Vasquez v. Jones

── Vasquez v. Jones ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Date: April 23, 2026 Category: General Appellate Case: 25-2058 Document: 30-1 Date Filed: 04/23/2026 Page: 1 FILED United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT April 23, 2026 _________________________________ Christopher M. Wolpert Clerk of Court ROBERT VASQUEZ, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. No. 25-2058 (D.C. No. 1:20-CV-00612-RB-DLM) JULIE JONES, (D. N.M.) Defendant - Appellee, and ALISHA TAFOYA-LUCERO; JANINE RODRIGUEZ, Defendants. _________________________________ ORDER AND JUDGMENT * _________________________________ Before PHILLIPS, EID, and FEDERICO, Circuit Judges. _________________________________ After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined * unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist in the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.  Appellate Case: 25-2058 Document: 30-1 Date Filed: 04/23/2026 Page: 2 Robert Vasquez, a New Mexico state prisoner, appeals the district court’s dismissal of his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action. 1 Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm. I. BACKGROUND On January 28, 2019, while Mr. Vasquez was an inmate at the Northeast New Mexico Correctional Facility (NENMCF), at least three other inmates attacked and stabbed him, causing serious injury. When the attack happened, there was only one correctional officer “on the floor in [his] unit for about 300 inmates.” Aplt. App. at 30, ¶ 15 (Am. Compl.). Mr. Vasquez blamed Julie Jones, New Mexico’s Secretary of Corrections for part of the relevant time period, for his injuries. 2 He filed suit, asserting an Eighth Amendment supervisory liability claim under § 1983 against Ms. Jones for failing to protect him from assault by other inmates. Mr. Vasquez’s complaint claims Ms. Jones’s reckless disregard or deliberate indifference led to security failures at NENMCF—including understaffing, lack of training, and a classification system that placed high-profile, violent offenders at the facility even though it wasn’t designed to house them. 1 Although Mr. Vasquez initially filed his suit pro se, he is now represented by counsel. 2 The operative complaint for this appeal is Mr. Vasquez’s pro se complaint filed on June 1, 2021. Mr. Vasquez filed two amended complaints pro se before the district court denied his third, counseled request to amend his complaint. He did not appeal the denial of his third motion to amend. In his operative complaint, he named nine entities and individuals. However, he appeals only the dismissal of his failure-to-protect claim against Ms. Jones, so we limit our order to that single claim and defendant. 2  Appellate Case: 25-2058 Document: 30-1 Date Filed: 04/23/2026 Page: 3 Ms. Jones filed a mo