Convicted prisoners proceed under the Eighth Amendment requiring a sufficiently serious deprivation and deliberate indifference. Pretrial detainees proceed under the Fourteenth Amendment, with circuits divided on whether Kingsley applies an objective standard.
Totality of conditions may be considered.
Alternative Names:
Confinement Conditions Claim|Prison Conditions Claim
Why it Matters?
The objective seriousness element requires denial of the minimal civilized measure of life's necessities, which excludes discomfort and inconvenience however unpleasant, and identifying that the claimed condition falls short of that threshold resolves many claims without reaching the subjective element. Duration matters, since brief exposure to a condition rarely satisfies seriousness while extended exposure may.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What does the objective element require?
Does duration matter?
