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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe 7th Circuit Court of Appeals today withdrew a nonprecedential disposition it issued yesterday in a prisoner’s pro se complaint from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division.
Fredrick Cashner, Jr., had filed an appeal of district court’s decision that ended his 2014 lawsuit against the Porter County Jail. The district court dismissed some of his claims and granted summary judgment to the defendants on the remaining claims.
The 7th Circuit reviewed the case, Frederick C. Cashner, Jr. v. John J. Widup, et al, 17-1079, without oral arguments. On Tuesday, a decision affirming the district court’s ruling was issued from the three-judge panel of Frank Easterbrook, Daniel Manion and Ilana Diamond Rovner. However, Wednesday, the court issued a single-sentence order, vacating the Nov. 28 opinion and stating Cashner’s appeal remains under consideration.
The 7th Circuit declined to comment as to why the original ruling was withdrawn. In 2016, 965 petitions from prisoners were filed with the 7th Circuit, according to the appellate court’s annual report. The court did not provide stats of the number of opinions issued.
Cashner claimed the medical staff at Porter County Jail was deliberately indifferent to his medical needs in violation of the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of due process. He was held in the local jail after he was charged with murdering his estranged wife. He subsequently pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 45 years in the Indiana Department of Correction.
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