Graves v. North Dakota State Penitentiary.

• Position: Racial discrimination - Brief Article

U.S. District Court

RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

Graves v. North Dakota State Penitentiary, 325 F.Supp.2d 1009 (D.N.D. 2004). A state inmate brought a [section] 1983 action alleging that his civil rights were violated when he was shown a racially insensitive drawing or cartoon by a guard, and that he was then retaliated against after he filed a grievance. The district court dismissed the action, finding that the guard's action did not amount to a constitutional violation. According to the court, the use of racially derogatory language does not, by itself, violate the Fourteenth Amendment, and the guard's action was not pervasive or severe enough to...