A-16-587, Dominique Morgan v. Geoff Britton (individually) and Michael L. Kenney (individually) (appellants), and the State of Nebraska et al.
Douglas County, District Judge J. Michael Coffey
Attorneys for Appellants: Douglas J. Peterson and David A. Lopez (Attorney General’s office) and Maddisen Ebert and Joshua Baumann (Senior Certified Law Students)
Attorney for Appellee: Julie A. Jorgensen (Morrow Willnauer Klosterman Church)
Civil Action: 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action; Motion to Dismiss; Qualified Immunity
Action Taken by Trial Court: The case at issue involves both state tort claims and constitutional claims based on the treatment of Dominique Morgan while he was incarcerated at Omaha Correctional Center. Morgan was raped by a guard, defendant Hansen who is not part of the present appeal.
At issue is whether Appellant Kenney (then Warden of the Omaha Correctional Center) and Appellant Britton (then a Department investigator who investigated the sexual abuse incident) can be held personally liable under the First, Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution for Morgan’s placement into protective custody during the investigation of his sexual assault. The district court overruled Appellants’ motions to dismiss, denying their assertions of qualified immunity from Morgan’s § 1983 claims without explanation or analysis.
Assignments of Error on Appeal: Britton and Kenney assign that that the district court erred by (1) overruling their motions to dismiss and denying their individual assertions of qualified immunity, and (2) failing to issue a reasoned, thorough, and individualized analysis of each Appellant's entitlement to qualified immunity.