The Fourth Circuit has ruled that a disabled incarcerated person in South Carolina can continue his pro se lawsuit against administrators who ordered he be held in his cell nearly constantly without access to adequate exercise for over 10 months.

A three-judge panel ruled in a published opinion Friday that while Theodore Jerry Bolick proved violations of his constitutional rights by the prison's new inmate segregation policy, the state director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections is immune from the suit.

"Because genuine issues of material fact remain as to Bolick's claim that the officials violated his Eighth Amendment right to out-of-cell exercise, and because that right was clearly established at the time of Bolick's incarceration, the officials are not entitled to summary judgment on the question of qualified immunity," U.S. Circuit Judge Nicole Berner, writing for the panel, said in the opinion.

Bolick was initially moved into Kirkland Correctional Institution in September 2020 to begin his 12-year sentence on a second-degree burglary charge. SCDC requires all newly admitted incarcerated men to be held in Kirkland for "reception and evaluation," the opinion said.

The department evaluates newly incarcerated people during this time to evaluate their individual safety risk to determine where to place the person long term. A safety assessment includes evaluating the nature of a person's crime and any former gang affiliations, the opinion said.

Incarcerated people held during this period are forbidden from leaving their cell for any reason except medical visits, to shower and to use the phone. The facility forbids outside physical exercise during the evaluation period, but incarcerated people are given pamphlets with in-cell exercises that can be performed such as sit-ups and basic squats, the opinion said.

Bolick suffered from a number of physical injuries prior to his incarceration, leading to him having metal rods placed in his legs. The implants severely limited his ability to engage in physical activity or even walk without a cane or walker, the opinion said.

The physical limitations prevented Bolick from performing the in-cell exercises in the pamphlet, and his cell was not large enough for him to move freely. The lack of exercise caused Bolick's health to deteriorate, and his muscles began to atrophy and he developed bedsores, the opinion said.

Bolick began utilizing the internal inmate grievance system to complain about his ongoing condition and filed at least eight complaints with prison administrators. Each complaint was met with administrators referring Bolick back to the pamphlet about in-cell exercises, the opinion said.

Bolick was finally transferred to his permanent facility after five months and in February 2021 was moved out of his evaluation housing. Two months after being transferred, however, a state court vacated Bolick's conviction, and he was transferred to a pretrial detention facility for another trial, the opinion said.

Prosecutors moved for reconsideration of the mistrial decision, and after the trial court granted the government's request, Bolick's sentence was reimposed. Bolick would be moved back to SCDC custody but because he was discharged, would need to recomplete the evaluation process, the opinion said.

Bolick was recommitted to Kirkland and was one of three people held in his cell that was designed for two people. Bolick was made to sleep on a mat on the floor with even less room in his cell than during the previous evaluation process, the opinion said.

Bolick filed more grievances, and when they went unheeded he filed a pro se lawsuit in federal court alleging the evaluation process violated his Eighth Amendment rights. The lawsuit claimed that Kirkland officials were aware of his medical issues but refused to take appropriate action to allow him the ability to exercise.

The lawsuit also alleged that then-SCDC Director Bryan Stirling had supervisor liability for allowing the administrators at Kirkland to enforce the policy, the opinion said. Stirling left SCDC in April 2025 to become the U.S. attorney for the District of South Carolina and was replaced by Joel Anderson, who now runs the department.

A federal judge granted a summary judgment request for Stirling and the administrators and granted them qualified immunity from Bolick's claims. Bolick appealed, and the Fourth Circuit appointed counsel from Duke University Law School's appellate litigation clinic, the opinion said.

The panel said that going back to at least 1975, the Fourth Circuit has recognized that depriving incarcerated people access to exercise violates their Eighth Amendment rights. The panel found that while the administrators should be denied qualified immunity, the SCDC director was likely unaware of the risk posed by the policy and should be freed from the suit.

Gabriela Nagle Alverio, a student with the Duke University Law School clinic that represented Bolick, said in an interview with Law360 that Bolick was pleased with the decision and to have the ability to continue his lawsuit against the department.

"This outcome is really what he most wanted in speaking with him," Nagle Alverio said. "He really was hoping that the court would speak clearly enough to protect people coming after him because the suffering that he was experiencing can't be taken away."

A spokesperson for the South Carolina Department of Corrections did not respond to a request for comment.

U.S. Circuit Judges Robert Bruce King, Nicole Berner and Henry F. Floyd sat for the Fourth Circuit.

Bolick is represented by Zoe Terner, Richard B. Katskee, Michael DeLuca and Gabriela Nagle Alverio of the Duke University School of Law.

The government is represented by William Henry Davidson II of Davidson & Wren PA.

The case is Theodore Jerry Bolick v. Anderson et al., case number 23-6867, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

--Editing by Rich Mills.