Pretrial Detention
Being held in jail before trial — a Fourteenth Amendment seizure that generates some of the most common § 1983 claims.
What It Is
Pretrial detention is being held in custody between arrest and trial (or other resolution of criminal charges). Because pretrial detainees have not been convicted, their rights are protected by the Fourteenth Amendment (due process), not the Eighth Amendment (which applies only to convicted prisoners).
Why the Distinction Matters
The Fourteenth Amendment standard for pretrial detainees may be more protective than the Eighth Amendment standard for convicted prisoners:
- After Kingsley v. Hendrickson, 576 U.S. 389 (2015), excessive force claims by pretrial detainees use an objective standard — whether force was objectively unreasonable — rather than the subjective “maliciously and sadistically” standard for convicted prisoners
- Several circuits have extended Kingsley’s objective standard to conditions-of-confinement claims, though this is an active circuit split
Common Pretrial Detention Claims
- Excessive force — Officers or guards using unreasonable force
- Conditions of confinement — Overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, denial of basic necessities
- Medical care — Deliberate indifference to serious medical or mental health needs
- Failure to protect — Failure to protect from violence by other inmates
- Strip searches — Unconstitutional searches of pretrial detainees charged with minor offenses (though Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders, 566 U.S. 318 (2012) significantly weakened this claim)
The Bell v. Wolfish Framework
Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520 (1979) established that pretrial detainees cannot be punished — any restriction must serve a legitimate governmental purpose (security, order, efficient operation). If a condition or restriction is imposed for the purpose of punishment, it violates due process. If it’s not reasonably related to a legitimate purpose, a court may infer punishment.
Key Cases
- Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520 (1979) — No punishment of pretrial detainees
- Kingsley v. Hendrickson, 576 U.S. 389 (2015) — Objective standard for pretrial detainee force claims
- Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders, 566 U.S. 318 (2012) — Strip searches of minor offenders upheld