Welters v. Minnesota Department of Corrections et al.

After Christopher Welters suffered permanent injury when Minnesota prison officials refused to loosen his handcuffs for hours – even as he underwent a medical procedure under anesthesia – the Minnesota Supreme Court correctly determined that the officials were not entitled to qualified immunity. The MacArthur Justice Center represents Mr. Welters to defend this decision from review in the U.S. Supreme Court and ensure that qualified immunity does not stand in the way of holding prison officials accountable for their abuse.  

While being taken from one facility to another for a medical procedure, Mr. Welters complained to officers that his handcuffs were too tight and causing numbness. The officers refused to loosen the cuffs, and Mr. Welters remained in them for three-and-a-half hours, including while undergoing the procedure under anesthesia. As a result, Mr. Welters suffered serious injury to both wrists that required surgery and left him with permanent nerve damage. 

The Minnesota Supreme Court held that a jury could find that the officers acted with deliberate indifference in violation of the Eighth Amendment and that they were not entitled to qualified immunity. The officers sought review from the U.S. Supreme Court. The MacArthur Justice Center, alongside the Civil Rights Appellate Clinic at the University of Minnesota Law School and the Law Office of Zorislav R. Leyderman, represented Mr. Welters in opposing the officers’ petition for certiorari. 

UPDATE

The U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari, ensuring that qualified immunity will not stand in the way of holding the prison officials accountable for their abuse.