A nonsmoking former inmate brought a pro se civil rights action, alleging that officials at the prison where he had been incarcerated were indifferent to his medical needs when they subjected him to exposure to secondhand smoke in violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. The district court granted summary judgment for the defendants. The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court grant of summary judgment for the prison officials, ruling that Morefield never alleged that he shared a cell with a smoker, failed to proffer evidence that the ventilation was insufficient. Furthermore, he spent two months in the building in question and is no longer exposed to secondhand smoke there. The Court of Appeals also ruled that Morefield established “at most, negligence in enforcing the no-smoking policy, which falls short of an Eighth Amendment violation” since deliberate indifference is not established.
2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 16554 (U.S.C.A. 11th Cir. 2011).
