Gary Eakins v. Amos Reed Samuel P. Garrison, and Robert L. Hinton, Gary Eakins v. Amos Reed Samuel P. Garrison, and Robert L. Hinton

HARRISON L. WINTER, Chief Judge:

These are cross-appeals from the judgment entered on a jury verdict finding that Robert L. Hinton, then Programs Director at the North Carolina Central Prison, violated prisoner Gary Eakins’ First Amendment right to use of the mails, and awarding Eakins nominal damages. Hinton contends that he was improperly joined as a defendant during the trial and that he is immune from liability for his actions; Eakins contends that he was entitled, as a matter of law, to more than nominal damages in compensation for the constitutional violation. Because we conclude that…