7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Derek Thomas v. Jacqueline Carmichael, et al.
No. 23-2552
Civil. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Terre Haute Division, Chief Judge James R. Sweeney II. Affirms the district court’s grant of summary judgment for federal prison officials. Holds that the plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment failure-to-protect claim cannot proceed because recognizing it would require an impermissible expansion of Bivens, and binding precedent forecloses such claims. Further holds that the plaintiff forfeited opposition to qualified immunity on his deliberate-indifference claim by failing to address the defense in the district court, and no exceptional circumstances justify appellate review of the forfeited argument. Declines to reach whether the deliberate-indifference claim presents a new Bivens context. Dissent (Ripple, J.) would reach the merits of qualified immunity as to two nurses, conclude the deliberate-indifference claim fits within Carlson v. Green, and deny qualified immunity to those nurses while affirming as to other defendants. Appellant’s attorneys: Recruited counsel. Appellees’ attorneys: United States Department of Justice.