404 U.S. 519 (1972), 70-5025, Haines v. Kerner
Docket Nº: | No. 70-5025 |
Citation: | 404 U.S. 519, 92 S.Ct. 594, 30 L.Ed.2d 652 |
Party Name: | Haines v. Kerner |
Case Date: | January 13, 1972 |
Court: | United States Supreme Court |
Page 519
Argued December 6, 1971
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SEVENTH CIRCUIT
Syllabus
Prisoner's pro se complaint seeking to recover damages for claimed physical injuries and deprivation of rights in imposing disciplinary confinement should not have been dismissed without affording him the opportunity to present evidence on his claims.
427 F.2d 71, reversed and remanded.
Per curiam opinion.
PER CURIAM.
Petitioner, an inmate at the Illinois State Penitentiary, Menard, Illinois, commenced this action against the Governor of Illinois and other state officers and prison officials under the Civil Rights Act of 1871, 17 Stat. 13, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and 28 U.S.C. § 1343(3), seeking to recover damages for claimed injuries and deprivation of rights while incarcerated under a judgment not challenged here.
Page 520
Petitioner's pro se complaint was premised on alleged action of prison officials placing him in solitary confinement as a disciplinary measure after he had struck another inmate on the head with a shovel following a verbal altercation. The assault by petitioner on another inmate is not denied. Petitioner's pro se complaint included general allegations of physical injuries suffered while in disciplinary confinement and denial of due process in the steps leading to that confinement. The claimed physical suffering was aggravation of a preexisting foot injury and a circulatory ailment caused by forcing him to sleep on the floor of his cell with only blankets.
The District Court granted respondents' motion under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted, suggesting that only under exceptional circumstances should courts inquire into the internal operations of state penitentiaries and concluding that petitioner had failed to show a deprivation of federally protected rights. The Court of Appeals affirmed, emphasizing that prison officials are vested with "wide discretion" in disciplinary matters. We granted certiorari and appointed counsel to represent petitioner. The only issue now before us is petitioner's contention that the District Court erred in dismissing his pro se complaint without allowing him to present evidence on his claims.
Whatever may be the...
To continue reading
FREE SIGN UPGood news, we have found a currently active account with this email!
You can sign in here.
Forgot your password?
To reset your password, you can go here.
A verification link has been sent to your email account!
Please click on the link that has been sent to your email account to verify your email and continue the registration process.
We have found that your academic organisation currently subscribes to vLex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
We have found that your organisation currently subscribes to vlex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Use the following link to sign up from your portal.
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
OR
You can signup for an individual account here.
Subscribers can access the reported version of this case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
There are many other reasons to subscribe.
-
Global Coverage
Access over 120 million legal information documents, including the largest collection of common law and civil law content on one intuitive and advanced service.
-
Updated with over 20,000 cases each month
Each month thousands of new cases and legal documents are added to vLex Justis, providing you with up-to-date content and a wider range of information to support your research.
-
AI-powered research
Are you confident your research is complete? Use our AI-powered tool, Vincent, to conduct truly comprehensive research, based on in-document search and analysis.
-
Know where to start your research
The only service to feature exclusive, comprehensive and up-to-date legal information from 130 jurisdictions. This includes the largest collections of common and civil law judgments, exclusive law reports, legislation, regulations, dockets, books, journals and international news.
Good news, we have found a currently active account with this email!
You can sign in here.
Forgot your password?
To reset your password, you can go here.
A verification link has been sent to your email account!
Please click on the link that has been sent to your email account to verify your email and continue the registration process.
We have found that your academic organisation currently subscribes to vLex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
We have found that your organisation currently subscribes to vlex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Use the following link to sign up from your portal.
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
OR
You can signup for an individual account here.
Subscribers are able to see a list of all the cited cases and legislation of a document.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
There are many other reasons to subscribe.
-
Global Coverage
Access over 120 million legal information documents, including the largest collection of common law and civil law content on one intuitive and advanced service.
-
Updated with over 20,000 cases each month
Each month thousands of new cases and legal documents are added to vLex Justis, providing you with up-to-date content and a wider range of information to support your research.
-
AI-powered research
Are you confident your research is complete? Use our AI-powered tool, Vincent, to conduct truly comprehensive research, based on in-document search and analysis.
-
Know where to start your research
The only service to feature exclusive, comprehensive and up-to-date legal information from 130 jurisdictions. This includes the largest collections of common and civil law judgments, exclusive law reports, legislation, regulations, dockets, books, journals and international news.
Good news, we have found a currently active account with this email!
You can sign in here.
Forgot your password?
To reset your password, you can go here.
A verification link has been sent to your email account!
Please click on the link that has been sent to your email account to verify your email and continue the registration process.
We have found that your academic organisation currently subscribes to vLex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
We have found that your organisation currently subscribes to vlex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Use the following link to sign up from your portal.
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
OR
You can signup for an individual account here.
