Porter v. Epps
2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 19756
| 5th Cir. | 2011Background
- Porter, sentenced to five years with four years suspended and one year in MDOC ISP (house arrest).
- Porter violated ISP terms; MDOC officer issued RVR and Porter was processed at an MDOC facility.
- MDOC hearing officer found a violation and referred to records department to reclassify; records determined suspension voided.
- Porter appealed through MDOC grievance process; relief denied at all steps; Mississippi state court later ordered Porter released.
- Porter filed §1983 action alleging false imprisonment for 15 months; Epps, as MDOC policymaker, allegedly caused the injury.
- Jury found Epps liable; district court denied JMOL/new trial; Epps appealed arguing qualified immunity and lack of vicarious liability.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Failure to promulgate policies | Porter asserts policy failures caused deprivation. | Epps contends no policy failure was objectively unreasonable. | Epps entitled to qualified immunity; no clearly unreasonable policy failure shown. |
| Failure to train/supervise | Porter claims inadequate training/supervision caused rights violation. | Epps argues employees were trained; no deliberate indifference shown. | Epps entitled to qualified immunity; insufficient evidence of deliberate indifference. |
| Epps's personal involvement in third-step denial | Epps personally involved via denial of third-step appeal. | Sparkman signed the denial; Epps delegated this task; no personal participation. | Epps entitled to qualified immunity; lack of personal involvement and reasonable interpretation by records department. |
Key Cases Cited
- Douthit v. Jones, 619 F.2d 527 (5th Cir. 1980) (detention beyond sentence raises due-process concerns)
- Whirl v. Kern, 407 F.2d 781 (5th Cir. 1969) (jailer’s duty includes timely release obligations)
- Bryan v. Jones, 530 F.2d 1210 (5th Cir. 1976) (negligence in record-keeping can support liability)
- Hare v. City of Corinth, 135 F.3d 320 (5th Cir. 1998) (deliberate indifference standard vs. objective reasonableness in qualified immunity)
- Connick v. Thompson, 131 S. Ct. 1350 (2011) (deliberate indifference requires notice of deficient training causing rights violations)
- Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs v. Brown, 520 U.S. 397 (1997) (clearly established law and deliberate indifference standard for municipal liability)
- City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378 (1989) (failure to train requires deliberate indifference)
- Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194 (2001) (two-step approach to qualified immunity; clearly established law inquiry)
- Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223 (2009) (reaffirmed that qualified immunity can be addressed at different stages)