More from this issue:

1. Environmental Indifference, by Anthony Moffa
2. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
3. $15,379,091 Judgment Entered Against Delaware DOC’s Former Health Care Provider for Narcotics and Medicare Fraud, by Chuck Sharman
4. Report Highlights Force Feeding of Hunger Striking Asylum Seekers by ICE and GEO, by Edward Lyon
5. Fourth Circuit Holds CoreCivic Immigration Detainees in New Mexico Not “Employees” Under FLSA
6. San Luis Obispo County Jail Conditions Violate Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, by Keith Sanders
7. Federal Jury Orders GEO Group to Pay $23 Million for Immigrant Detainee Slave Labor in Washington
8. How Trump Made a Tiny Christian College the Nation’s Biggest Prison Educator, by Eli Hager
9. BOP Trust Fund Accounts Reportedly Shield Prisoners from Payment Obligations, by Dale Chappell
10. $53 Million Settlement in Los Angeles Jail Strip Search Lawsuit Approved, by David Reutter
11. Disenfranchisement the Old Fashioned Way, by Jayson Hawkins
12. Whistleblower Alleges Hawaii Prison Officials Provided False Audit Data, by Kevin Dayton
13. HRDC Sues Lincoln County Wisconsin Jail over Censorship Practices
14. Ninth Circuit: Pretrial Detainees Have Right to Direct-View Safety Checks, by David Reutter
15. Federal Prisons’ Switch to Scanning Mail Is a Surveillance Nightmare, by Lauren Gill
16. Eleventh Circuit: Preliminary Injunctions Have 90-Day Limit Under PLRA; Permanent Injunction Required to Extend Relief, by David Reutter
17. Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Illegal Juvenile LWOP Sentence Undermined Validity of Later Conviction, by Douglas Ankney
18. Eighth Circuit Rules District Court Must Use Federal Law for Admissibility of Expert Testimony, by Douglas Ankney
19. Too Many In-Custody Deaths of BOP Prisoners are Unnecessary and Preventable, by Casey Bastian
20. California Supreme Court: Prisoners Cannot Legally Possess Cannabis, by Casey Bastian
21. Public Records Suit Filed Against Florida DOC To Obtain Formula Used To Compute Sentences
22. History Professor Fired After Criticizing University’s Racist Past and Pro-Prison Present, by Keith Sanders
23. Prison Visitors Have Fourth Amendment Right to Refuse Strip Search and Option to Leave Prison
24. Unreliable Drug Tests Standard for Law Enforcement and Prisons, by Keith Sanders
25. Massachusetts Prisons Pledge to End Solitary, by Jayson Hawkins
26. Civilly Detained Sex Offender Plaintiff Proceeding In Forma Pauperis Not a Prisoner Under PLRA
27. $405,794 Paid by California Prison System for Prisoner Killed by Aryan Brotherhood Cellmate
28. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Upholds Sanctions and Award of $118,458 in Attorney Fees Against DOC for Withholding Documents Requested Under Right-to-Know Law
29. $170,000 Settlement and New Policy on Gender Identity from Lawsuit Against New Jersey DOC, by Jayson Hawkins
30. Texas County Jail Cited for Neglecting the Needs of a Pregnant Prisoner, by Keith Sanders
31. Salvation Army Sued for a Failing to Pay Wages to Drug Program Participants
32. New Jersey Women’s Prison to Close After Latest Abuse Debacle, by Jayson Hawkins
33. Sherburne County, MN, Settles with HRDC for $98,000 Plus New Jail Publications Policy, by Chuck Sharman
34. Eighth Circuit Holds Arkansas Jailers Entitled to Qualified Immunity in Prisoners’ Suit Over Black Mold in Showers, Lack of Cleaning Supplies, by Matthew Clarke
35. ABA’s Private Prisons Prophecy Comes to Pass, by Edward Lyon
36. Michigan Prisoner’s Corizon Suit Dismissed Due to “Morass of Irrelevancies”, by David Reutter
37. Seven Ohio Guards Fired After Killing Prisoner, No Criminal Charges
38. Third Circuit: Gratuitous Use of Force on Prisoner Negates Qualified Immunity Defense, by David Reutter
39. Delaware Mother Jailed for Not Paying $177 in Fines, Dies in Custody, Nurse Convicted, by Jayson Hawkins
40. Forty-One Oregon Prisoner Firefighters have Sentences Commuted
41. News in Brief

