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Qualified Immunity Granted on Claim of Sleep Deprivation From Guard Noise During Suicide-Prevention Checks in California
by David M. Reutter
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal granted qualified immunity to prison officials in a civil rights action alleging prison noise that stemmed from implementing a court order requiring round-the-clock welfare checks in California’s prison system. The court held it was not clearly established that …
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More from this issue:
- The Punishment Economy: Winners and Losers in the Business of Mass Incarceration, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Use of Solitary Confinement During Pandemic Detrimental To Prisoners and Not Slowing Spread of COVID-19, by Chad Marks
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Why Did a St. Louis Man Die in a Federal Prison Coronavirus Hotspot?, by Mike Fitzgerald
- Texas Prisons Close Amid Pandemic, by Jayson Hawkins
- The Importance of Establishing Veterans Benefits While in Prison, by Art Gage
- ICE Holding Cuban Detainee for 11 Years and Counting Following Florida Prison Release, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Alabama Prisons, Among Deadliest for COVID-19, Not Prepared to Vaccinate Prisoners, by Kevin Bliss
- Amid Widespread Calls for Abolition, Mariame Kaba Sheds Light With Latest Book, by Juliette LaMarr
- Massachusetts Uses Medical Parole to Avoid In-Custody Deaths From COVID-19, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Second Circuit Reinstates Acquitted New York City Man’s Claims of Police Due Process Violations and Excessive Use of Force by Jailers, by Matthew Clarke
- Music Project Brings Prisoners’ Stories to Life in Song, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Report: Massachusetts Prisons Continue to Fail on Mental Health Care, by Jayson Hawkins
- Federal Court: COVID-19 Vaccine Must be Available to All Oregon Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Idaho Supreme Court Orders Release of Death Penalty Related Documents, by David Reutter
- BOP’s Terminal Island Response Sparked COVID-19 Spread, by Mark Wilson
- Second Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment in Lawsuit Alleging New York Guard Sexually Assaulted Female Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Qualified Immunity Granted on Claim of Sleep Deprivation From Guard Noise During Suicide-Prevention Checks in California, by David Reutter
- Texas Moves to Deny Housing for Released Prisoners, by Edward Lyon
- California State Prisoners Pay Teen’s School Tuition, by Edward Lyon
- Smoking on the Chain Gang, by David Reutter
- Medical Copays for Prisoners Suspended in Several States Due to COVID-19, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Washington State Governor Signs Bill Banning Private Prisons Statewide, by Juliette LaMarr
- Pandemic Medical Update: Vaccines, Variants and More, by Michael D. Cohen, MD
- Southern Republican Senators Criticize Third Pandemic Relief Bill for Giving Payments to Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- Broad Support for North Carolina Bill to Bar Shackling Pregnant Prisoners, by Daniel Matheson
- Judge Slaps Arizona With $1.1 Million Fine Over Prison Health Care, by David Reutter
- With the majority of corrections officers declining the COVID-19 vaccine, incarcerated people are still at serious risk, by Wanda Bertram, Wendy Sawyer
- HRDC Wins FOIA Lawsuit filed in Washington State for Unredacted ICE Documents, by David Reutter
- Report: Private Company Rubber-Stamps Inspections of Abuse-Ridden ICE Detention Camps, by Kevin Bliss
- Family of San Quentin Prisoner Who Died of COVID-19 Due to “Horribly Botched Transfer” Files Lawsuit, by Douglas Ankney
- Report Calls for the End of Solitary Confinement at Michigan Prisons, by Kevin Bliss
- Washington Supreme Court Holds Ongoing Contempt Not Required to Impose Sanctions for Violating Injunction Against Releasing Sex Offender Records, by Matthew Clarke
- Repairing Credit After Release from Prison, by Kevin Bliss
- Report: Border Patrol Misappropriated Funds and Failed to Provide Proper Medical Care to Accurately Report Migrant Deaths, by Douglas Ankney
- Biden’s Justice Department Nomination Faces Aggressive Opposition From Senate Republicans, by Juliette LaMarr
- Lawsuit Over Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Fatal Asthma Attack Allegedly Triggered by Excessive Use of Pepper Spray, by Matthew Clarke
- Narrowing the Remedial Gap: Damages for Disability Discrimination in Outsourced Federal Programs, by Margo Schlanger
- COVID-19 Kills Jeffery Epstein’s Former Cellmate, by Edward Lyon
- News in Brief
- Banksy Artwork Appears on Jail in England, by David Reutter
More from David Reutter:
- Eight Circuit Reverses Denial of Partial Qualified Immunity in Detainee’s Pepper Ball Claim, Remands Excessive Force Claims, Sept. 1, 2026
- Nevada Prisoners, Families Call Out Predatory Tablet Program, Sept. 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit: Error in Granting Judgment Prior to Adjudging Spoliation Motion, Sept. 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Affirms Qualified Immunity in Strip Searches Resulting from Anonymous Tips, Sept. 1, 2026
- Tenth Circuit: Colorado Governor Unentitled to Eleventh Amendment Immunity on Claim Related to DOC Religious Policies, Aug. 1, 2026
- Michigan Appeals Court: Witnesses Cannot be Forced to Wear Jail Clothes at Trial, Aug. 1, 2026
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of State-Law Qualified Immunity in Scabies Case, Aug. 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Revives Disabled Prisoner’s Claim for Denial of Out-of-Cell Exercise Time, Aug. 1, 2026
- Sixth Circuit Announces State-Law Exceptions to Appeal Deadlines Preserve “Pending” Status Under AEDPA, Holding Belated-Appeal Procedures Toll Federal Habeas Limitations Period, April 1, 2026
- Florida Supreme Court Announces Rule 3.170(f)’s Good-Cause Plea-Withdrawal Standard Does Not Apply at Post-Appeal Resentencing, April 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Eleventh Circuit Upholds Most of Relief Ordered in Class-Action Lawsuit Challenging Unconstitutionally Inadequate Mental Health Care in Alabama Prisons, Oct. 1, 2026. Eighth Amendment, Staffing, Injunctions (PLRA), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Eighth Circuit Reverses District Court’s Denial of Motion to Dismiss Some Defendants from Lawsuit Over Missouri Prisoner’s Suicide, Oct. 1, 2026. Qualified Immunity, Sovereign Immunity, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides, Deliberate Indifference.
- 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.
- $800,000 Settlement Reached in Hawai‘i Jail Suicide Case, Sept. 1, 2026. Staffing, Failure to Train/Supervise, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Rising Deaths in Los Angeles County Jail Linked to Longer Stays, Sept. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Drug Overdose, Statistics/Trends, Suicides, Reduction of Prison Population.
- $4.5 Million Paid by Cook County for Detainee Suicide in Chicago Jail, Aug. 1, 2026. Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Administrative Detention/Segregation, Deliberate Indifference.
- Colorado Pays $245,000 to Muslim Former Prisoner Shaved by Same Guard Who Cost DOC Earlier Settlement with Jewish Prisoner Denied Kosher Meals, Aug. 1, 2026. Religious Discrimination, Overdetention, Religious Diet, Religious Practices, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified.
- 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.
- After Spoliation Sanction, CoreCivic Settles Suit Over Suicide in New Mexico ICE Lockup, July 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Discovery, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Study Shows That Suicide Intervention During and After Incarceration Reduces Suicide Attempts by 55%, June 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Suicides, Health care.

