Skip navigation
Prison Legal News
× You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.

Massachusetts High Court: Lawmakers Haven’t Stopped Sheriffs From Taking Kickbacks from Jail Phone Calls, and Neither Will We

Loaded on March 1, 2023 by Benjamin Tschirhart published in Prison Legal News March, 2023, page 50
Filed under: Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Federal Funds, Private Phone Contractors. Location: Massachusetts.

by Benjamin Tschirhart

On May 17, 2022, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled that sheriffs may continue the decades-old practice of collecting commissions from charges for phone calls made by those incarcerated in the state’s jails.     

At issue is the cost of communication for an extremely vulnerable population, which ...

 

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.

Subscribe today

Already a subscriber? Login

More from this issue:

  1. With “Fox in Charge of the Henhouse,” Almost All Misconduct Accusations Against BOP Staff Result in No Discipline, by Benjamin Tschirhart
  2. Tenth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Utah Jailers After Detainee’s Withdrawal Death, by David Reutter
  3. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
  4. Riot and Escape at Nevada Prison Lead to Charges Against Four Guards, Firings or Resignations of Top Officials, by David Reutter
  5. In an Ominous Pattern, People Are Dying Once Transferred to Louisiana Prison, by Victoria Law
  6. Alabama County Ends Controversial Policy Using Women’s Pregnancies to Jail Them, by Ashleigh Dye
  7. California Governor Vetoes State’s Humane Solitary Confinement Bill, by Kevin Bliss
  8. Former California Prison Warden and Guard Accused of Sexual Misconduct with Two Dozen Prisoners and Coworkers, by Jo Ellen Nott
  9. Fifth Circuit: Texas Prison Property Rules Withstand Scrutiny Under Religious Free-Exercise Clause, by David Reutter
  10. Seventh Circuit Revives Indiana Prisoner’s Claim He Was Wrongfully Fired From Prison Commissary for Attending Religious Service, by David Reutter
  11. “Acres of Skin” – Redux, by Gregory J. Dober
  12. Illinois Supreme Court Orders State DOC to Fund Required Treatment and Housing for Sex Offender’s Conditional Release, by David Reutter
  13. Fourth Circuit Reinstates North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit Over Flesh-Eating Infection, by David Reutter
  14. SCOTUS Helps Revive Malicious Prosecution Claim Against Chicago Police Officers, by David Reutter, Kevin Bliss
  15. $1.455 Million Settlement for Discrimination Against Black Minnesota Jail Guards Barred from Watching Floyd Killer, by David Reutter
  16. Eighth Circuit Affirms Conviction and Sentencing of Former Arkansas Sheriff for Assaulting Detainees, by Harold Hempstead
  17. Pennsylvania County Commissioner Barred from DA’s Email After Own Prison Record Is Purged and Jail Key Copied, by Kevin Bliss
  18. Pennsylvania Guards and Their Attorneys Spanked for Discovery Abuse in Prisoner’s Excessive-Force Suit, by David Reutter
  19. Fifth Circuit Greenlights Suit by Louisiana Prisoners Held in Local Jails Beyond Release Date, by Matthew Clarke
  20. Seventh Circuit Says Fourth Amendment Does Not Require Bail Hearing Within 48 Hours of Arrest, by Benjamin Tschirhart
  21. Fifth Circuit: No Liability for Texas County that Improperly Relied on Polygraph to Imprison Released Sex Offender Additional 13 Years, by Benjamin Tschirhart
  22. More Drugs Seized by Florida DOC During COVID-19 Lockdowns Than Before, by David Reutter
  23. Federal Court Holds Illinois DOC in Contempt for Failing to Remediate Substandard Healthcare, by Douglas Ankney
