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From the Editor
The cover story this month, on the nuts and bolts of winning a prisoner rights case is by Alphonse Gerhardstein, one of the top civil rights lawyers in the country. His invaluable advice applies equally to pro se prisoner litigants as it does to the best attorneys. There are things ...
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More from this issue:
- Anatomy of the Modern Prisoners’ Rights Suit: A Practitioner’s Guide to Successful Jury Trials on Behalf of Prisoner-Plaintiffs*, by Alphonse A. Gerhardstein
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Innocent Georgia Man Receives $500,000 as Compensation for Rape Conviction
- Former Prisoner Convicted of Impersonating Criminal Defense Attorney
- Why False Imprisonment Recoveries Should Not Be Taxable, by Robert Wood
- Texas’ Parole Condition X Violates Due Process, by Gary Hunter
- $2.16 Million Settlement in Dauphin Pennsylvania Jail Strip Search Lawsuit
- Using Chemical Agents on Mentally Ill Prisoners Unconstitutional, by David Reutter
- Audit Finds California Prison Receiver Broke State Law by Making No-Bid Contracts with Verizon, by Michael Brodheim
- Fifth Circuit Upholds $14 Million Award Against Louisiana DA’s Office in Wrongful Conviction Suit; Affirmed by En Banc Ruling, by Matthew Clarke
- Third Circuit Upholds Pennsylvania DOC Policy Requiring Control Number for Legal Mail, by David Reutter
- Third Circuit Upholds Ban on UCC Materials; Sixth Circuit Disagrees, by Brandon Sample
- Working in Legal Field Not Prohibited While on Federal Supervised Release
- Prisoners Not Evacuated, Parolees Rounded Up as Hurricanes Hit, by Gary Hunter
- Contraband Smuggling by Texas Prison Guards Rarely Punished Harshly, by Matthew Clarke
- Oklahoma Prisoner Beaten to Death After Celled with Co-Defendant He Testified Against
- California Lifers’ New Litigation Tool: DA’s “Opinion” and Governor’s “Belief” Do Not Constitute “Evidence” in Parole Denial Cases, by Marvin Mentor
- Notice Required for Rejected Packages BOP Warden Denied Qualified Immunity, by Brandon Sample
- Organ Harvesting In China Prison Goes High Tech, by Gary Hunter
- Former Oklahoma Sheriff Convicted of Sex Crimes Now Where to Put Him?
- Federal Three-Judge Panel Orders California To Reduce Prison Population By 44,000 Prisoners Within Two Years, by Marvin Mentor
- New York’s Correction Law § 24 Held Unconstitutional by US Supreme Court, by Brandon Sample
- $25,000 Award to Utah Muslim Prisoner Attacked by Death Row Prisoner Following 9/11
- FBI And States Expand Collection Of DNA To The Innocent, by Brandon Sample
- Sheriff and Guards Indicted: Sex, Misconduct and Contraband Scandal at Texas Jail, by Matthew Clarke
- Washington States Passes New Law for Automatic Restoration of Voting Rights, by Eric Nygren
- Philadelphia Tax Break for Hiring Ex-Prisoners a Bust
- U.S. Supreme Court Recedes from Saucier’s Mandatory Provisions for Determining Qualified Immunity Claims, by David Reutter
- California: Parole Board’s Policy Barring Friendly Oral Witness Testimony At Lifer Hearings Ruled An “Underground Regulation”, by Marvin Mentor
- $3.75 Million Settlement for Orange County, California, Jail Detainee Severely Beaten by Prisoners
- Violence on the Rise in Arizona Prisons, by David Reutter
- Maryland Prisoners Receive Kosher Food, by Brandon Sample
- From the Bottom of the Heap: The Autobiography of Black Panther Robert Hillary King, Oakland, CA: PM Press (2009) $24.95 hardback, 217 pages, by Mel Motel
- Sixth Circuit Overturns $625,000 Verdict for Ohio Prisoner Sexually Abused by Guard, by Brandon Sample
- Oklahoma Prisoner Awarded $65,000 for Inadequate MSRA Care, by Brandon Sample
- $1 Million Settlement in Santa Clara, California Jail Suicide
- No Qualified Immunity for Guards Who Failed to Help Vomiting Prisoner Who Died
- Indigent Texas Prisoners May No Longer be Required to Repay Cost of Court-Appointed Counsel
- California Prison Still Subpar, Grand Jury Finds
- News in Brief:
- $1,000 Jury Award to Beaten Missouri Prisoner
More from Paul Wright:
- From the Editor, Aug. 1, 2025
- From the Editor, July 15, 2025
- From the Editor, June 1, 2025
- From the Editor, May 1, 2025
- From the Editor, April 1, 2025
- From the Editor, March 1, 2025
- From the Editor, Feb. 15, 2025
- From the Editor, Jan. 15, 2025
- Bruce Johnson 1950–2024, Sept. 15, 2024
- From the Editor, Sept. 15, 2024
More from these topics:
- DOJ Finds Unconstitutional Conditions in Texas Juvenile Detention, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Sentencing, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Protect (Juveniles), Juvenile Prisons.
- Nebraska Considers Curbing Double-Bunking in Restrictive Housing, Aug. 1, 2025. Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding, Bedding.
- Watchdog Calls Out D.C. for Dragging Feet on Construction of New Jail, Aug. 1, 2025. Totality of Conditions, Overcrowding, Ventilation, Exercise, Exposure to Cold, Jail Specific, Lighting, Noise, Vermin, Exposure to Heat, Security Systems.
- Ongoing Detainee Deaths Push Rikers Island into Federal Court Receivership, July 15, 2025. Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Fire Hazards, Overcrowding, Eighth Amendment, Staffing, Environmental Law, Plumbing, Sewage, Jail Specific.
- Solving the Carceral Understaffing Crisis: What Works, What Doesn’t, and Why, July 15, 2025. Work Conditions/Safety, Overcrowding, Staffing, Exposure to Cold, Exposure to Heat.
- From the Editor, June 1, 2025. Editorials.
- Georgia Moves to Shield Intellectually Disabled Prisoners from Execution, June 1, 2025. Sentencing, Death Penalty.
- Fourth Circuit: District Court Failed to Provide Sufficient Explanation for Sentence Imposed and Did Not Address Defendant’s Arguments for Downward Variant Sentence, May 15, 2025. Sentencing, Drug Laws/Offenses.
- Fourth Circuit: Procedurally Unreasonable Sentence Where District Court Failed to Address Defendant’s Non-Frivolous Downward Variance Argument Based on Sentencing Disparity Due to Which State’s Statute Prior Conviction Based Upon, May 15, 2025. Sentencing, Failure To Consider Disparity, Federal-State Differences/Disparity/Conflicts, Disparity in Charging/Sentencing Practices.
- SCOTUS Announces Only ‘False’ Statements Made to FDIC Are Criminalized Under 18 U.S.C. § 1014, Not Statements That Are ‘Misleading’ but True, May 15, 2025. Sentencing, False Statements/Perjury.