Leonard Rollon Crawford-el v. Patricia Britton (523 U.S. 574)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided May 4, 1998 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 523 U.S. 574 · 118 S. Ct. 1584
- Decided
- May 4, 1998
- Term
- October Term 1997
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Stevens
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court. Petitioner, a long-time prison inmate, seeks damages from a corrections officer based on a constitutional claim that requires proof of improper motive. The broad question presented is whether the courts of appeals may craft special procedural rules for such cases to protect public servants from the burdens of trial and discovery that may impair the performance of their official duties. The more specific question is whether, at least in eases brought by prisoners, the plaintiff must adduce- clear and convincing evidence of improper motive in order to defeat a motion for summary-judgment. I Petitioner is serving a life sentence in the District of Columbia’s correctional system. During his confinement he has filed several lawsuits and has assisted other prisoners with their cases. He has also provided interviews to reporters who have written news stories about prison conditions. He is a litigious and outspoken prisoner. The events that gave rise to this ease occurred in 1988 and 1989. Because of overcrowding in the District of Columbia prison in Lorton, Virginia, petitioner and other inmates were transferred to the county jail in Spokane, Washington. Thereafter, he was moved, first to a Washington State prison, later to a facility in Cameron, Missouri, next back to Lorton, then to Petersburg, Virginia, and ultimately to the…
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