## Facts

- Larry Bonner, a pretrial detainee in the Prichard City Jail, sued the City of Prichard and city jail officials under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging unconstitutional jail conditions and treatment.
- Bonner was released from the jail before the district court resolved the case.
- The district court dismissed the action as moot based on Bonner’s release.
- Bonner appealed; while the appeal was pending, the Fifth Circuit was divided into the new Fifth Circuit and the newly created Eleventh Circuit effective October 1, 1981.
- Because the appeal had not been “submitted for decision” in the former Fifth Circuit before October 1, 1981, it was transferred and decided by the Eleventh Circuit.
- The Eleventh Circuit heard the case en banc to determine what prior appellate decisions would be binding precedent in the new circuit.

## Issues

1. Whether decisions of the former Fifth Circuit issued before October 1, 1981 would be binding precedent in the newly created Eleventh Circuit.
2. How the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Reorganization Act of 1980 allocates pending appeals between circuits, including what it means for a case to be “submitted for decision.”
3. Whether a detainee’s release from custody moots a § 1983 challenge to jail conditions (as governed by the controlling precedent the new circuit would adopt).

## Decision

- The Eleventh Circuit held en banc that all decisions of the former Fifth Circuit, as that court existed on September 30, 1981, issued before the close of business on that date, are binding precedent in the Eleventh Circuit.
- The court determined the appeal properly belonged in the Eleventh Circuit because it had not been “submitted for decision” in the former Fifth Circuit before October 1, 1981.
- The court indicated that under binding pre-split Fifth Circuit precedent, a jail-conditions § 1983 action is not rendered moot solely because the plaintiff is released.

## Legal Principles

- Former Fifth Circuit decisions issued before October 1, 1981 are binding precedent on the Eleventh Circuit and on district and bankruptcy courts within the circuit.
- For purposes of the Reorganization Act’s transfer provisions, a case is “submitted for decision” when it is heard by an oral-argument panel or fully decided by a screening panel without oral argument.
- Post-split decisions of the reconstituted Fifth Circuit are not binding on the Eleventh Circuit, though they may be considered persuasive.
- A plaintiff’s release from confinement does not automatically moot a § 1983 challenge to jail conditions where the action seeks relief not extinguished by release (as reflected in the adopted pre-split precedent).

## Conclusion

Bonner established the Eleventh Circuit’s foundational rule of precedent: all former Fifth Circuit decisions issued before October 1, 1981 remain binding in the Eleventh Circuit, ensuring continuity of federal appellate law in the new circuit while clarifying how pending appeals transferred under the Reorganization Act.


Bonner v. City of Prichard, 661 F.2d 1206 (11th Cir. 1981) (en banc)