Extent of Injury Is Not Proper Ground for Dismissing Eighth Amendment Excessive Force Claim

In Wilkins v. Gaddy, published February 22, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’s ruling that an inmate’s excessive force claim under the Eighth Amendment could be dismissed simply because the injuries were "de minimis" (such as bruises or injuries that did not require medical attention). The test for whether an Eighth Amendment excessive force claim can proceed is whether a guard’s alleged assault was carried out "maliciously and sadistically" rather than as part of "a good-faith effort to maintain or restore discipline." Although the extent of injury may be evidence of whether the use of force was proper, and may limit the amount of damages recoverable, it does not alone determine whether the claim survives dismissal.