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Mitchell v. U.S.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Jun 15, 2001
20 F. App'x 636 (9th Cir. 2001)

Opinion


20 Fed.Appx. 636 (9th Cir. 2001) Ambrose MITCHELL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant-Appellee. No. 99-16689. D.C. No. CV-97-01915-PGR/MS. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. June 15, 2001

Submitted June 6, 2001 .

The panel finds this case appropriate for submission without oral argument pursuant to Fed. R.App. P. 34(a)(2).

NOT FOR PUBLICATION. (See Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure Rule 36-3)

Federal prisoner who was attacked by other inmates brought tort action against United States. The United States District Court for the District of Arizona, Paul G. Rosenblatt, J., entered summary judgment for United States. Prisoner appealed. The Court of Appeals held that decision whether to lock doors within prison unit fell within discretion of prison officials for purposes of discretionary function exception to Federal Tort Claims Act.

Affirmed.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona Paul G. Rosenblatt, District Judge, Presiding.

Before PREGERSON, FERGUSON, and HAWKINS, Circuit Judges.

MEMORANDUM

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited to or by the courts of this circuit except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.

The district court properly granted summary judgment to the defendant. Mitchell did not come forward with any evidence showing that prison officials violated their own regulations. Although the prison may have been obligated to lock the doors between the Navajo Unit and the rest of the prison, the regulations do not require the prison to lock the doors within the Navajo Unit, the unit in which all of Mitchell's assailants were housed. The decision not to lock the door between the two sides of the Navajo Unit accordingly falls within the discretion of prison officials, see generally Calderon v. United States, 123 F.3d 947

Page 637.

(7th Cir.1997), and, as the district court properly found, the discretionary function exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act bars this suit.

AFFIRMED.


Summaries of

Mitchell v. U.S.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Jun 15, 2001
20 F. App'x 636 (9th Cir. 2001)
Case details for

Mitchell v. U.S.

Case Details

Full title:Ambrose MITCHELL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America…

Court:United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Date published: Jun 15, 2001

Citations

20 F. App'x 636 (9th Cir. 2001)

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