Simmons v. Sacramento County Superior Court.

• Position: ACCESS TO COURT - Brief Article

U.S. Appeals Court

CIVIL SUIT

Simmons v. Sacramento County Superior Court, 318 F.3d 1156 (9th Cir. 2003). A state prisoner brought a [section] 1983 action after a default judgment was issued against him in a civil personal injury action because he failed to appear due to his detention in jail on an unrelated criminal action. The district court dismissed the case and the appeals court affirmed. The appeals court held that a sheriff's refusal to transport the pretrial detainee from a jail to a courthouse for his civil personal injury trial did not violate the prisoner's due process right of access to courts. The court...