More from Douglas Ankney:

• Barbaric and Deadly Conditions Continue to Plague Los Angeles County Jails, Feb. 1, 2026
• Killings Inside Mississippi’s Prisons Continue Unabated But Report Prompts DOC to Reopen Investigations, Feb. 1, 2026
• Competency Crisis in Missouri’s Jails, Feb. 1, 2026
• Maine Supreme Judicial Court Announces Trial Courts Must Rigorously Scrutinize Reliability of Expert Testimony in Unrecognized Forensic Fields, Holding Trial Court Erred in Admitting Forensic Podiatry Footprint-Comparison Testimony Without a Demonstrated, Feb. 1, 2026
• Ninth Circuit: Notice of Appeal of Order Denying Qualified Immunity Must Be Filed Within 30 Days of Entry, Feb. 1, 2026
• Illinois Supreme Court Announces Six-Element Jeffries Test Governs Self-Defense Jury Instructions in Cases Involving Force Against Police Officers, Rejecting Appellate Court Approaches That Either Created Separate Threshold Inquiry or Automatically Requir, Feb. 1, 2026
• Supreme Court of Maryland Announces Police Officer’s Observation of Driver Manipulating Cellphone Screen Does Not, Without Additional Facts, Establish Reasonable Suspicion for Traffic Stop Under Fourth Amendment, Feb. 1, 2026
• Fifth Circuit Rules Against Louisiana Prisoner Seeking to Recoup Money Made at Angola Prison Rodeo, Jan. 1, 2026
• Report on “Pay-­to-­Stay” Fees Makes Strong Case for Their Repeal, Jan. 1, 2026
• Maryland Agrees to Pay $30,000 to Prisoner Who Was Beaten by Guards While Handcuffed, Jan. 1, 2026

More from these topics:

• U.S. Sentencing Commission Report Breaks Down Federal Contraband Sentences, March 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Mechanical Searches/Scanners, Statistics/Trends, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
• Maine Was the First State to Abolish Parole. Incarcerated Mainers, Advocates Hope to Bring it Back., March 1, 2026. Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Parole, Post-release, ex-offender, re-entry, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, De Facto Life Sentence.
• North Carolina Parole Commission Agrees to Stop “Moving Goalposts” for Prisoners Who Committed Crime as Juveniles, Feb. 1, 2026. Parole Board Misconduct, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Parole, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
• Washington Supreme Court Holds Courts Must Meaningfully Consider Youth When Assessing Miranda Waiver and Clarifies That Res Gestae Exception Requires Temporal Proximity to Charged Crime, Feb. 1, 2026. Police Interrogations, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders, Bad Acts Evidence, Custodial Interrogations, Denial of Due Process.
• Study Finds Parole Hearings and Grants Continue to Fall, Jan. 1, 2026. Parole Board Misconduct, Statistics/Trends, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Parole, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
• First Circuit Announces Modification of Juvenile’s Life-­Without-­Parole Sentence to Parole-­Eligible Life Term Constitutes “New Judgment” Under AEDPA, Exempting Second-­in-­Time Habeas Petition From Gatekeeping Requirements, Jan. 1, 2026. Parole, Habeas Corpus, Life without Parole (LWOP), AEDPA, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders.
• First Circuit Clarifies Mitigating Role Analysis – Sentencing Courts Must Consider All Identifiable Participants in Drug Shipment, Not Just Crew Members, and Use § 3B1.2 Factors to Assess Relative Culpability, Not Guilt, Dec. 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Mitigating Role/Circumstances/Evidence, Miscalculation of the Guidelines Sentencing Range.
• Third Circuit Announces “Commencement of the Instant Offense” in Guidelines § 4A1.2(e) Unambiguously Refers Only to Specific Offense of Conviction, Not Relevant Conduct, Nov. 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration, Adequacy of Criminal History Category, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
• Indiana Supreme Court Announces Whether Defendant’s Actions Were “Objectively Reasonable” Justifying Self-Defense Can Be Considered in Hindsight, Sept. 15, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Criminal Procedure, Appealable Issues/Orders.
• U.S. Sentencing Commission Adopts 2025 Amendments 
to Resolve Circuit Conflicts, Aug. 1, 2025. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Criminal History, Arrest/Arraignment, Sentence Enhancements/Departures.