Sixth Circuit Resets Jail Safety Standard for Detainees
You are locked in a county jail waiting for your immigration hearing — not convicted of anything — and another detainee attacks you. You suffer permanent injuries. Can the jail be held responsible? In September 2026, the full Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals answered that question, and the answer is harder to reach than it was just five years ago.
You are sitting in a county jail — not because you were convicted of anything, but because you are waiting for your immigration court hearing or a bond decision. Another detainee attacks you. You are seriously hurt. Can you sue the jail? The answer now depends on a legal standard the full Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals restored in September 2026.
In Poynter v. Shirley, decided September 8, 2026, the Sixth Circuit — sitting with all 17 judges — ruled that the Farmer v. Brennan (1994) subjective standard still governs failure-to-protect claims by people who have not been convicted of a crime. Under that standard, to win a lawsuit against a jail, a detainee must show that the jailer actually knew there was a serious risk of harm and ignored it. It is not enough to show that the jailer should have known. The court reversed a 2021 decision called Brawner v. Scott County, which had moved toward an easier-to-prove objective test — one that asked only what a reasonable jailer would have recognized.
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Why this matters for immigrants in detention
Immigrants held in county jails while removal proceedings are pending are pretrial detainees under the law. They have not been convicted of a crime. The Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause protects them — not the Eighth Amendment, which covers convicted prisoners. The Sixth Circuit covers Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, and Tennessee. If you are detained in one of those states and suffer harm in a facility, this ruling sets the bar you must clear to hold the jail legally responsible. You must show that jail staff knew about the specific danger to you and did nothing. A judge writing for the majority of the court acknowledged this is a harder standard for detainees to meet than the one that had been in place since 2021.
What to do
- If you or a family member is detained in a county jail in Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, or Tennessee and faces unsafe conditions, document everything in writing — dates, names of staff you told, what you said, and what happened next.
- Report any threat or attack to jail staff in writing and keep a copy. This creates a record that staff had actual knowledge of the risk, which is now required under the restored Farmer standard.
- Contact an immigration lawyer or a civil rights attorney as soon as possible if you were harmed in detention. The legal theory you use to sue matters, and an attorney can assess whether the facts meet the subjective-knowledge test.
- Ask your attorney whether your case is in the Sixth Circuit's jurisdiction. Courts in other circuits may apply different standards.
A full breakdown of this topic — in our guide “Immigration Court Rulings”.
Fishkin Law Firm, New York
Under the restored Farmer standard, a detainee's lawsuit lives or dies on whether you can prove the jailer subjectively knew about the risk — not just that a reasonable person would have seen it. That means your strongest evidence is written complaints you made to staff before any incident, grievance forms, and any response (or non-response) from the facility. If you were harmed in detention, preserve that evidence immediately and consult an attorney who handles both immigration detention and civil rights claims, because the two areas of law interact in ways that affect your options.
Frequently Asked Questions
I am in immigration detention in Ohio. Does this ruling affect me?
Yes. Ohio is in the Sixth Circuit. If you are held in a county jail and suffer harm, the September 2026 ruling means you must show that jail staff actually knew about the danger to you — not just that they should have known. Document any threats or unsafe conditions in writing right away.
What is the difference between the old Brawner standard and the Farmer standard the court just restored?
Under Brawner (2021–2026), you could win a lawsuit by showing a reasonable jailer would have recognized the risk — an objective test. Under the restored Farmer standard, you must show the jailer personally knew about the risk and ignored it. That is a subjective test and is harder to prove.
Does this ruling apply to immigration detention centers run by ICE or private contractors?
The ruling directly addresses county jails in the Sixth Circuit. Whether it applies to ICE-contracted facilities depends on how those facilities are structured legally. An attorney familiar with immigration detention conditions can tell you which standard applies to your specific facility.
What happens to Luther Poynter's case now?
The Sixth Circuit sent the case back to the federal district court in Kentucky. That court must now decide whether Poynter's claim can survive under the Farmer subjective standard — meaning whether there is evidence the jailer actually knew about the risk of attack before it happened.