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Old Media Access Consent Decrees Violated in Maine
The Maine Department of Corrections has been violating at least two of three 35-year-old federal court orders that grant prisoners access to the press, allow them to write to newspapers, and prohibit prison officials from arbitrarily transferring prisoners out of state if they exercise their rights. The state admits …
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More from this issue:
- Little State, Big Problems: Maine’s Prison Crisis Continues Unabated, by Lance Tapley
- Old Media Access Consent Decrees Violated in Maine, by Lance Tapley
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Massachusetts District Court: FBI Ordered to Pay $101.7 Million for Malicious Prosecution, by Michael Rigby
- Maryland Prison Audit Reveals Potential Fraud “Undetectable”, by Michael Rigby
- Clarification:
- Florida Supreme Court Enacts Rules Regulating “Super Sealing” of Court Records, by David Reutter
- Final Report on Ohio Prisoner Reentry Study, by G.A. Bowers
- Minnesota Sanction for Sex Offender Treatment Refusal Violates Fifth Amendment
- “War on Terror” Whistleblowers, Dissenters are Fired, Prosecuted; Plaintiff’s Lawyers Help Turn Them In, by Alex Friedmann
- Arkansas Prisoner Denied Kosher Diet Awarded $1,500
- Psych Evaluations Questioned Following D.C. Jail Suicides, by Matthew Clarke
- NY Prisoner Who Crushed Thumb Working at Ski Resort Awarded $40,000
- Illinois Supreme Court Holds Prisoner Medical Co-Payment Fee Can’t Be Deducted From Future Funds, by John Dannenberg
- California’s Solution To Prison Overcrowding: $7.4 Billion To Build 53,000 New Beds, by Marvin Mentor
- $4 Million Settlement In Rape and Beating Death of Mentally Ill New Jersey Prisoner, by Michael Rigby
- $14 Million Verdict Against Louisiana DA’s Office for Wrongful Death Sentence
- Fortress Of Solitude: The Bureau Of Prisons Is As Good At Keeping Prisoners In As It Is At Keeping Reporters Out, by Alan Prendergast
- South Carolina Prisoner Assaulted By Guards Awarded $600,000
- Wyoming and CMS Settle Suit Over Diabetic Prisoner’s Loss of Foot, by Matthew Clarke
- San Mateo County, California, Settles Strip-Search Suit for $1.9 Million
- Tenth Circuit Upholds BOP Guard’s Abuse Convictions
- GAO Audit: Alien Detention Facilities Suffer Continuing Deficiencies, by John Dannenberg
- Texas Parole Board Revamps Urinalysis Procedures
- Los Angeles County Pays $475,000 In Jail Healthcare Wrongful Death
- Texas Pays $250,000 for Lingering Death of Teen Prisoner, by Michael Rigby
- U.S. Supreme Court: Colorado Prisoner Alleging Injury From Suspension Of Medical Treatment Stated Adequate Claim To Preclude Dismissal, by John Dannenberg
- Massachusetts Guard Accused of Throwing Feces Entitled to Workman’s Compensation
- $1.6 Million Settlements by PHS and Hillsborough County in Death of Baby Born in Florida Jail, by David Reutter
- New Jersey Supreme Court Orders DOC to Codify Prisoner Healthcare Responsibilities, by John Dannenberg
- Eighth Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment Dismissal of Excessive Force Claims
- Confidential Settlement for Alabama Prisoners Killed in Road Work Crew
- Probation Condition Restricting Pets at Residence Held Overbroad
- New Law Bars Hawaii Prison Officials from Canceling Visits
- $100 Million In Restitution Fines Collected From California Prisoners Since 1992
- Absence of Parole Revocation Administrative Appeal Process Entitles Prisoner to Trial Court Determination of Custody Credits, by John Dannenberg
- BOP May Not Foreclose Transfer to Community Corrections Center Based on Length of Remaining Sentence, by John Dannenberg
- “Liberal” Pleading Construction Reveals Negligent Guard Theory Claim
- Findings of Fact by Indiana Disciplinary Panel Not Entitled toPresumption of Correctness for Federal Habeas Purposes, by John Dannenberg
