Smart v. England
No. 22-11738, 2024 WL 655474 (11th Cir. Feb. 16, 2024)
Chief Judge William Pryor
Topics: 1983 (First Amendment)
In this 42 U.S.C. §1983 appeal seeking civil damages for an alleged violation of First Amendment constitutional rights, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the Northern District of Alabama’s ruling that prison guards were entitled to qualified immunity from prisoner Germaine Smart's complaint of retaliation for exercising his right, under the First Amendment, to report official misconduct.
Smart alleged that England sexually assaulted him during a pat-down search. After a prison investigator determined that Smart's allegations of sexual assault were unfounded, England charged Smart with the disciplinary infraction of “Lying.” A disciplinary tribunal later found that Smart's allegations were false and sanctioned him for lying. Because of the factual finding that he lied, there could be no constitutional violation or unreasonable conduct. AFFIRMED.