Purkey v. CCA Detention Center.

• Position: FREE SPEECH, EXPRESSION, ASSOC.

U.S. District Court

PRISONERS

Purkey v. CCA Detention Center, 339 F.Supp.2d 1145 (D.Kan. 2004). A federal prisoner brought a Bivens action against private prison employees. The district court denied the defendants' motion to dismiss. The district court held that employees at a private company under contract to house federal pretrial detainees were "federal actors" for the purposes of potential Bivens liability, since the detainees were in the custody of the United States Marshal and held under the authority of the United States pending disposition of federal charges against them. According to the court, the prisoner sufficiently stated that he was prejudiced by the employee's destruction of his legal papers, for the purpose of his claim under Bivens that he was denied access to court. The court also found that the prisoner stated a claim for violation of his free speech and association rights. The court noted that prisoners incarcerated at prisons under contract to the federal government enjoyed the same constitutional protections as those inmates incarcerated at prisons that are actually run by the federal government. The court held that the prisoner was prejudiced by the employee's destruction of his legal...