What is the objective and subjective element of an Eighth Amendment claim?

MultiRegion, United States of America

The following excerpt is from Martinez v. Lawless, CASE NO. 1:12-cv-01301-LJO-SKO (PC) (E.D. Cal. 2016):

The objective element requires that "the deprivation alleged must be 'sufficiently serious.'" Farmer, 511 U.S. at 834 (quoting Wilson v. Seiter, 501 U.S. 294, 298 (1991)). "The objective component of an Eighth Amendment claim is . . . contextual and responsive to contemporary standards of decency." Id. The subjective standard of deliberate indifference requires "more than ordinary lack of due care for the prisoner's interests or safety." Farmer, 511 U.S. at 835 (citation omitted). The requisite state of mind falls "somewhere between the poles of negligence at one end and purpose or knowledge at the other." Id. at 836. Mere negligence on the part of prison staff is not sufficient to prove deliberate indifference. Id. In other words, acting or failing to act with deliberate indifference is "the equivalent of recklessly disregarding" a substantial risk of serious harm to the inmate. Id.

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