Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (June 2023)

This post summarizes published criminal law and related decisions from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals released in June 2023. Cases that may be of interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous Fourth Circuit summaries are available here. No Bivens remedy against BOP officials for alleged First Amendment, procedural due process, or race-based discrimination violations Mays v. Smith, 70 F.4th 198 (June 6, 2023). The plaintiff was a federal inmate in the Eastern District of North Carolina and worked as a lead mechanic through an employment program at the prison. He complained to the regional director of the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) that the manager in the facility engaged in racial discrimination. He later complained that prison officials retaliated against him for his complaint by giving him poor work performance reviews. The BOP regional director instructed the plaintiff to direct his complaints to prison administrators, which he did. Prison officials met with the plaintiff and attempted informal resolution of the dispute. He was later fired from his job and placed into administrative detention for over two months, allegedly as improper retaliation for the complaints. Prison officials ultimately did not proceed with any disciplinary action but did transfer the plaintiff to a new BOP facility. He filed fresh administrative complaints relating to a lack of due process for his placement in detention, his firing, and his transfer. He later filed in federal court for money damages, alleging a First Amendment retaliation claim, a procedural due process claim, and an equal protection [...]