Kenneth Baptiste v. B. Martinez

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS JAN 24 2023
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
KENNETH EMANUEL BAPTISTE, No. 21-16357
Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 4:19-cv-06551-HSG
v.
MEMORANDUM*
B. MARTINEZ, Correctional Counselor II;
M. WYNN, Senior Staff Psychologist; J.
HOWLIN, Chief of Mental Health; M.
DEANTONI, Staff Psychologist,
Defendants-Appellees,
and
J. LEWIS, Deputy Director of Policy and
Risk Management, of CDC Healthcare
Services; S. HATTON, Warden,
Defendants.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of California
Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr., District Judge, Presiding
Submitted January 18, 2023**
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
Before: GRABER, PAEZ, and NGUYEN, Circuit Judges.
Kenneth Emanuel Baptiste, a California state prisoner, appeals pro se from
the district court’s summary judgment in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging
deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs. We have jurisdiction under 28
U.S.C.§ 1291. We review de novo. Toguchi v. Chung, 391 F.3d 1051, 1056 (9th
Cir. 2004). We affirm.
The district court properly granted summary judgment for defendants
Martinez and De Antoni because Baptiste failed to raise a genuine dispute of
material fact as to whether these defendants were deliberately indifferent in
denying Baptiste’s request for single-cell status where these defendants
interviewed Baptiste and reviewed his disciplinary and mental health records. See
id. at 1057-60 (holding that deliberate indifference is a high legal standard and a
prison official is deliberately indifferent only if he or she knows of and disregards
an excessive risk to inmate health; medical malpractice, negligence, or a difference
of opinion concerning the course of treatment does not amount to deliberate
indifference); Moreland v. Las Vegas Metro. Police Dep’t, 159 F.3d 365, 371 (9th
Cir. 1998) (violation of a state regulation does not, on its own, give rise to liability
under § 1983).
The district court properly granted summary judgment for defendants Wynn
and Howlin because Baptiste failed to raise a genuine dispute of material fact as to
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whether these defendants were sufficiently involved in any decision to deny
Baptiste single-cell status. See Starr v. Baca, 652 F.3d 1202, 1207-08 (9th Cir.
2011) (a supervisor is liable under § 1983 only if he or she is personally involved
in the constitutional deprivation or there is a “sufficient causal connection between
the supervisor’s wrongful conduct and the constitutional violation” (citation and
internal quotation omitted)); see also Peralta v. Dillard, 744 F.3d 1076, 1086 (9th
Cir. 2014) (discussing reviewer reliance on prison medical opinions).
Baptiste’s motion for sanctions (Docket Entry No. 24) is denied.
AFFIRMED.
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