Gray v. Calloway

On April 19, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled in Gray v. Calloway. Plaintiff Mark Gray, an Illinois inmate, alleged that correctional officers Rob Calloway, Michael Lemke, and LaShawn Lindsey placed him in long-term segregation in retaliation for refusing to work as an informant and for filing grievances. He brought claims under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The district court granted summary judgment for the defendants. The Seventh Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part. It held that the segregation conditions did not impose an “atypical and significant hardship,” thus no liberty interest was implicated for due process. The retaliation claims against Calloway and Lemke were barred by qualified immunity because the right was not clearly established. However, a genuine factual dispute remained regarding Lindsey’s involvement, so that portion was remanded.

The Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for defendants Calloway and Lemke on qualified immunity grounds. The retaliation claim against defendant Lindsey was reversed and remanded for further proceedings, as factual disputes precluded summary judgment. Due process and Eighth Amendment claims were affirmed in favor of defendants.

Whether transferring an inmate to long-term segregation for refusing to become an informant constitutes unconstitutional retaliation under the First Amendment; whether the segregation conditions triggered a protected liberty interest under the Due Process Clause; and whether the defendant officers were entitled to qualified immunity.

The decision clarified the high bar for inmates to demonstrate an “atypical and significant hardship” sufficient to trigger due process protections in segregation placements. It also reinforced the application of qualified immunity in prison retaliation cases, emphasizing that the unconstitutionality of retaliatory segregation for refusing informant work was not clearly established in the Seventh Circuit at the time, thus shielding most officers from liability.