Inmate can sue over batteries

for a civil rights suit. But the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday that Whitall had adequately alleged “deliberate indifference” to his rights and prison officials must file a response.

Whitall, 62, was sentenced to 54 years to life in prison as a thirdstriker in 200t for stealing money from two businesses in Roseville (Placer County) by impersonating a government inspector. His lawyers, from the Arnold I Porter firm and the nonprofit Rights Behind Bars, said the court had recognized that “government officials must be responsive to a prisoner’s medical needs and accommodate their disabilities.”

There was no immediate comment from state prison officials.