Cisse v. Amber J. Bliss and R. Pflueger

Summary

The United States District Court for the Northern District of New York adopted a magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation in this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action. The court granted defendants' partial motion for summary judgment on the plaintiff's First Amendment free-exercise claims for failure to exhaust administrative remedies and granted judgment on the pleadings on the plaintiff's Eighth Amendment excessive-force claim, directing entry of judgment for defendants and closure of the case.

Holdings

1. When a party does not make specific objections to a magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation, the district court reviews the recommendations for clear error and may adopt them if no clear error is found.
2. Bliss was entitled to summary judgment because Cisse failed to exhaust available administrative remedies for his prison-condition claims, and the record established no applicable exception making those remedies unavailable.
3. Pflueger was entitled to judgment on the pleadings because Cisse failed to allege facts showing that the use of force was malicious, sadistic, wanton, or contrary to contemporary standards of decency.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the district court should adopt the magistrate judge's unobjected-to Report and Recommendation after reviewing it for clear error.
2. Whether Cisse's First Amendment free-exercise claims against Bliss were barred by his failure to exhaust available administrative remedies under the Prison Litigation Reform Act.
3. Whether Cisse adequately pleaded an Eighth Amendment excessive-force claim against Pflueger under the governing subjective and objective standards.

Disposition

other