March 16, 2026·2:24-cv-01004-DC-SCR·Unpublished·By Aisha Johnson
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a pro se prisoner's civil rights action alleging unconstitutional prison conditions. The court held that the plaintiff failed to allege facts sufficient to demonstrate deliberate indifference to a substantial risk of serious harm.
Benjamin Robert Gallegos, a California state prisoner, filed a pro se action under Section nineteen eighty-three of Title forty-two of the United States Code. He alleged constitutional violations concerning prison safety and sought injunctive relief. The district court dismissed the action, and Gallegos appealed.
The court’s reasoning
The Ninth Circuit reviewed the dismissal de novo. The court determined that the district court properly dismissed the action because Gallegos failed to allege facts sufficient to show that any defendant was deliberately indifferent to a substantial risk of serious harm to him. To establish Eighth Amendment liability, a plaintiff must show that a defendant knew of and disregarded an excessive risk to inmate health or safety.
What it means going forward
The decision affirms the dismissal of the prisoner’s claims, leaving the underlying prison conditions unaddressed by the court due to insufficient factual allegations of deliberate indifference.
