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PLRA’s Mental and Emotional Damage Award Ban Unconstitutional in $219,000 First Amendment Claim
Loaded on Jan. 15, 2007
published in Prison Legal News
January, 2007, page 34
PLRA's Mental and Emotional Damage Award Ban Unconstitutional in $219,000 First Amendment Claim
Filed under:
Retaliation,
Retaliation for Filing Grievances,
Retaliatory Transfers,
Attorney Fees (PLRA),
Physical Injury Rule,
Damages.
Location:
Michigan.
A Michigan federal district court has held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act?s (PLRA) prohibition of mental or emotional damages without physical injury is unconstitutional as applied to First Amendment Violation Claims.
A jury awarded Michigan prisoner …
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More from this issue:
- Ex-Communication: Competition and Collusion in the U.S. Prison Telephone Industry, by Steven Jackson
- Maryland Sentence Reduction Rule Violates Ex Post Facto Clause
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Violence from Racial Tension and Overcrowding Pervades California Jails, Spreads to Prisons, by Marvin Mentor
- Lawsuit Filed Over Health Care at Wisconsin Women’s Prison, More Possible, by Michael Rigby
- Vermont DOC Agrees To Stop Punishing Self-Harming Prisoners, by Michael Rigby
- 200 Dead in Brazil Prison Uprisings, Street Violence, by Gary Hunter
- California’s “High-Risk” Sex Offender Parolees Ostracized; Parole Official Fired, by John Dannenberg
- Washington Women’s Prison Healthcare Violations Continue
- The Prison and Jail Industry—Who Will Run It, by Gary Hunter
- Washington Prisoners Must Pre-Pay for Record Inspection
- Illinois Parole Violators Enforce Revocation Due Process Rights with Consent Decree, by John Dannenberg
- California Lifer Hearing Backlog Increases Despite Court Order To Catch Up, by Marvin Mentor
- Vienna Convention Creates Individually Enforceable Rights, by Matthew Clarke
- Washington Prisoner Sues Over Bogus Disciplinary Actions; State Settles for $1,500
- Settlement Revamps Grant County, Washington Indigent Defense System; County Agrees to $1.1 Million in Attorney Fees
- $214,000 Award for Injuries Caused by Dilantin Deprivation to Michigan Jail Prisoner
- PLRA’s Mental and Emotional Damage Award Ban Unconstitutional in $219,000 First Amendment Claim
- Illegal Strip Searches Cost MTC, New Mexico County $8.5 Million, by Michael Rigby
- Michigan Prisoner Assaulted By Jailers Awarded $2,000, by Michael Rigby
- Florida DOC’s Policy Prohibiting Release of Sex Offenders Without Address Unconstitutional, by David Reutter
- Wisconsin “Boondoggled” Into Buying Broken Down New Private Prison
- New York Prison Worker Not Kidnapped/Raped Long Enough For Compensation, by Gary Hunter
- Mississippi Beating Suit Nets $348,960 — Upheld on Appeal
- Maryland Disciplinary Rules Violate APA
- 5th Circuit Reverses Texas Prisoner’s Disciplinary Conviction For “Non-Existent” Offense, by Michael Rigby
- Texas Supreme Court: Non-Suit Deprives Appeals Court of Jurisdiction
- Virginia Guard Hazed By Coworkers Awarded $25,001, by Michael Rigby
- Eleventh Circuit Affirms Damage Award in Psychiatrist’s Strangling Death
- Fourth Circuit Holds FTCA Applies to BOP Property Claims
- Missouri Prison Ordered to Provide Immediate Abortion
- Fifth Circuit Reinstates Texas Prisoners’ Challenge to Extended Lockdown, by Michael Rigby
- News in Brief:
- Oklahoma Regulation Confiscating Money Order From Other Prisoner’s Family Upheld
- Tenth Circuit Reinstates Colorado Ad Seg Conditions Claims, by Bob Williams
More from these topics:
- $404,000 Verdict for Ohio Prisoner Brutalized by Trio of Guards, Kept in Solitary for Two Years, Jan. 1, 2026. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Retaliatory Segregation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.
- Maryland Agrees to Pay $30,000 to Prisoner Who Was Beaten by Guards While Handcuffed, Jan. 1, 2026. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Snitch Jacketing, Liberty Interests, Evidence, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity for Michigan Jailer Accused of Retaliatory Assault, Jan. 1, 2026. Retaliation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Qualified Immunity, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- $95,000 Settlement for Trans BOP Prisoner Assaulted by Cellmate in Arizona Lockup, Dec. 1, 2025. Snitch Jacketing, Failure to Protect (General), Physical Injury Rule, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Transgender Medical Procedures, Discrimination (Transgender), Failure to Protect (Transgender).
- $6.49 Million Settlement for 600,000 Prisoners in Massive CorrectCare Data Breach Class Action, Dec. 1, 2025. Private Contractors, Medical Records, Damages, Settlements, Privacy Act/Rights.
- $5,000 Settlement for Missouri Prisoner’s Retaliation Claim After Eighth Circuit Dismissed Due Process Claim Over Falsified Disciplinary Report, Dec. 1, 2025. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Liberty Interests, Evidence, Qualified Immunity, Ad-Seg Hearings.
- New Hampshire Guard Abuse and Theft Uncovered Through Poaching Investigation, Dec. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Legal Mail, Obstruction of Justice.
- North Carolina Prison Officials Run Out the Clock On Trans Prisoner’s Vulvoplasty, Nov. 1, 2025. Failure to Treat, Attorney Fees (PLRA), Transgender Medical Procedures, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Deliberate Indifference.
- $4 Million Verdict Returned in Colorado Jail Suicide Case, Nov. 1, 2025. Damages, Failure to Train/Supervise, Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Monell Liability.
- $950,000 Awarded to Trans Maryland Prisoner Dropped on Her Face by Guards, Nov. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Government Misconduct, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Retaliation for Organizing, Retaliatory Segregation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Discrimination (Transgender), Failure to Protect (Transgender), Immunity - Absolute and Qualified, Damages - Compensatory, Wrongful Use of Force.

