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Fifth Circuit Reinstates Texas Prisoner’s Failure-to-Protect Suit
by Matt Clarke
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed in part a district court’s dismissal of a prisoner’s failure-to-protect suit, though the case lost at trial after remand.
Ernesto R. Hinojosa, Sr., a Texas state prisoner, was housed in an open dormitory at the Wynne Unit when he was …
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed in part a district court’s dismissal of a prisoner’s failure-to-protect suit, though the case lost at trial after remand.
Ernesto R. Hinojosa, Sr., a Texas state prisoner, was housed in an open dormitory at the Wynne Unit when he was …
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More from this issue:
- Prison Health Care, Political Choice and the Accidental Death Penalty in Michigan, by Elizabeth Alexander
- $950,000 Settlement for California Prisoner Rendered Quadriplegic
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Hadix Litigation Winding Down, by David Reutter
- Shortcomings Cited at Virginia’s Civil Commitment Facility, by Matthew Clarke
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- U.S. DOJ Calls Houston Jail Unconstitutional, Prisoner Death Rate Alarming, by Gary Hunter
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- Don’t Build it Here Revisited (or “There is no Economic Salvation Through Incarceration”) - Prisons Do Not Create Jobs, by Clayton Mosher
- $125,000 Settlement in Suicide Death Of New York Jail Prisoner
- Pennsylvania Prisoner Gets $12,500 in Retaliation Suit After Remittitur, by John E Dannenberg
- Settlement in Class-Action Suit Against CCA Modified After PLN Unseals Court Documents, by Alex Friedmann
- Colorado Detainee Tasered During Seizure, Paid $116,731.73 and $83,268.27 in Fees
- Prison Video Visitation Expands into For-Profit Market, by David Reutter
- Sex with Former Jail Employee Lands Texas Sex Offender Back in Prison
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- $1.95 Million Awarded to New Hampshire Guards Falsely Accused of Assaulting Prisoner, by David Reutter
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- New York Politicians Want to Re-Evaluate Civil Confinement Release Law, by Matthew Clarke
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- Reversal of Summary Judgment to BOP Doctor Accused of Deliberate Indifference, by Brandon Sample
- News in Brief:
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Detectives Who Revealed Prisoner Was Informant, Denies Him Anonymity, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, Aug. 1, 2026
- New Mexico Supreme Court Holds Corrections Department Regulations Do Not Exempt Use-Of-Force Documents from Public Records Disclosure, Aug. 1, 2026
- DOJ Issues Memorandum Over BOP Employees Abusing Their Law Enforcement Credentials to Illegally Purchase Personal Firearms, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Summary Judgment Against Former Illinois Prison Guards Challenging Termination for Violating Use of Force Policy, Aug. 1, 2026
- Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Barring Enforcement of Executive Order to Transfer Trans Women Prisoners to Men’s Prisons, Aug. 1, 2026
- Idaho Supreme Court Holds Indigent Parents Have Constitutional Right to Counsel at Public Expense, July 1, 2026
- Free Phone Calls Saved Prisoners and Their Families More than $600 Million, Report Finds, July 1, 2026
- California Appeals Court Holds Defendant Cannot Be Penalized for Failing to Appear at Sentencing When He Was Being Held in Another County’s Jail on Preexisting Charges, July 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Reverses Mississippi Capital Conviction, July 1, 2026
More from these topics:
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- Florida DOC Rebuked for Seizing Prisoner’s Excessive Force Settlement to Cover Incarceration Liens, Sept. 1, 2026. Summary Judgment, Settlements, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Trust Accounts, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- Fourth Circuit: Error in Granting Judgment Prior to Adjudging Spoliation Motion, Sept. 1, 2026. Summary Judgment, Discovery, Abuse of Discretion Standard.
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- Fourth Circuit Affirms Qualified Immunity in Strip Searches Resulting from Anonymous Tips, Sept. 1, 2026. Strip Searches, Qualified Immunity, Fourth Amendment, rights, Suspicionless Searches.
- Idaho Legislature Moves to Hide Execution Protocol from Judicial Scrutiny, Sept. 1, 2026. Disclosure of Records, Discovery, Public Records, State Legislation, Method of Execution.
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- New Connecticut Law Changes PREA Standards, Sept. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Administrative Exhaustion, Prison Rape Elimination Act, State Legislation.

