×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Third Circuit Revives Forced-Labor Claims of Jailed Pennsylvania Child Support Debtors
Loaded on Aug. 15, 2023
by Matthew Clarke
published in Prison Legal News
August, 2023, page 14
Filed under:
Prison Labor,
Child Support Recovery Act/Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act,
Child Support Orders.
Location:
Pennsylvania.
by Matt Clarke
On February 8, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reinstated claims by Pennsylvania child support debtors jailed for civil contempt, who argued they were unfairly forced to perform unsafe and nearly uncompensated labor at a privately-operated, county-owned recycling center.
William …
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:
- Soaring Number of Detainee Deaths Spotlights Ongoing Crisis at Harris County Jail, by Douglas Ankney
- Alabama Guards Still Harming Prisoners, Overcrowding Set to Increase as Governor Slashes “Good Time”, by Jo Ellen Nott, Chuck Sharman
- Prolonged COVID-19 Visitation Restrictions Net Georgia Jails Over $1.5 Million in Telecom Kickbacks, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Atlanta Federal Prison Gets Another Reboot, by Chuck Sharman
- Protest Damages Massachusetts Jail that Sheriff Wants to Update, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Third Circuit Revives Forced-Labor Claims of Jailed Pennsylvania Child Support Debtors, by Matthew Clarke
- BOP Closes Deadliest Unit, by Chuck Sharman
- Biden Commutes 31 Federal Drug Sentences, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Fourth Circuit Revives Virginia Prisoner’s Challenge to DOC Policy Restricting His Religious Headwear, by Douglas Ankney
- Ohio Governor Reprieves Three Condemned Prisoners, by Chuck Sharman
- Flooding Causes Evacuation of 1,075 Detainees from California Jail, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Connecticut GOP Lawmakers Force Governor to Replace Pardon Board Chair, Stopping All Commutation Hearings, by Jordan Arizmendi
- California College Offers Housing, Services to Formally Incarcerated Students, by Keith Sanders
- SCOTUS Orders Last-Minute Stay of Execution for Oklahoma Death Row Prisoner Richard Glossip
- Prison Looks Different for Two Celebrity Women, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Alabama Prisoner’s Family Sues Over Allegedly Botched Execution, by Chuck Sharman
- Vermont Sheriff Locked Out of National Crime Database, Facing Impeachment, by Chuck Sharman
- Arizona Prisoner Released from Death Row, by Chuck Sharman
- Executive Inaction: States and Federal Government Fail to Use Commutations as a Release Mechanism, by Naila Awan, Katie Rose Quandt
- Senators Spank DOJ for Failure to Implement Death-in-Custody Reporting Act
- Former Prisoner Uses “Look Back” Window to Sue for Sexual Abuse at Shuttered New York Prison, by David Reutter
- Corizon Executes “Texas Two-Step,” Spinning Off Debt Into Bankrupt New Firm to Avoid Paying Creditors and Lawsuit Winners, by Matthew Clarke
- Third Circuit Reinstates Claim by Federal Prisoner in Pennsylvania that Guards Prevented Daily Muslim Prayers, by Matthew Clarke
- Missouri Legalizes Marijuana and Expunges Criminal Records, by David Reutter
- Life Sentence for Alabama Jail Escapee After Suicide of Guard Lover Who Helped Him, by Chuck Sharman
- Washington State Initiative to Expand Jail Ballot Access Faces Local Pushback, by David Reutter
- Cuyahoga County Sheriff Stripped of Jail Commissary Control After $500,000 in Inventory Goes Missing, by David Reutter
- Prison Profiteer Who Chairs Christian Seminary Board Called Not Very ‘Christlike’, by Kevin Bliss
- Corizon Bankruptcy Stalls Suit By Alleged Rape Victims of Rikers Island Guard, by Chuck Sharman
- Menstruation Weaponized Against Women in Prison, by Kevin Bliss
- DOJ Finds Louisiana ‘Deliberately Indifferent’ to Prisoners Incarcerated Long Past Their Release Dates, by Matthew Clarke
- Seventh Circuit: Cook County Jail Grievance Procedure An “Incomprehensible Trap”, by Douglas Ankney
- Prisoner Health Update: HIV, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Ninth Circuit Affirms Expanded Relief for Disabled California Prisoners in Long-Running Class Action, by David Reutter
- $82 Million For Detainee Death in Oklahoma Jail is “Largest Civil Rights Death Claim in U.S. History”, by Matthew Clarke
- Idaho Revives Firing Squads, by Kevin Bliss
- SCOTUS Overrules Arizona Supreme Court, Allows Death Row Prisoner to Proceed With State Habeas Action, by Matthew Clarke
- $30,000 Paid by Michigan to Prisoner Wrongfully Classified as Sex Offender, by David Reutter
- Fifth Circuit Kills Suit by Louisiana Prisoners Whose Release Dates Were Incorrectly Calculated, by David M. Reutter
- Former Illinois Guards Sentenced for Prisoner’s Fatal Beating, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- New Report Pats BOP on the Back for Addressing Problems With Restrictive Housing, PREA, by Keith Sanders
- Fourth Circuit: Federal Prisoner in North Carolina Making Rehabilitation Act Claim Must Exhaust Both BOP Grievance Process and Justice Department’s EEO Complaint Process, by David Reutter
- Missouri Prisoner Illegally Condemned by Illiterate Juror Executed Anyway, by Chuck Sharman
- Ohio Supreme Court Grants State Prisoner Another $1,000 for Denied Records, by Keith Sanders
- Four Month Prison Term for BOP Compliance Monitor in Miami Who Sexually Abused Prisoner on His Case Load, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Wellpath Sanctioned for Discovery Violations After Stonewalling in Prisoner Lawsuits, by Douglas Ankney
- Second Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to N.Y. Prison Official Who Imposed Post-Release Supervision on Prisoner – But Reverses Damages Award, 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:
- Washington DOC Barred from Putting Prisoners on Lockdown and Calling It “Programming”, Sept. 1, 2026. Prison Labor, Liberty Interests, Notice of Rules, Lockdowns, Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
- New ICE Detention Standards Appear Designed to Help GEO Group Avoid Paying Wages, Sept. 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Contractor Misconduct, Prison Labor, Immigration Detention.
- New Commission to Investigate Death and Abuse of 230 Black Children at Segregated Maryland Reformatory, Sept. 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Prison Labor, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Juvenile Prisons.
- The GEO Group Pays California $104,510 to Settle Workplace Safety Charges at ICE Detention Facility—Where Local Cops Won’t Investigate Crimes, Sept. 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Contractor Misconduct, Prison Labor, Work Conditions/Safety, Police/Govt Misconduct.
- Oklahoma Prisoners Made Political Calls for Conservative Super PAC, Sept. 1, 2026. Prison Industries, Prison Labor, Work Conditions/Safety, Elections.
- 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.
- SCOTUS Shuts Down GEO Group Bid for Immunity in Suit by Colorado ICE Detainees, July 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Prison Labor, Sovereign Immunity, Interlocutory Appeals, Immigration Detention.
- 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.
- Federal Judge Upholds Infamously Brutal Farm Labor at Angola Prison, June 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Prison Labor, Exposure to Heat, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Deliberate Indifference.
- Constitutional Challenge to Louisiana Prison “Farm Line” Granted Class Certification, March 1, 2026. Prison Labor, Exposure to Heat, Injunctions (PLRA), Class Certification, Americans with Disabilities Act.

