White v. Dr. Adeyamo
- Haywood Gilliam
- 5:24-cv-03785
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 6
In White v. Adeyamo, Judge Gilliam found cognizable religious-freedom and medical-care claims and ordered service in White’s prisoner civil-rights case.
Jessie Taylor White and the three prison medical defendants—Dr. Jaggi, Dr. Adeyamo, and Dr. Nguyen—are affected. The case will proceed against the listed defendants on the two claims the court found cognizable.
What happened
In Jessie Taylor White v. Dr. Adeyamo, et al., White, a prisoner representing himself, alleged that prison doctors forced him to take medication despite his Christian beliefs and that the medication caused involuntary body movements and spasms.
The court screened White’s amended complaint under the prisoner-screening law. It found that the allegations stated a religious-freedom claim under the First Amendment and a claim that prison officials were deliberately indifferent to serious medical needs under the Eighth Amendment.
Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. ordered that doctors Jaggi, Adeyamo, and Nguyen be served with the lawsuit. The order also set deadlines for possible summary-judgment motions and other case procedures; it did not decide whether White will ultimately prove his claims.
The detailed version
- White v. Dr. Adeyamo · No. 5:24-cv-03785
- Haywood Gilliam
- Oct. 17, 2024
Background
Jessie Taylor White, a prisoner housed at Salinas Valley State Prison, filed this action without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The court reviewed his first amended complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, which requires preliminary screening of a prisoner’s claims against governmental entities, officers, or employees.
White alleged that he is a devout Christian whose faith requires him to rely on God rather than psychiatric medication. He alleged that psychiatrist Dr. Jaggi prescribed medication he did not want, mocked his religious beliefs, and sought a court order permitting forced medication. White alleged that Dr. Jaggi and Dr. Nguyen were part of the group authorizing the forced medication. He also alleged that Dr. Adeyamo mocked or ignored him when he expressed his faith. White claimed that the medication caused his body to jerk and spasm.
Claims Allowed to Proceed
The court held that the complaint stated a cognizable First Amendment free-exercise claim. In other words, the allegations were sufficient at the screening stage to claim that the forced medication burdened White’s religious practice without adequate justification.
The court also held that the allegations stated a cognizable Eighth Amendment deliberate-indifference claim. That claim is based on the allegation that the court-ordered medication caused involuntary jerking and spasms and that officials were deliberately indifferent to White’s serious medical needs.
A finding that a claim is cognizable means only that it may proceed past preliminary screening. The order did not decide whether the allegations are true or whether White will prevail.
Order
The court ordered service of the amended complaint on Dr. Jaggi, Dr. Adeyamo, and Dr. Nguyen through the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s electronic-service process. The order required the defendants to file a summary-judgment motion or another dispositive motion within 91 days after the order was filed, unless they informed the court that summary judgment could not resolve the case. It also set response and reply deadlines and permitted discovery without another court order.
The opinion is a screening and service order rather than a final merits decision. The excerpt does not state that any claim was dismissed.
Read the full 6-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.