Charles Murphy v. Robert Smith

HAMILTON, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff Charles Murphy .was an inmate in the Vandalia Correctional .Center in Illinois. On July 25, 2011, correctional officers hit Murphy, fracturing part of his eye socket, and left him in a cell without medical attention. Murphy sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state-law theories. A jury awarded him damages on some of those claims, including some state-law claims, and the district court awarded attorney fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988. Two of the defendants now appeal and challenge two aspects of the judgment. They argue that state-law sovereign immunity bars the…