Subscribers are able to see a list of all the documents that have cited the case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
There are many other reasons to subscribe.
-
Global Coverage
Access over 120 million legal information documents, including the largest collection of common law and civil law content on one intuitive and advanced service.
-
Updated with over 20,000 cases each month
Each month thousands of new cases and legal documents are added to vLex Justis, providing you with up-to-date content and a wider range of information to support your research.
-
AI-powered research
Are you confident your research is complete? Use our AI-powered tool, Vincent, to conduct truly comprehensive research, based on in-document search and analysis.
-
Know where to start your research
The only service to feature exclusive, comprehensive and up-to-date legal information from 130 jurisdictions. This includes the largest collections of common and civil law judgments, exclusive law reports, legislation, regulations, dockets, books, journals and international news.
Good news, we have found a currently active account with this email!
You can sign in here.
Forgot your password?
To reset your password, you can go here.
A verification link has been sent to your email account!
Please click on the link that has been sent to your email account to verify your email and continue the registration process.
We have found that your academic organisation currently subscribes to vLex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
We have found that your organisation currently subscribes to vlex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Use the following link to sign up from your portal.
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
OR
You can signup for an individual account here.
Subscribers are able to see any amendments made to the case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
There are many other reasons to subscribe.
-
Global Coverage
Access over 120 million legal information documents, including the largest collection of common law and civil law content on one intuitive and advanced service.
-
Updated with over 20,000 cases each month
Each month thousands of new cases and legal documents are added to vLex Justis, providing you with up-to-date content and a wider range of information to support your research.
-
AI-powered research
Are you confident your research is complete? Use our AI-powered tool, Vincent, to conduct truly comprehensive research, based on in-document search and analysis.
-
Know where to start your research
The only service to feature exclusive, comprehensive and up-to-date legal information from 130 jurisdictions. This includes the largest collections of common and civil law judgments, exclusive law reports, legislation, regulations, dockets, books, journals and international news.
Good news, we have found a currently active account with this email!
You can sign in here.
Forgot your password?
To reset your password, you can go here.
A verification link has been sent to your email account!
Please click on the link that has been sent to your email account to verify your email and continue the registration process.
We have found that your academic organisation currently subscribes to vLex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
We have found that your organisation currently subscribes to vlex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Use the following link to sign up from your portal.
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
OR
You can signup for an individual account here.
Subscribers are able to see a visualisation of a case and its relationships to other cases. An alternative to lists of cases, the Precedent Map makes it easier to establish which ones may be of most relevance to your research and prioritise further reading. You also get a useful overview of how the case was received.

There are many other reasons to subscribe.
-
Global Coverage
Access over 120 million legal information documents, including the largest collection of common law and civil law content on one intuitive and advanced service.
-
Updated with over 20,000 cases each month
Each month thousands of new cases and legal documents are added to vLex Justis, providing you with up-to-date content and a wider range of information to support your research.
-
AI-powered research
Are you confident your research is complete? Use our AI-powered tool, Vincent, to conduct truly comprehensive research, based on in-document search and analysis.
-
Know where to start your research
The only service to feature exclusive, comprehensive and up-to-date legal information from 130 jurisdictions. This includes the largest collections of common and civil law judgments, exclusive law reports, legislation, regulations, dockets, books, journals and international news.
Good news, we have found a currently active account with this email!
You can sign in here.
Forgot your password?
To reset your password, you can go here.
A verification link has been sent to your email account!
Please click on the link that has been sent to your email account to verify your email and continue the registration process.
We have found that your academic organisation currently subscribes to vLex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
We have found that your organisation currently subscribes to vlex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Use the following link to sign up from your portal.
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
OR
You can signup for an individual account here.
Subscribers are able to see the list of results connected to your document through the topics and citations Vincent found.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
There are many other reasons to subscribe.
-
Global Coverage
Access over 120 million legal information documents, including the largest collection of common law and civil law content on one intuitive and advanced service.
-
Updated with over 20,000 cases each month
Each month thousands of new cases and legal documents are added to vLex Justis, providing you with up-to-date content and a wider range of information to support your research.
-
AI-powered research
Are you confident your research is complete? Use our AI-powered tool, Vincent, to conduct truly comprehensive research, based on in-document search and analysis.
-
Know where to start your research
The only service to feature exclusive, comprehensive and up-to-date legal information from 130 jurisdictions. This includes the largest collections of common and civil law judgments, exclusive law reports, legislation, regulations, dockets, books, journals and international news.
Good news, we have found a currently active account with this email!
You can sign in here.
Forgot your password?
To reset your password, you can go here.
A verification link has been sent to your email account!
Please click on the link that has been sent to your email account to verify your email and continue the registration process.
We have found that your academic organisation currently subscribes to vLex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
We have found that your organisation currently subscribes to vlex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Use the following link to sign up from your portal.
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
OR
You can signup for an individual account here.