Waller v. Tripett.

• Position: DISCIPLINE - Brief Article

U.S. District Court

CUSTODY LEVEL

CLASSIFICATION CRITERIA

Waller v. Tripett, 179 F.Supp.2d 724 (E.D.Mich. 2001). The estate of a prison employee who was killed by a prisoner sued a warden, alleging that prison employment policies violated the employee's substantive due process rights. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the warden in part, and denied it in part. The court held that the estate's allegations were sufficient to state a claim that the warden's policies created a particular danger to the employee and that the warden was not entitled to qualified immunity. The estate alleged that the warden instituted a practice that contravened a state-wide policy by providing an untethered knife without adequate supervision to a prisoner who had a recent history of committing violent crimes. The employee was working as a food service steward at a correctional facility at the time of her death. One of the prisoners assigned to routine kitchen duties had been convicted of committing a criminal sexual assault...