Luster v. Reidy et al.

While Marcus Lee Luster was detained before trial at a jail in Arizona, Defendants committed two constitutional violations against him. First, Defendant Piña placed Mr. Luster onto a four-point restraint board—an extreme form of complete immobilization—for no legitimate purpose, in order to punish Mr. Luster for previously objecting to an order. Second, Defendant Reidy abandoned Mr. Luster without medical care after he fell and was knocked unconscious, leaving Mr. Luster paralyzed on the floor for eight hours. The MacArthur Justice Center took on this case to vindicate Mr. Luster’s Fourteenth Amendment rights and help hold jail officials accountable for their misconduct.

Within a two-month period, Defendants Andrew Reidy and Albert Piña subjected Marcus Lee Luster to two clear violations of his constitutional rights while he was detained before trial at the Pima County Adult Detention Center.

First, in July 2022, Defendant Piña strapped Mr. Luster onto a four-point restraint board—an extreme measure in which a person is fully immobilized by having his limbs tied to a board—for nearly two hours. Defendant Piña did so without any legitimate justification. As the district court recognized, Mr. Luster had “complied with all directives,” “did not make any threats, and thus did not pose a threat to others or to himself.” Instead, Defendant Piña used the restraint board as an unlawful form of punishment. Mr. Luster had previously objected to an order that he give up the property in his cell, but after speaking with a staff member, he agreed to do so. Defendant Piña declared, however, “It’s too late now.” In order to punish Mr. Luster, Defendant Piña ordered the jail’s tactical team to place Mr. Luster onto the restraint board, causing Mr. Luster pain throughout his body and mental trauma.

Second, in August 2022, Defendant Reidy failed to obtain medical care when Mr. Luster fell, hit his head, and was knocked unconscious. Mr. Luster had just returned from the hospital the day before, where he was diagnosed with partial paralysis and numbness on the right side of his body. His doctors specifically instructed that, if he were to fall or lose consciousness, he should be brought back to the hospital immediately. But Defendant Reidy did not bring Mr. Luster back to the hospital. Instead, he listened as a nurse spewed vulgarities and racist epithets at Mr. Luster, told him that she was not going to do anything to help him, and declared that she did not care if he died. Defendant Reidy then left Mr. Luster, lying paralyzed on the floor of his cell, for eight hours. Mr. Luster was in excruciating pain, and because he could not move, he was forced to urinate on himself. He thought he was going to die. Yet throughout the eight-hour period, Defendant Reidy never helped Mr. Luster or even returned to check if he was alive.

Litigating pro se, Mr. Luster defeated Defendants’ motion for summary judgment. The district court held that Defendants Reidy and Piña are not entitled to summary judgment or qualified immunity because Defendant Piña used an extreme form of total-body restraint not for any legitimate reason, but as an unlawful form of punishment; meanwhile, Defendant Reidy ignored Mr. Luster’s obvious medical crisis and abandoned him without obtaining the medical care he needed. No reasonable official would think that these actions were lawful.

The MacArthur Justice Center represents Mr. Luster in defending the district court’s decision against Defendants’ interlocutory appeal. We took on Mr. Luster’s case in order to help vindicate his constitutional rights, hold those with power accountable, and preserve a valuable decision rejecting the defense of qualified immunity and recognizing clear violations of federal law