Charles Benjamin v. Ward County

In this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action, Charles Benjamin appeals the district court’s adverse grant of summary judgment on his Fourteenth Amendment claims against Ward County, North Dakota, arising out of his pretrial detention in the Ward County Jail. We note that Ward County asserted as an affirmative defense that Benjamin failed to exhaust his administrative remedies, and-upon careful de novo review, see King v. Iowa Dep’t of Corr., 598 F.3d 1051, 1052 (8th Cir.2010) — we conclude that the district court erred by proceeding to the merits of Benjamin’s claims without first determining; whether he…