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Fourth Circuit Holds Prisoner’s Indefinite Period of Solitary Confinement at Virginia Supermax May Amount to Atypical and Significant Hardship
by Matt Clarke
On July 10, 2020, the FourthCircuit Court of Appeals vacated a district court’s granting of summary judgment to Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) officials in a federal civil rights lawsuit over lack of due process in holding a prisoner in supermax solitary indefinitely.
Elbert …
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More from this issue:
- The Way Prisoners Flag Guard Abuse, Inadequate Health Care and Unsanitary Conditions Is Broken, by Shannon Heffernan
- Collateral Consequences of Mass Incarceration, by Edward Lyon
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- New York Parole System Badly in Need of Repair, by Kevin Bliss
- Pandemic Update: News on Vaccines and Prison and Jail Staffing, by Michael D. Cohen, MD
- Urgent Need for Vaccine Administration in Prisons, Jails and Detention Centers, by Sharon Dolovich, Aaron Littman, Maya Chaudhuri
- Almost 300,000 Fell Ill and 2,000 Died from COVID-19 in U.S. Jails, Prisons, by Derek Gilna
- California Loses Round in Legal Fight to Deny Parole Based on Gang Affiliation, by David Reutter
- Was Indiana Women’s Prison Willfully Ignorant About COVID-19 Numbers?, by Matthew Clarke
- How a Private Prison Company’s Defamation Suit Against One of Its Critics Backfired, by Madison Pauley
- After $625,000 Settlement, Oregon Deputy Charged in Assault of Prisoner, by Mark Wilson
- Pinellas County, Florida Sheriff’s Office Sued in Federal Court for Treatment of Transgender Prisoner, by Derek Gilna
- Federal Judge Slaps ICE, GEO Group Over “Abominable Performance” and Officials Who Lied During Testimony, by David Reutter
- No Summary Judgment on Oregon Prisoner’s Retaliatory Termination Claim, by Mark Wilson
- Minnesota State and Federal Prisoners COVID Case Surge Sparks ACLU Lawsuit, by Derek Gilna
- Missouri Prisoner Pleaded for Release Before Dying of COVID-19, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Ninth Circuit Finds California Prisoner’s Administrative Remedies Effectively Unavailable, by Mark Wilson
- Fourth Circuit Holds Prisoner’s Indefinite Period of Solitary Confinement at Virginia Supermax May Amount to Atypical and Significant Hardship, by Matthew Clarke
- Federal Educational Aid Restored for State and Federal Prisoners, by Dale Chappell
- Progress Made in Fight Against Prison Gerrymandering But Battle Continues, by Douglas Ankney
- COVID-19: What Texas Must Do to Save Prisoners’ Lives, by Edward Lyon
- Ninth Circuit Reverses Lower Court’s Dismissal of California Prisoner’s Religious Freedom Lawsuit, by Mark Wilson
- Minnesota Prison Guard Fired for Excessive Force After Brawl Linked to Floyd Protests, by Anthony Accurso
- New Details Emerge on Senseless Death in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin Jail, by Jayson Hawkins
- Justice Department Report Documents Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center’s Poor Response to COVID-19 Crisis, by Kevin Bliss
- $1.1 Million Settlement in Kentucky Jail Sex Abuse Suit, by David Reutter
- Federal Judge in Georgia Grants Class Action Status to Prisoners’ Suit Against Global Tel*Link
- Global Tel*Link Hit with Sanctions For Discovery Violations in Georgia Prison Call Class Action, by Derek Gilna
- Fourth Circuit: ADA Relief Claims Improperly Dismissed in Virginia, by Mark Wilson
- Private Prison Companies Face Stock Crash, Credit Crunch, by Matthew Clarke
- Arizona Pays Prisoners Pennies on the Dollar to Fight Fires, All in the Name of Saving Money, by Dale Chappell
- Former BOP Director Norman Carlson, Who Developed Supermax Model, Dies at 86, by Kevin Bliss
- Mellon Foundation to Provide $5.25 Million in Program to Distribute Books to Prisoners, by Douglas Ankney
- Experts Find “Deplorable” Conditions at Mississippi’s Parchman Prison, by David Reutter
- ICE Refused Help in Containing Coronavirus in New Mexico Detention Centers, by Kevin Bliss
- Troubled Ohio Jail Faces Two More Lawsuits, by Matthew Clarke
