Albert J. Blake v. Louis M. Berman

BREYER, Circuit Judge.

The appellant, Albert Blake, a prisoner in the Massachusetts state prison system, sued the Commissioner and the Acting Commissioner of Corrections under 42 U.S. C. §§ 1983 and 1985, claiming that they had deprived him of his constitutional right of “access to the courts.” See Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. 817, 97 S.Ct. 1491, 52 L.Ed.2d 72 (1977). A jury found that the defendants had not done so, stating specifically (in response to questions) that neither defendant had “denied” the plaintiff “access to the courts” and that, in any event, they had not “caused” the plaintiff…