Roell v. Withrow
February 26, 2003 (02-69)
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Case Summary
Respondent brought a pro se suit alleging that the prison's medical staff was deliberately indifferent to his medical needs while he was in prison. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), Respondent gave written consent for the suit to be referred to a federal Magistrate Judge. However, not all of the defendants gave express written consent to the referral prior to trial. The case proceeded to trial before the Magistrate Judge, resulting in a jury verdict for defendants. Post-judgment, the remaining defendants gave their written consent to the referral. The Fifth Circuit vacated the verdict, holding that all of the parties had not expressly consented to the magistrate referral pretrial, and that their post-judgment consents were not effective. The opinion of the Fifth Circuit is found at 288 F.3d 199.

To see the opinion of the lower court, click here.


PREDICTED OUTCOME ACTUAL
OUTCOME
Forecasting
Model
Expert
One
Expert
Two
Expert
Three
5-4 to Reverse 9-0 to Reverse 8-1 to Reverse 7-2 to Affirm 5-4 to Reverse
VOTING TO REVERSE
Rehnquist
O'Connor
Scalia
Kennedy
Thomas
Rehnquist
Stevens
O'Connor
Scalia
Kennedy
Souter
Thomas
Ginsburg
Breyer
Rehnquist
O'Connor
Scalia
Kennedy
Souter
Thomas
Ginsburg
Breyer
Rehnquist
Kennedy
Rehnquist
O'Connor
Souter
Ginsburg
Breyer
VOTING TO AFFIRM
Stevens
Souter
Ginsburg
Breyer
Stevens Stevens
O'Connor
Scalia
Souter
Thomas
Ginsburg
Breyer
Stevens
Scalia
Kennedy
Thomas

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