Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2025
Abstract
In Excessive Force in Prison, Professor Sharon Dolovich has proposed a new standard for liability in excessive force cases brought by prisoners against prison officials, shifting the Eighth Amendment analysis from its current deference to correctional officers’ judgment to a “morally robust reasonableness standard.”
While Professor Dolovich’s argument is righteous and compelling, its potential to practically impact prison litigation is lacking. This Article responds to Professor Dolovich’s recent piece from the perspective of a practitioner with decades of experience litigating prisoners’ rights cases in state and federal court. Based on this experience, this Article suggests that Professor Dolovich’s new excessive force standard is both too broad and too narrow, and it proposes an alternative approach that might better address the practical issues that have hindered litigators’ ability to try excessive force cases on behalf of prisoners.
Recommended Citation
Mills, Alan, "A Practitioner's Response to "Excessive Force in Prison": The Real-World Implications of Professor Dolovich's Proposed 8th Amendment Standard" (2025). JCLC Online. 36.
https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc_online/36
