33 F.4th 320
6th Cir.2022Background
- Felicia Morgan, a severely mentally ill inmate, was transferred to United Community Hospital (UCH), a private contractor providing psychiatric care to Wayne County inmates; Wayne County Deputies were contractually required to staff the UCH ward.
- The ward had unlocked perimeter bedrooms, a central dayroom with known blind spots, and typically three deputies plus UCH staff on duty; deputies sometimes left the ward for breaks without a formal replacement procedure.
- On November 15, 2005, while two deputies were briefly absent from the ward, UCH staff discovered Morgan and a male inmate, Eric Miles, apparently engaged in sexual intercourse; Morgan later became pregnant.
- Morgan sued in 2017 under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state law, alleging deputies were deliberately indifferent to a substantial risk of sexual assault, and alleging municipal Monell liability and state tort claims.
- The district court granted summary judgment to deputies on qualified immunity, rejected supervisory and Monell claims, and held Wayne County immune under Michigan’s GTLA; the Sixth Circuit affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Failure to protect / deliberate indifference by on‑duty deputies | Deputies left unit understaffed and ignored obvious risks from blind spots, unlocked rooms, and co‑ed housing | Deputies relied on UCH staff presence, lacked knowledge that leaving briefly created a substantial risk, and thus lacked subjective culpability | Affirmed: qualified immunity for Deputies Clark and Davis; plaintiff failed to show subjective deliberate indifference |
| Municipal liability — unlawful policy (co‑ed housing) | Wayne County’s practice of housing severely mentally ill men and women together without adequate protective measures was a facially deficient policy causing the violation | County had comprehensive written security protocols and no history of prior inmate sexual incidents; policy not obviously unconstitutional | Affirmed: Monell claim based on an illegal policy failed |
| Municipal liability — failure to train/supervise | County failed to train deputies to prevent inmate‑on‑inmate sexual violence for mentally ill detainees | No pattern of similar violations and no underlying constitutional violation by any individual defendant to support single‑incident failure‑to‑train theory | Affirmed: failure‑to‑train claim failed |
| State torts and GTLA medical exception | Morgan: immunity waived because she was housed for mental health treatment and injury related to medical care context | County: deputies provided security, not medical care; GTLA medical‑care exception does not apply | Affirmed: GTLA grants immunity; medical‑care exception inapplicable because defendants were not Morgan’s medical providers |
Key Cases Cited
- Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825 (1994) (establishes deliberate indifference standard for inmate safety)
- Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982) (qualified immunity framework)
- Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223 (2009) (qualified immunity two‑step inquiry)
- Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs. of City of New York, 436 U.S. 658 (1978) (municipal liability requires policy or custom causing constitutional violation)
- Connick v. Thompson, 563 U.S. 51 (2011) (limits on municipal liability for failure to train)
- Shadrick v. Hopkins Cnty., 805 F.3d 724 (6th Cir. 2015) (pattern or single‑incident path to Monell failure‑to‑train liability)
- Bishop v. Hackel, 636 F.3d 757 (6th Cir. 2011) (Eighth Amendment deliberate indifference and sexual abuse context)
- Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574 (1986) (summary judgment and requirement to rebut defense with more than metaphysical doubt)