One of the cert petitions before the Supreme Court this week, via Andrew Hamm on ScotusBlog:
Payne v. Taslimi involves an inmate’s claim to a constitutional right to privacy in his HIV status. When inmate Christopher Payne was at his bed in an open dorm, Dr. Jalal Taslimi told Payne that he had not taken his HIV medication that day in a voice loud enough that others could hear. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Payne’s complaint alleging violation of his constitutional right to privacy. The 4th Circuit reasoned that Payne did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in his HIV status because prison staff knew of the disease, because HIV is a “communicable disease” that could spread in the prison, and because the location of the disclosure made it “difficult to ensure others would not hear.” In his petition, Payne argues that the 4th Circuit departed from how other circuits have ruled on this issue, which affects thousands of inmates.