William McKinney, a prisoner in the Nevada State prison system, bunked with an inmate who smoked five packs of cigarettes a day. In addition to the situation in his cell, McKinney received almost constant smoke exposure because prison rules lacked a formal smoking policy. According to McKinney, this exposure caused him immediate maladies and jeopardized his health. In addition, his repeated requests for single housing or a nonsmoking cellmate were futile. In December 1986, McKinney filed a pro se complaint in Federal court alleging civil rights violations. The Ninth Circuit and Supreme Court agreed with the magistrate's directed verdict while holding that a prisoner can state an Eighth Amendment claim based on the future detrimental health effects resulting from environmental tobacco smoke exposure. After surveying the relevant case law, the Court stated that protecting inmates from future harm was not a novel idea. The Court's holding recognizes that despite the animosity often felt toward criminals, society must focus on the goal of preserving human dignity, thereby not extending Eighth Amendment jurisprudence but simply recognizing another appropriate application of the Amendment. Footnotes