Opinion

Brown v. Jones

  • 171 F. App'x 40
Court
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Filed
Mar 14, 2006
Status
Published
On the bench
Beezer, Canby, Kozinski
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 10.3%

The opinion

MEMORANDUM ***

Keith A. Brown, a Montana state prisoner, appeals pro se from the district court’s summary judgment in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging prison officials were deliberately indifferent in declining to provide treatment for Brown’s hepatitis C. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We review de novo, Jones v. Blanas, 393 F.3d 918, 926 (9th Cir.2004), and we affirm.

The district court properly granted summary judgment for defendants because Brown failed to submit competent evidence to rebut defendants’ expert testimony. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548 , 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The expert testimony categorized Brown’s *41 hepatitis C as “chronic,” but not “chronic active.” In the expert’s opinion, withholding antiviral therapy did not create any injury or risk of injury, and Brown’s relatively normal liver enzyme levels showed the disease was stable and drug treatment was unnecessary. Brown’s only evidence was his own contrary opinion regarding the appropriate course of medical treatment. Consequently, Brown failed to raise any genuine issue of material fact. See Sanchez v. Vild, 891 F.2d 240, 242 (9th Cir.1989).

The district court acted within its discretion to deny Brown’s motions to appoint counsel because Brown showed no exceptional circumstances. See Terrell v. Brewer, 935 F.2d 1015,1017 (9th Cir.1991).

Brown’s remaining contentions lack merit.

AFFIRMED.

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited to or by the courts of this circuit except as may be provided by 9th Circuit Rule 36-3.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

A word about cookies

We need a few to keep you signed in and the library working. The rest help us see which pages people use and where they get stuck. They stay off unless you say yes.