- Texas Allows Actual Innocence Claim in Non-Capital Habeas Actions
- Unsupported Penile Plethysmograph Testing as Condition of Release Rises to Due Process Violation, Creates Liberty Interest
- Many Chinese Prisoners Retain Right to Vote
- Mere Possibility of Parole Insufficient to Prevent Texas Prisoners’ Parental Rights Termination, by Matthew Clarke
- On Appeal Texas Prisoner Acquitted of Damaging Jail Furnishing
- Ohio Juvenile Wards Entitled to Attorneys to Pursue 1983 Actions
- Fifth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Mississippi Retaliation For Letters to a Newspaper Claim
- News in Brief:
- Notice of Appeal Deemed Filed When Presented to Prison Officials; Burden on State to Refute
More from Lance Tapley:
- “Natural Causes Killed Victor: A Death in Solitary,” a folk opera by George Swanson (DVD, 55 minutes), Jan. 10, 2017
- Bonnie Kerness: Pioneer in the Struggle Against Solitary Confinement, July 9, 2014
- No Death Penalty for Maine Prisoner, April 15, 2014
- A Rare Look Inside the Maine State Prison's "Supermax", March 15, 2014
- Prison Reforms Under Maine’s New DOC Commissioner, March 15, 2013
- Solitary Confinement: Bad for Chimps, Okay for Humans?, Oct. 15, 2012
- Reform Comes to Maine Supermax: New commissioner cuts population by more than half; prisoner rights advocates help in the reform, Sept. 15, 2011
- Texas Tough: The Rise of America’s Prison Empire, by Robert Perkinson, Metropolitan Books/Holt, 484 pp (October 2010), $20.00 paperback, May 15, 2011
- Maine Governor Rakes in Private Prison Money, Shows Appreciation, April 15, 2011
- Mass Torture in America: Notes from the Supermax Prisons, Feb. 15, 2011
More from these topics:
- Ninth Circuit Rules Favorably for Washington Prisoner Whose Writing Submission Was Censored, Oct. 1, 2026. Retaliation, Qualified Immunity, Mail Regulations, Censorship, First Amendment, rights.
- Healthcare Still Lacking at Baltimore Jail Decades After Settlement, Oct. 1, 2026. Centurion, Systemic Medical Neglect, Private Contractors, Staffing, Consent Decrees.
- Atlanta Jail Begins Turning Away Misdemeanor Arrestees, Sept. 1, 2026. Escapes, Staffing, Security Systems, Consent Decrees.
- Federal Court Upholds Consultants’ Finding that Oklahoma Is Not Honoring Its Consent Decree to Provide Mental Health Treatment, Sept. 1, 2026. Consent Decrees, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Competency Hearing, Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- $3 Million Settlement Reached with BOP for Attorney’s Fees in Sex Abuse Class-Action from Now-Shuttered California “Rape Club”, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Attorney Fee Awards, Settlements, Consent Decrees, Class Actions.
- Wisconsin Bans Recording of Prison Phone Calls with Journalists, July 1, 2026. Access to Media, Censorship, First Amendment, First Amendment, rights, Recorded Calls.
- Atlanta Jail Boasts Improvements Since Consent Decree, Reports from Monitor and ACLU Are More Critical, May 1, 2026. Staffing, Sanitation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Consent Decrees, Bail/Pretrial Release.
- Illinois Jail Reprimanded for Denying Detainees Mail Based on Media Content, P.O. Box Return Address, Settles Detainees’ Suit with $111,825 Payment of Legal Fees, May 1, 2026. Publications/Books, Mail Regulations, Censorship, First Amendment, rights, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
- Monitor Says Massachusetts Prisons Will Not Meet Settlement Deadline for Mental Health Reforms, May 1, 2026. Private Prisons, DOC/BOP misconduct, Consent Decrees, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Judge Orders Rikers Manager Must Fix Jail in Seven Years Or Less, April 1, 2026. Prison Reform, Totality of Conditions, Jail Specific, Contempt (Civil Procedure), Consent Decrees.

