Ciempa v. Ward, et al.

A nonsmoking prisoner filed a 42 U.S.C. sec. 1983 action alleging that prison officials were deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs when they failed to enforce prison non-smoking policies.  The district court granted the officials summary judgment on Ciempa’s Eight Amendment claim of cruel and unusual punishment because evidence did not support an inference that Ciempa was exposed to unreasonably high levels of secondhand smoke.  The U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the district court, ruling that defendants had made efforts to minimize unauthorized smoking and that Ciempa had never requested to be placed into a cell with a nonsmoker.

2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 22607 (U.S.C.A. 10th Cir. 2005).