Pennington v. Uinta County, Wyoming, (10th Cir. 2011)

Status: Not Published

Docket Number: 10-8108

Linked as:

Text

FILED

United States Court of Appeals

Tenth Circuit

December 5, 2011

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

Elisabeth A. Shumaker

Clerk of Court

TENTH CIRCUIT

JUDEE PENNINGTON,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

UINTA COUNTY, WYOMING;

LOUIS NAPOLI, Uinta County

Sheriff; UINTA COUNTY BOARD

No. 10-8108

OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS,

(D.C. No. 2:09-CV-00023-WFD)

(D. Wyo.)

Defendants-Appellees.

and

TODD HOOVER, Uinta County

Detention Officer,

Defendant.

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

Before GORSUCH, HOLMES, and MATHESON, Circuit Judges.

While she was an inmate at the Uinta County Detention Center, Judee

Pennington suffered sexual assault at the hands of detention officer Todd Hoover. Ms. Pennington filed suit under 42U.S.C. § 1983, claiming not only that Mr.

Hoover violated her Eighth Amendment rights, but that Sheriff Louis Napoli and Uinta County did too. What happened to Ms. Pennington is inexcusable. No one before this court disputes that Mr. Hoover deserved the time in prison he received for his criminal conduct. And no one before this court disputes that Mr. Hoover must also stand trial for his conduct in this civil matter. But because the record as developed by the parties in this case contains no evidence that either the Sheriff or County was aware Mr. Hoover posed a danger of sexually assaulting inmates, the district court held them entitled to summary judgment. Ms.

Pennington challenges that result, but after careful review of the parties' briefs and the record we discern no error in the district court's disposition. Neither do we think we might improve on its careful, twenty-three page explanation why the law compels the result it reached. We therefore adopt its reasoning and affirm.

* This order and judgment is not binding precedent except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1. ENTERED FOR THE COURT Neil M. Gorsuch Circuit Judge -