U.S. Appeals Court: MEDICAL CARE RESTRAINTS ACCESS TO COURT EQUAL PROTECTION.

• Position: Prisoners and prisons - Brief Article

May v. Sheahan, 226 F.3d 876 (7th Cir. 2000). A pretrial detainee who suffered from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and was hospitalized brought an action against a county and county officials. The district court denied summary judgment for the sheriff on qualified immunity grounds and the sheriff appealed. The appeals court affirmed, finding that the detainee stated an equal protection claim by alleging that the sheriff, for no legitimate reason, treated hospitalized detainees differently from jail detainees by shackling them to their beds and not taking them to court on their assigned court dates. The appeals court found that the allegation that the sheriffs...