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Third Circuit: Gratuitous Use of Force on Prisoner Negates Qualified Immunity Defense
by David M. Reutter
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the grant of summary judgment in a lawsuit against a guard at New Jersey’s Cumberland County Jail (CCJ). The Court held the guard was not entitled to qualified immunity because it was clearly established at the time of the …
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More from this issue:
- Environmental Indifference, by Anthony Moffa
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- $15,379,091 Judgment Entered Against Delaware DOC’s Former Health Care Provider for Narcotics and Medicare Fraud, by Chuck Sharman
- Report Highlights Force Feeding of Hunger Striking Asylum Seekers by ICE and GEO, by Edward Lyon
- Fourth Circuit Holds CoreCivic Immigration Detainees in New Mexico Not “Employees” Under FLSA
- San Luis Obispo County Jail Conditions Violate Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, by Keith Sanders
- Federal Jury Orders GEO Group to Pay $23 Million for Immigrant Detainee Slave Labor in Washington
- How Trump Made a Tiny Christian College the Nation’s Biggest Prison Educator, by Eli Hager
- BOP Trust Fund Accounts Reportedly Shield Prisoners from Payment Obligations, by Dale Chappell
- $53 Million Settlement in Los Angeles Jail Strip Search Lawsuit Approved, by David Reutter
- Disenfranchisement the Old Fashioned Way, by Jayson Hawkins
- Whistleblower Alleges Hawaii Prison Officials Provided False Audit Data, by Kevin Dayton
- HRDC Sues Lincoln County Wisconsin Jail over Censorship Practices
- Ninth Circuit: Pretrial Detainees Have Right to Direct-View Safety Checks, by David Reutter
- Federal Prisons’ Switch to Scanning Mail Is a Surveillance Nightmare, by Lauren Gill
- Eleventh Circuit: Preliminary Injunctions Have 90-Day Limit Under PLRA; Permanent Injunction Required to Extend Relief, by David Reutter
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Illegal Juvenile LWOP Sentence Undermined Validity of Later Conviction, by Douglas Ankney
- Eighth Circuit Rules District Court Must Use Federal Law for Admissibility of Expert Testimony, by Douglas Ankney
- Too Many In-Custody Deaths of BOP Prisoners are Unnecessary and Preventable, by Casey Bastian
- California Supreme Court: Prisoners Cannot Legally Possess Cannabis, by Casey Bastian
- Public Records Suit Filed Against Florida DOC To Obtain Formula Used To Compute Sentences
- History Professor Fired After Criticizing University’s Racist Past and Pro-Prison Present, by Keith Sanders
- Prison Visitors Have Fourth Amendment Right to Refuse Strip Search and Option to Leave Prison
- Unreliable Drug Tests Standard for Law Enforcement and Prisons, by Keith Sanders
- Massachusetts Prisons Pledge to End Solitary, by Jayson Hawkins
- Civilly Detained Sex Offender Plaintiff Proceeding In Forma Pauperis Not a Prisoner Under PLRA
- $405,794 Paid by California Prison System for Prisoner Killed by Aryan Brotherhood Cellmate
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Upholds Sanctions and Award of $118,458 in Attorney Fees Against DOC for Withholding Documents Requested Under Right-to-Know Law
- $170,000 Settlement and New Policy on Gender Identity from Lawsuit Against New Jersey DOC, by Jayson Hawkins
- Texas County Jail Cited for Neglecting the Needs of a Pregnant Prisoner, by Keith Sanders
- Salvation Army Sued for a Failing to Pay Wages to Drug Program Participants
- New Jersey Women’s Prison to Close After Latest Abuse Debacle, by Jayson Hawkins
- Sherburne County, MN, Settles with HRDC for $98,000 Plus New Jail Publications Policy, by Chuck Sharman
- Eighth Circuit Holds Arkansas Jailers Entitled to Qualified Immunity in Prisoners’ Suit Over Black Mold in Showers, Lack of Cleaning Supplies, by Matthew Clarke
- ABA’s Private Prisons Prophecy Comes to Pass, by Edward Lyon
- Michigan Prisoner’s Corizon Suit Dismissed Due to “Morass of Irrelevancies”, by David Reutter
- Seven Ohio Guards Fired After Killing Prisoner, No Criminal Charges
- Third Circuit: Gratuitous Use of Force on Prisoner Negates Qualified Immunity Defense, by David Reutter
- Delaware Mother Jailed for Not Paying $177 in Fines, Dies in Custody, Nurse Convicted, by Jayson Hawkins
- Forty-One Oregon Prisoner Firefighters have Sentences Commuted
- News in Brief
More from David Reutter:
- The Malleable Mind in the Courtroom: Why Confident Eyewitnesses Often Provide the Least Reliable Evidence, Oct. 15, 2025
- Help Wanted: 31,000 Prison Guard Jobs Open Nationwide, Sept. 1, 2025
- Fifth Circuit Greenlights Federal Takeover of Mississippi Jail, Aug. 1, 2025
- Ninth Circuit Revives Prisoner’s Claim Based on Guard’s Thwarting of Administrative Remedies, Aug. 1, 2025
- Tenth Circuit Ruling Paves Way for $2.7 Million Settlement for Intellectually Disabled Jail Detainee Raped by Sheriff, Aug. 1, 2025
- Ninth Circuit Agrees That Former Guantanamo Detainee Lacks Grounds to Sue for Waterboarding, Aug. 1, 2025
- Qualified Immunity Denied for Iowa Prison Doctor’s MRI Delay for Non-Medical Reasons, Aug. 1, 2025
- Ninth Circuit: Continuing-Violations Doctrine Applies for PLRA Administrative Exhaustion Purposes, Aug. 1, 2025
- First Circuit: Prosecutor’s Breach of Plea Agreement Requires Government’s Specific Performance of Agreement, Not Specific Performance by District Court, Aug. 1, 2025
- Oregon Prisoners Can Now Seek Economic Damages for Future Lost Income More Easily, July 15, 2025
More from these topics:
- Suit Filed Over Fatal Beating of New York Prisoner That Sparked Massive Guard Strike, Aug. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Failure to Treat, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Excessive Force (Wrongful Death).
- News in Brief, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Private Prisons, Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Male Reproductive, Malpractice, Escapes, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Juvenile Prisons, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
- Ninth Circuit Agrees That Former Guantanamo Detainee Lacks Grounds to Sue for Waterboarding, Aug. 1, 2025. War on Terror, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Terrorism.
- $6.75 Million Settlement Reached in Suit Accusing Massachusetts Guards of Retaliatory Assaults on Prisoners, Aug. 1, 2025. Racial Discrimination, Retaliation, Guard Brutality/Beatings.
- Multiple Prisoner Suits Accuse Guards of Violence at Virginia BOP Lockup, Aug. 1, 2025. Racial Discrimination, False Charges (Disciplinary Hearings), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Discrimination (Transgender).
- SCOTUS Clamps Down on Bivens Extension to Prisoner Beaten by BOP Guards at Virginia Lockup, Aug. 1, 2025. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified, Bivens Actions.
- Former Oregon Prison Guard Sergeant Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Imprisoned Women, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Guard Brutality/Beatings.
- $1.2 Million for New York Prisoner Waterboarded by Guards, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Exceptions.
- Third Circuit Upholds Award of $265,000 to Prisoner Who Was Sexually Assaulted Twice by the Same Guard, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Damages - Compensatory, Damages - Punitive.
- Delaware’s ACLU Files Action on Behalf Of Six Prisoners Assaulted During Midnight Raid, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints.