Ulises Almaraz v. Sergeant Mahaland, Sergeant Wentz, Officer Ashbrook, and John Doe #’s 1-5

Summary

This memorandum and order conducts preliminary screening under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A of Ulises Almaraz’s prisoner civil-rights complaint alleging that officials failed to protect him from an assault by a cellmate. The court allowed an Eighth Amendment failure-to-protect claim to proceed against Sergeants Mahaland and Wentz, while dismissing claims against Officer Ashbrook and five John Doe defendants without prejudice.

Holdings

1. The complaint stated a failure-to-protect claim against Mahaland and Wentz because Almaraz alleged that he informed them of his one-man-cell assignment and the danger of placement with another inmate, they ignored those warnings, and his cellmate then assaulted him.
2. The complaint failed to state a failure-to-protect claim against Ashbrook because it did not allege when Ashbrook placed Almaraz in shared housing or that Ashbrook knew of the one-man-cell determination or a specific, impending, and substantial threat to Almaraz’s safety.
3. The claims against John Doe #’s 1-5 were dismissed without prejudice because Almaraz did not identify the personal involvement of any particular Doe defendant.
4. The complaint failed to state a Fourteenth Amendment due-process claim because prison grievance systems do not create protected interests under the Due Process Clause.
5. Claims mentioned in the complaint but not adequately addressed in the order were dismissed without prejudice as inadequately pleaded under the plausibility standard.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Almaraz stated an Eighth Amendment failure-to-protect claim against Sergeants Mahaland and Wentz.
2. Whether Almaraz stated an Eighth Amendment failure-to-protect claim against Officer Ashbrook.
3. Whether the claims against unidentified John Doe defendants were sufficiently based on personal involvement.
4. Whether prison officials’ failure to honor Administrative Review Board determinations violated a state-created liberty interest protected by the Fourteenth Amendment.
5. Whether service by the United States Marshal was necessary at the preliminary-review stage.

Disposition

other