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Federal Courts Throw Out Smart Communications’ Mail-Scanning Patent
by K. Robert Schaeffer
On October 7, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee granted judgment on the pleadings to Rutherford County and VendEngine, Inc., the contractor that digitizes prisoner mail in its jail, in a suit filed by Smart Communications that alleged infringement of its ...
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More from this issue:
- New York Finding Closed Prisons a Tough Sell, by Chuck Sharman
- Ninth Circuit Says Arizona DOC Policy Cannot Be Used to Censor Prisoner’s Free Expression, by David Reutter
- “Night of Terror” in Indiana Jail Sees Detainees Assaulted by Fellow Prisoners Who Purchased Cell Keys From Guard, by Kevin Bliss
- Minnesota Supreme Court: Prisoner Abused with Overtight Handcuffs Need Only Show Deliberate Indifference, Not Malicious Intent, by Matthew Clarke
- Study Shows COVID-19 Drove Prison Death Rates 50% Higher, by Keith Sanders
- Wellpath Subsidiary Out of Australian Women’s Prison After Indigenous Prisoner’s Death, by Keith Sanders
- Bureau of Justice Statistics Releases Latest First Step Act Data, by Casey Bastian
- “Abdication of Responsibility”: Heads Roll in Tennessee DOC Over Botched Execution Protocols, by Kevin Bliss
- Federal Courts Throw Out Smart Communications’ Mail-Scanning Patent, by Robert Schaeffer
- $775,000 Paid for Mentally Ill California Jail Detainee Who Compulsively Drank Water Until He Died, by Casey Bastian
- Dying for Being Deadbeat Dad in Missouri Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- Report Reveals Extent of Federal Pretrial Detention Crisis, by Casey Bastian
- Eighth Circuit Requires Source-of-Funds Finding Before Allowing BOP to Raid Account of Federal Prisoner in Missouri, by David Reutter
- Arizona Prison Forcibly Induced Labor for Pregnant Prisoners, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Senators Rail at DOJ Failure to Report In-Custody Deaths, by Jayson Hawkins
- $17.675 Million Paid for New Yorker’s Wrongful Conviction, by Jacob Barrett
- Sixth Circuit: “Minimal Findings Necessary” Before Garnishing Funds From Federal Prisoner in Ohio, by Casey Bastian
- Prisoner Health Update: Tuberculosis, by Eike Blohm, MD
- U.S. Prisoner Numbers Slowly Declining, by Edward Lyon
- Four Escape Troubled Mississippi Jail After Fifth Circuit Postpones Federal Receivership, by Keith Sanders
- No Charges for Georgia Guards Who Allegedly Abetted Attack That Left Prisoner Dead, by Keith Sanders
- Condemned Tennessee Prisoner Wins Fight Against Autopsy, by Harold Hempstead
- 70 Months for Former Warden of BOP ‘Rape Club’ in California, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Seventh Circuit Allows Illinois Prisoner to Prove Administrative Remedy Was “Unavailable” in Double-Celling Complaint, by David Reutter
- Illinois Makes Abortion Care Free for State Prisoners, by Chuck Sharman
- Almost $42,500 Awarded to Illinois Prisoner for Denial of Physical Therapy by Wellpath Nurse, by Casey Bastian
- State Prison Systems Failing to Provide Meaningful Programming, by Casey Bastian
- Eighth Circuit Greenlights Arkansas Execution Protocol, by Jacob Barrett
- Second Circuit Upholds Connecticut Prison Porn Ban, Sets Up Circuit Split Over “Vagueness” Test, by Jacob Barrett
- Louisiana Sheriff Coughs Up $2.75 Million After Falsely Claiming Detainee Died From Accidental Fall, by Jacob Barrett
- Nevada Pays Over $568,000 for Denying Prisoner Cataract Surgery, Ends “One Good Eye” Policy, by Jacob Barrett
- Four Michigan Jail Guards Guilty in Detainee Death, Family Paid $2.4 Million, by Matthew Clarke
- Former Mississippi Sheriff Indicted for Bribery After Allegedly Allowing Detainee Rape at County Jail, by Jordan Arizmendi
- $3,000 Awarded to Ohio Prisoner for Denied Public Records, by David Reutter
- BOP Hits Back Hard After Federal Prisoner in Arizona Brandishes Gun, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Prisoner Counselors STORMING California Prisons to Aid in Addiction Recovery, by Kevin Bliss
- It’s Official: BOP Prisoners on Expanded COVID-19 Home Confinement Staying Put, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Fifth South Carolina Prisoner Sentenced in “Sextortion” Scams Targeting Military Members, by Chuck Sharman
- Imprisoned Former Head of New York City Jails Guards’ Union Granted Release, by Matthew Clarke
- News in Brief
- Chronic Punishment: The Unmet Health Needs of People in State Prisons, by Leah Wang
- Prisoners Caught in Ukraine War Crossfire, by Chuck Sharman
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Over $3.5 Million Paid to Incontinent Colorado Prisoner Offered Diapers Instead of Dining Priority Pass, by David Reutter
- Sing Sing Prisoners File Suit Against New York State Alleging Vicious Beating by Guards, by Keith Sanders
- Eighth Circuit Lets Public Defender Withdraw from BOP Prisoner’s “Frivolous” Appeal, by Matthew Clarke
- No More Naps for Massachusetts Guards, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Michigan Supreme Court Justice Caves to Criticism, Accepts Resignation of Formerly Incarcerated Clerk, by Kevin Bliss
- Massachusetts Settles One of Three Suits Alleging Retaliation by Prison Guards for Assault on One of Their Own, by Harold Hempstead
- “All Signals Blinking Red” at Federal Prison in West Virginia After DOJ Releases Report on Killing of Mobster “Whitey” Bulger, by Casey Bastian, Benjamin Tschirhart
- Eleventh Circuit Won’t Force Condemned Alabama Prisoner to Die by Method He Didn’t Choose, by David Reutter
- Corizon Bankruptcy Threatens $6.4 Million Award to Family of Michigan Prisoner Whose Five-Day Jail Term Turned Into Death Sentence, by Jacob Barrett
- California Easing Housing Hurdles for Released Prisoners, by Edward Lyon
- Federal Prisoner in Pennsylvania Gets Sentence Reduction After Guard Rapes Her, by Casey Bastian
- Hawaii Guard One of Four Convicted in Smuggling Scheme at Honolulu Prison, by Chuck Sharman
More from Robert Schaeffer:
- Misadventures in Mail Censorship, Jan. 1, 2024
- Federal Courts Throw Out Smart Communications’ Mail-Scanning Patent, June 15, 2023
More from these topics:
- Monterey County Pays $1 Million to Settle Suit Over Detainee Suicide by Toilet Tissue; Wellpath Pays Another Undisclosed Sum, Feb. 15, 2025. Private Contractors, Settlements, Suicides.
- Wellpath Declares Bankruptcy, Jan. 15, 2025. Private Contractors, Bankruptcy, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- Turn Key Health Walks Away From Oklahoma County Jail, Jan. 15, 2025. Contractor Misconduct, Private Contractors, Contractor Liability.
- Mentally Incompetent Maine Defendants Sent to South Carolina Wellpath Lockup Called “Essentially Prison”, Jan. 15, 2025. Private Contractors, Bankruptcy, Mental Health, Involuntary Treatment/Drugging.
- Centurion’s $8 Million Track Record of Abuse and Neglect as New Mexico’s Correctional Medical Provider, Dec. 15, 2024. Centurion, Systemic Medical Neglect, Private Contractors, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- In Failure-to-Treat Claims, Wellpath Denied Dismissal in Virginia, Settles in Pennsylvania, Dec. 15, 2024. Private Contractors, Failure to Treat, Dismissal.
- Wellpath Sanctioned for Destroying Evidence in Two Oregon Jail Death Suits, Nov. 15, 2024. Private Contractors, Sanctions, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Evidence - Destruction/Fabrication/Manipulation of.
- Advanced Correctional Healthcare Ends Two Suits Over Deaths at Ohio Jail, Oct. 15, 2024. Private Contractors, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- Maryland Extends Contract with YesCare Despite Bankruptcy of Predecessor Corizon Health, Oct. 15, 2024. Private Contractors.
- Turn Key Health Clinics: Another Private Jail Medical Provider Leaving a Trail of Death and Misery, Sept. 15, 2024. Private Contractors, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.