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Pepper-spraying Sleeping Prisoner Unconstitutional, but Case Loses at Trial

Loaded on April 1, 2016 by David Reutter published in Prison Legal News April, 2016, page 53
Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Eighth Amendment, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Qualified Immunity. Location: Michigan.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that “using a chemical agent in an attempt to wake a sleeping prisoner, without apparent necessity and in the absence of mitigating circumstances, violates clearly established law.” The ruling came in an interlocutory appeal filed by a Michigan prison guard.

Prisoner Nicholas Roberson ...

 

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More from this issue:

  1. Jailhouse Medicine - A Private Contractor Flourishes Despite Controversy Over Prisoner Deaths
  2. Massachusetts: Lawsuit Filed to Stop Dog Searches of Prison Visitors, by Joe Watson
  3. Excited Delirium Syndrome: Medical Condition or Cover-Up?, by David Reutter
  4. New Mexico: Sharon Jones’s Strep Death Among Shocking Prison Tragedies in Lawsuits
  5. South Carolina Sheriff Resigns, Pleads Guilty to DUI
  6. Medical Marijuana Use by Arizona Probationer Cannot Support Violation
  7. Federal Lawsuit Claims Negligence Caused Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Heroin Overdose Death, by Christopher Zoukis
  8. Irish High Court Bars Extradition of Terror Suspect to U.S., Citing Inhumanity of Solitary Confinement, by Derek Gilna
  9. $2.5 Million Settlement in North Carolina Prisoner’s Dehydration Death
  10. Court’s Gag Order in Michigan Jail Corruption Case Reversed
  11. Failure to Timely Assert Affirmative Defense in Responsive Pleading Constitutes Waiver
  12. Report Finds Shortcomings at Santa Clara County, California Jail, by Derek Gilna
  13. Tennessee Prisoner Awarded $60,000 for Guards’ Use of Excessive Force
  14. $3.5 Million for South Carolina Prisoner’s Death Due to Deliberate Indifference
  15. Deaf Prisoners Win Important Settlements in Kentucky and Maryland, by Derek Gilna
  16. Architects’ Ethics Panel to Consider Boycott of Execution Chambers and Prison Design, by David Reutter
  17. Pepper-spraying Sleeping Prisoner Unconstitutional, but Case Loses at Trial, by David Reutter
  18. “Fatal Neglect” Report Faults ICE Health Care for Deaths of Detained Immigrants, by Derek Gilna
  19. Ninth Circuit: Freezing Prisoner’s Funds Requires Pre-deprivation Process, by Mark Wilson
  20. Second Circuit Allows Muslim Prisoners’ Bivens Claims to Proceed, by Derek Gilna
  21. DOJ Settlement to Improve Conditions at Mississippi Juvenile Facility
  22. Colson Task Force Report Highlights BOP Issues, Makes Recommendations, by Derek Gilna
  23. Book Review: "Illegal to Legal: Business Success for (ex)Criminals, by R.L. Pelshaw", by Christopher Zoukis
  24. Lawsuit Claiming CMUs Lack Due Process on Appeal to D.C. Circuit, by Derek Gilna
  25. Delayed Washington Competency Evaluations and Treatment Violate Due Process, by Mark Wilson
  26. Sacramento County Settles Former Jail Prisoner’s Lawsuits for $3,800, by Matthew Clarke
  27. Privately-operated Texas Prison Rebounds, by Matthew Clarke
  28. Transparent Jumpsuit for Prison Transport May Violate Eighth Amendment
  29. Ninth Circuit: Improper ICE Detainer Constitutes Article III Injury, by Mark Wilson
  30. The Will of the People: Ex-prisoners Voted into Public Office, by Joe Watson
  31. California: Strip Searches of Prison Visitors No Longer Allowed
  32. Exonerated New York Prisoner Recovers $21.9 Million in Damages
  33. California Supreme Court Voids Ex Post Facto Sex Offender Residency Restrictions, by Derek Gilna
  34. Texas: $400,000 Settlement Award to Mentally Ill Jail Prisoner
  35. Lawsuits Challenge Release Debit Cards; Courts Rule Against Arbitration, by Derek Gilna
  36. Prison’s Censorship of Newsweek Upheld
  37. Sixth Circuit Allows Revival of Untimely Habeas Appeal Using Rule 60(b), by Matthew Clarke
  38. $550,000 Jury Award for Failure to Treat Prisoner’s Broken Jaw
  39. Kentucky Restores Voting Rights for Former Prisoners, then Reverses Course
  40. Defense Verdict in Kentucky Prisoner’s Death; Appellate Court Reverses, by David Reutter
  41. Seventh Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Terre Haute Prisoner’s FTCA Suit, by Derek Gilna
  42. $2.5 Million Award for Wrongfully Convicted Former Michigan Prisoner
  43. Ninth Circuit Rules Judge “Abused Discretion” in Imposing Abstinence as Supervised Release Condition, by Derek Gilna
  44. $360,000 Verdict Against Indiana Sheriff for Denying Prompt Court Hearings
  45. Deaths of Prisoners in Indiana, California and Arkansas Linked to Flu Virus, by Joe Watson
  46. Texas Disciplinary Appeals Board Upholds Disbarment of State Prosecutor
  47. $11.3 Million Jury Award for Former Colorado Jail Prisoner, by Matthew Clarke
  48. Lifetime Registration of Low-level Sex Offenders found Excessive, Unconstitutional in New Hampshire
  49. New Federal Law that Brands Sex Offenders’ Passports Faces Court Challenge, by Derek Gilna
  50. Use of Nutraloaf on the Decline in U.S. Prisons, by Christopher Zoukis
  51. Prisoners Hang Themselves in Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Jails at a Rate that Dwarfs Other County Lockups, by Michael Lacey
  52. U.S. Supreme Court Reverses Idaho Supreme Court, Asserts “Federal Supremacy”, by Derek Gilna
  53. Texas Parole Records Mistake Could Cost Taxpayers Millions, by Gary Hunter
  54. 2015 Annual Anti-Private Prison Awards Announced
  55. Settlement in California Jail Suit Includes $4.8 Million in Attorney Fees, Costs, by Derek Gilna
  56. California Lifers Paroled in Record Numbers, by Christopher Zoukis
  57. D.C. Circuit Court Partially Stays FCC Order Capping Prison and Jail Phone Rates
  58. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
  59. News in Brief

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