×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Maine Supreme Judicial Court Holds Courts Have Authority to Enjoin DOC from Unconstitutional Segregation Practices
by Matt Clarke
On November 5, 2020, the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine (SJC) held that a trial court had the authority to enjoin the Maine Department of Corrections (DOC) from engaging in unconstitutional practices related to segregation and the court erred when it restored a prisoner’s good …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- “Progressive” Seattle Mayoral Candidate Exposed as Shill for the Private Prison Industry, by Ken Silverstein
- The Contraband Wars Prison authorities target books and mail, miss the goods coming through the staff door, by Christopher Zoukis
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Course of the Covid Pandemic, by Michael D. Cohen, MD
- Inmate Magazine Service Advertising Results in FTC Complaint, by David Reutter
- Ohio County Executive and Underlings Under Investigation for Jail Corruption and Deaths, by Edward Lyon
- Coronavirus Lockdowns in Prisons Test Limits of Colorado’s Rules on Solitary Confinement, by John Herrick
- Guard “Justified” in Shooting Death of Elderly Woman in Spokane County Jail Lobby, by Kevin Bliss
- After DOJ Finds Unconstitutional Conditions for Mentally Ill Prisoners in Solitary, Massachusetts Experiments with Monitoring Gadget, by Kevin Bliss, Keith Sanders
- Wisconsin Prisoner In Vegetative State After Suicide Attempt Wins New Trial on Jury Instruction Error, by David M. Reutter
- Illinois Prisoner’s Negligence Lawsuit Alleging Injuries from Wart Treatment Timely Filed, by David M. Reutter
- District Court Certifies Class Status in Louisville Jail Overdetention of Prisoners’ Suit, by Douglas Ankney
- Eleventh Circuit Upholds Some Convictions of Four Georgia Prison Guards for Drug Smuggling; Reverses Others for Retrial, by Matthew Clarke
- Law Review States Prisons Better Off With Public Health Care Rather than Private, by Kevin Bliss
- $6.2 Million Judgment for California Deputies Negligence Causing Arrestee Injuries Affirmed, by David Reutter
- U.S. Supreme Court Reverses Dismissal of Texas Prisoner’s Feces Covered Cell Lawsuit, by David Reutter
- Incarcerated Persons Not In-Custody for Miranda Purposes
- Woman Abuse Survivors Sent to Prison for Self-Defense, by Keith Sanders
- Inspector General Finds Botched Transfers Caused COVID Outbreak at San Quentin, 29 Dead, by Matthew Clarke
- North Carolina Prisons Underreport COVID Related Deaths, by Kevin Bliss
- New Jersey Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak Kept Quiet in State Prisons, by Akela Lacy
- GAO Reports ICE Wastes Hundreds of Millions Each Year, by Matthew Clarke
- The Enduring Life of Life Sentences, by Casey Bastian
- Federal Court Orders Release of Documents for Connecticut Prison Cancer Death, by David Reutter
- Virginia Votes to Abolish Death Penalty, by Jayson Hawkins
- Second Circuit Holds Connecticut Can’t Indemnify Guard in Assault Case Then Seek Cost of Incarceration; $650,000 Awarded in Failure to Protect Case, by David Reutter
- Georgia Sheriffs Entitled to Eleventh Amendment Immunity When Setting Jail Policies That Lead to Prisoners Being Sexually Abused, by David Reutter
- Architects Question Whether Building “More Humane” Prisons is Possible, by Daniel A. Rosen
- $54,000 Award of Attorney Fees to Enforce Settlement Agreement on Behalf of Deaf Prisoners, by David Reutter
- En Banc Eleventh Circuit Holds Prisoners Can Seek Punitive Damages Without Physical Injury, by David Reutter
- Sixth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Retaliation Suit by Pro Se Michigan Prisoner, by David Reutter
- Maine Supreme Judicial Court Holds Courts Have Authority to Enjoin DOC from Unconstitutional Segregation Practices, by Matthew Clarke
- From a Picture Grew Thousands of Words, by Edward Lyon
- $200,000 Settlement for Kentucky Woman in Jail Childbirth Suit, by Matthew Clarke