- Pennsylvania Correctional Emergency Response Teams Face New Scrutiny in “Noose” Controversy, by Derek Gilna
- New Mexico Corrections Pays $1.4 Million to Settle Whistleblower Complaint Alleging Retaliation for Exposing Deficiencies in Corizon Medical Care, by Douglas Ankney
- Child Sexual Abuse: It’s Never Too Late to Speak Out, by Darrell Cochran
- No-Show Prison Workers Cost Mississippi Taxpayers Millions, by Joseph Neff, Alysia Santo
- Ninth Circuit Holds Intermediate Scrutiny Applies in Challenges to Facially Discriminatory Prison Regulations, by Matthew Clarke
- Overtime Payouts in California Prison System Approach $500 Million, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Florida State Prisons Scrub Key COVID Data From Website, Obscuring Magnitude of Inmate Deaths and Infections, by Laura Cassels
- Idaho Supreme Court Holds Prisoners Have No Right to Paid or Unpaid Employment, by Matthew Clarke
- Legislative Exemption Let Fired Alaska Cop Be Rehired as Jailer, by Edward Lyon
- Prisoners Paid $2 Per Hour to Move COVID-19 Corpses in El Paso, Texas, by Matthew Clarke
- NY Federal Court Denies Summary Judgment on Claims of Improper Medication Seizure, Evidence Fabrication, Improper Frisk During Prison Visit, by Matthew Clarke
- Minnesota Man Out of Prison After Being Exonerated of Murder, by Edward Lyon
- Federal Court Again Orders California DOC to Remedy Continuing ADA Violations, by Derek Gilna
- $4.65 Million Settlement for Florida Female Prisoner Left Quadriplegic After Brutal Beating by Guards, by David Reutter
- Decline in South Dakota State Prisoners Not Due to COVID, by Edward Lyon
- COVID-19: The Politics of Prisoner Vaccination, by Kevin Bliss
- DOJ Report: Carceral Population Falls, 2017-2018, by Matthew Clarke
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Tennessee DOC’s Hepatitis C Treatment Due to Lack of Funds, by David Reutter
- 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:
- Mississippi DOC Held Mentally Unwell Prisoners in Solitary, Many Died Because of It, Sept. 1, 2026. Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Staff Training, Deliberate Indifference.
- Isolation and Medical Neglect at Illinois’ Joliet Treatment Center Drive Prisoners to Set Fatal Fires, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Security Systems, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Court Shuts Down Arizona Attempt to Fill Medical Staff Vacancies with Under-Qualified Providers, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Staffing, Injunctions, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Oregon Agrees to $2.3 Million Settlement After Guards Toss Mentally Ill Prisoner in Solitary, Taunt Him Until He Kills Himself, Aug. 1, 2026. Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, Aug. 1, 2026. Prison Labor, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Immigration Detention, Monell Liability.
- Prisoners’ Risk of Death In Custody More than Doubles in Solitary Confinement, July 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Confinement in Segregated Housing, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Ombuds Report Doesn’t Rule Out Racism or Retaliation at Red Onion State Prison, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Failure to Treat, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.
- $250,000 Paid by Maine to Former Prisoner Held in Solitary Confinement—Which the State DOC Says Doesn’t Exist, June 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Americans with Disabilities Act, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- New York Juvenile Detention Officials Sued for Abusing Adolescents with Solitary Confinement, May 1, 2026. Sanitation, Lockdowns, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Juvenile Prisons, Confinement in Segregated Housing.
- Oregon Supreme Court Announces Trial Courts Must Give Complete Oral Final Jury Instructions at Conclusion of Trial, Preliminary Instructions Cannot Substitute for the ORCP 59 B Charge, May 1, 2026. Jury Instructions, Jury Instructions in Jury Room, Grounds for Relief, Denial of Due Process, Right to Testify/Remain Silent.

