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Secret Justice: Criminal Informants and America’s Underground Legal System

Loaded on June 15, 2010 by Alexandra Natapoff published in Prison Legal News June, 2010, page 1
Filed under: Police Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Informants (Disciplinary Hearings), Self Incrimination, Criminal Prosecution, Informants, Crime, Disclosure of Records, Discovery, Sentencing, Wrongful Conviction, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Informants (Failure to Protect), Excessive Force (Police), Arrest Warrants. Location: United States of America.
I. Introduction

Although it is almost invisible to the public, the use of criminal informants is everywhere in the U.S. justice system. From street corners to jails to courthouses to prisons, every year the government negotiates thousands of deals with criminal offenders in which suspects can avoid arrest or punishment …

 

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More from this issue:

  1. Secret Justice: Criminal Informants and America’s Underground Legal System, by Alexandra Natapoff
  2. New Details Regarding Race Riot at USP Florence, by Brandon Sample
  3. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
  4. Dozens of CIA “Ghost” Detainees Unaccounted For, by Matthew Clarke
  5. ACLU Report Applauds Michigan’s Efforts to Reduce Prison Population, by David Reutter
  6. Report on Prison Privatization Plagued with Political Connections, Conflicts of Interest, Faulty Data
  7. Habeas Hints: Certificate of Appealability, by Kent A. Russell
  8. $315,000 Settlement in Illegal Arizona Police Strip Search
  9. Salt Lake County Agrees to Pay $75,000 to Settle Jail Suicide Suit
  10. 50,000 Illinois Felons Released Without DNA Collection
  11. California Jail Detainee Attacked by Cellmate, Family Accepts $1.85 Million, by Michael Brodheim
  12. Book Review: Anne-Marie Cusac, Cruel and Unusual: The Culture of Punishment in America, 336 pp, Yale University Press, $27.50, by Amy Vanderwarker
  13. Georgia’s Privatized Probation System Traps the Poor, by David Reutter
  14. Judge Finds Unconstitutional Conditions at Massachusetts Jail, 11 Years After Suit is Filed, by Brandon Sample
  15. Ninth Circuit: California Lifers Have No Inherent U.S. Constitutional Right to Parole, by John Dannenberg
  16. Report Details Societal Effects of High School Dropout Rates – Including Incarceration, by David Reutter
  17. $1,500 Settlement for Wisconsin Prisoner’s Cold Cell Conditions Claim
  18. California: Budget Cuts Target Rehabilitation Programs, by Michael Brodheim
  19. Pennsylvania Judges Involved in Corruption Case Face Liability; 5,000 Convictions Thrown Out, by David Reutter
  20. $2,750 Settlement in California Prisoner’s Denial of Exercise Claim
  21. Montana State and County Officials May be Liable for Injuries Caused by Private Prisoner Transport Company
  22. NACDL Releases Report on U.S. Drug and Mental Health Courts, by Matthew Clarke
  23. PLN Prevails in Public Records Suit Against GEO Group, by Alex Friedmann
  24. Fifth Circuit: RLUIPA Does Not Create Individual Capacity Cause of Action
  25. Virginia Sheriff Sentenced to 19 Months on Corruption Charges
  26. Prison Psychologist Shoots Ex-Prisoner Boyfriend, Loses Her License
  27. Georgia Jail Settles PLN Censorship Suit, Pays $149,759.21 in Damages, Attorney Fees
  28. Oregon Prison Officials Treat Heart Failure with Antacid, Tylenol, Heat Pack, by Mark Wilson
  29. BOP Agrees to Pay $30,000 to Prisoner Assaulted by Guards
  30. New Jersey: Class-Action Status Granted in Suit Challenging Conditions of Confinement at Passaic County Jail, by Michael Brodheim
  31. Oregon Youth Authority Warden Gives Agency a Black Eye
  32. U.S. Attorney Nominees Involved in Hiding Court Records, by David Reutter
  33. $60,000 Settlement in New York Jail Captain’s Assault on Prisoner
  34. California: Furloughing Prison Employees Costing Taxpayers More, by Michael Brodheim
  35. Sixth Circuit: Shy Bladder Suit Returned to District Court
  36. Florida Prisoner Exonerated by DNA After Serving 35 Years, by David Reutter
  37. Being in Unauthorized Jail Area Without Escape Intent Not a Crime in Indiana
  38. Fourth Circuit Holds Individual Capacity Damage Claims Unavailable Under RLUIPA
  39. Ninth Circuit Holds Prosecutors Immune for Parole Recommendations, by Mark Wilson
  40. New York Prisoner Gets Mixed Verdict in Retaliatory Beating Ruling
  41. Ninth Circuit: Race-Based Prison Lockdowns Must Satisfy Strict-Scrutiny Standard
  42. Federal Circuit Rejects Prisoner’s Claim of Copyright Infringement
  43. DC Circuit Reverses CCA/TransCor Non-Exhaustion Dismissal
  44. Summary Judgment Reversed in Illinois Jail Suicide Suit
  45. California: Indefinite Civil Commitment of Sexually Violent Predators May Violate Equal Protection
  46. Reversal of Summary Judgment on 55-Day New York SHU Placement Claim
  47. Mental Health Specialist May be Liable in California Jail Detainee’s Suicide
  48. New York’s Catch-All Contraband and Anti-Smuggling Rules Unconstitutionally Vague
  49. No Liberty Interest Under Utah Parole Scheme
  50. No Qualified Immunity for Excessive Force at Ohio Jail
  51. Sixth Circuit: RLUIPA Does Not Permit Monetary Damages
  52. Ineffective Attempts to Protect Texas Prisoner Were Sufficient
  53. No Qualified Immunity for Denial of Protective Custody to Ohio Prisoner
  54. Illinois: Disabled Detainees’ Discrimination Claims May Proceed to Trial
  55. New York City Jail: $275,000 Settlement in Prisoner-on-Prisoner Assault
  56. California: Prison Appeals Coordinator Who Rejected Dental Complaints Held Liable for $1,500 in Damages
  57. News in Brief:

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