- Advancing Stage of HCV Triggers Imminent Danger Exception to PLRA Three Strikes Rule
- Maine Prisons Expand Medication Assisted Treatment, by David Reutter
- Oregon Federal Court Issues Class Certification in HRDC Challenge to NUMI Release Debit Cards, by David Reutter
- When Prisoners Die, Hawaii Keeps it Secret, by Edward Lyon
- Three Illinois Guards Indicted for Fatally Beating Prisoner
- Majority of Americans Now Favor Life Imprisonment Over Death Penalty, by Matthew Clarke
- Fifth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Transfer Lawsuit by Suicidal Prisoner, by Matthew Clarke
- Iowa Jails Lower Phone Rates But Not Far Enough, by David Reutter
- Colorado Supreme Court Holds Prisoners Entitled to Preliminary Hearing on New Charges, by Matthew Clarke
- After Backlash, Tennessee State University President Reverses Decision to Join CoreCivic Board, by Matthew Clarke
- “We Want Court dates!”, by Keith Sanders
- News in Brief
More from Matthew Clarke:
- 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
- Tenth Circuit Upholds $33 Million Jury Award in Suit Over Detainee’s Horrific Death in Oklahoma County Jail, July 1, 2026
- Texas Prison System Bans Prisoners from Receiving Hardback and Used Books, July 1, 2026
- CoreCivic’s Long Record of Abuse and Neglect in Tennessee, June 1, 2026
- Dallas County Jail Deaths, Many Preventable, Dramatically Increase Under Sheriff Marian Brown, June 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Lets Stand Ruling That Federal Prisoners’ Gradually Accumulated Savings Are Subject to Restitution Turnover, June 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Reinstates Illinois Prisoner’s Lawsuit Against Prison Dental Staff, June 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Colorado Ordered to Stop Tossing Prisoners in Solitary for Refusing to Work, July 1, 2026. Prison Labor, Injunctions, Good Time, Constitution, state, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Idaho DOC Director Denies Verified Report of Rampant Sexual Abuse of Women Prisoners by Staff, May 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Retaliatory Segregation, Prison Rape Elimination Act.
- Texas State Jails Fail: Institutions Conceived as Safe Spots for Rehabilitation After Minor Drug Convictions Now Flooded With Drugs and Major Felons, March 1, 2026. Drug Overdose, Staffing, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Good Time, Drug Treatment/Rehab.
- Missouri Prisoners Forced to Shovel Snow in Subzero Temperatures, Feb. 1, 2026. Retaliatory Segregation, Prison Labor, Work Conditions/Safety, Exposure to Cold, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- After Exposing Prison Horrors, Incarcerated Whistleblowers Are Moved to Solitary, Feb. 1, 2026. Whistleblowing, Retaliatory Segregation, Work Strikes, Totality of Conditions, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.
- $404,000 Verdict for Ohio Prisoner Brutalized by Trio of Guards, Kept in Solitary for Two Years, Jan. 1, 2026. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Retaliatory Segregation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.
- Alabama Supreme Court Denies DOC’s Improper Venue Objection, Jan. 1, 2026. Defenses, Good Time, Habeas Corpus, Failure to Object, Authority and Jurisdiction.
- Third Circuit Rules Awarding BOP Prisoners 54 Days of Good Time Per Year Is Pro-Rated, Jan. 1, 2026. Good Time, First Step Act, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Credits.
- CDCR May No Longer Use Sentence Credits to Advance Parole Eligibility of Some California Prisoners Serving Indeterminate Sentences, Dec. 1, 2025. Good Time, Constitution, state, Sentence, Credits, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Prisoner Assaulted by BOP Guard and Left With Bleeding Rectum—Then the Cover-Up Began, Dec. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, DOC/BOP misconduct, Retaliatory Segregation, Malicious Prosecution, Restraints.