  24. Second Circuit Reinstates N.Y. Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim, Finding Grievance Procedure ‘Unavailable’ in Mental Health Unit, by David Reutter
  25. $175,000 Paid by California County to Escaped Prisoner Mauled By K-9 During Recapture, by Keith Sanders
  26. After 13 Jail Deaths in Eight Months of 2022, California Sheriff Finally Reveals How They Happened, by Benjamin Tschirhart
  27. $87,000 Paid to Virginia Prisoner Kicked in Testicles by Guard, by Benjamin Tschirhart
  28. Tenth Circuit Revives Kansas Prisoner’s Claim That He Was Denied Access to Court, by Anthony Accurso
  29. Alabama Supreme Court Says Prisoner Who Didn’t Return From Work Release Punishable Under Felony Escape Statute, by David Reutter
  30. Third Former Guard at Troubled Federal Prison in Brooklyn Sentenced After Retrial and Conviction for Raping Prisoner, by Chuck Sharman
  31. Ex-Felon “Dirtbags” Accused of Ordering Hit on Detainee at Florida Jail, But Questions Linger, by Jo Ellen Nott
  32. Hospitalized California IST Defendants Entitled to Jail Conduct Credits, by Mark Wilson
  33. Seventh Circuit Sides With Muslim Prisoner, Bars Strip Search by Transgender Wisconsin Guard, by David Reutter
  34. Florida DA Reopens Cold Murder Case, Exonerates Wrongly Imprisoned Man, Finds Real Killers – and Gets Axed by Governor, by David Reutter
  35. Judge Dismisses Suit Filed by California Town to Keep State Prison Open, by Keith Sanders
  36. 18 Stabbings in Less Than Nine Months at Oklahoma CoreCivic Prison, by Keith Sanders
  37. $14,000 Paid by California to Mentally Ill Prisoner Who Alleged Repeated Maulings by Guards, by Douglas Ankney
  38. Hypothermia Kills Prisoner in Cold Pennsylvania Jail Cell, One of 17 Deaths Since 2019, by Jo Ellen Nott
  39. North Dakota Guard Fired After Suicide of Convicted Quadruple Murderer, by Justin McFatridge
  40. Smuggling Ring Busted in Georgia Jail, 11 Arrested Including Four Guards and Former Nurse, by Jo Ellen Nott
  41. After Botched Lethal Injection, Alabama Will Execute Prisoner by Nitrogen Hypoxia, by David Reutter
  42. Massachusetts High Court: Lawmakers Haven’t Stopped Sheriffs From Taking Kickbacks from Jail Phone Calls, and Neither Will We, by Benjamin Tschirhart
  43. Elderly Prisoners Catch a Break on Medicare Part B, by Eike Blohm, MD
  44. Another Prisoner Dies in Another Fire at Indiana Prison, by Jo Ellen Nott
  45. Second Hunger Strike Met With Pepper Spray at Washington GEO Group Lockup Where ICE Detainees Allege Widespread Sexual Abuse, by Keith Sanders
  46. $350,000 Settlement Reached in Florida Prisoner’s Murder, by David Reutter
  47. Alabama Prisoner’s Deliberate Indifference Claim Dies for Lack of Proper Affidavits, by David Reutter
  48. Colorado’s Halfway Houses Returning Half of Residents to Prison, by Keith Sanders
  49. Transgender Idaho Prisoner Who Won Gender Conforming Surgery Awarded Over $2.6 Million in Legal Fees, by Eike Blohm, MD
  50. Parents Losing Children Because They Can’t Repay Foster Care Costs Incurred During Incarceration, by Jo Ellen Nott
  51. CoreCivic Still Accruing Fines for Short-Staffing Florida Jail Where Developmentally Disabled Teen Was Raped, by Ashleigh Dye
  52. Second Circuit Affirms Qualified Immunity for Connecticut Cops who Sicced K-9 on Suspect in His Holding Cell, by Casey Bastian
  53. $857,500 Paid by California County for Jail Detainee’s Death, While Cellmate Who Beat Him Is Now in State Prison, by David Reutter
  54. Over $298,000 Awarded to Alabama Jail Detainee with Heart Disease After Guards, Nurses Ignored Firing Defibrillator, by David Reutter
  55. Nebraska Assistant Warden Avoids Prosecution for Sexually Abusing Prisoner, Pleads Guilty to Lesser Charge and Gets a Year in Jail, by Benjamin Tschirhart
  56. After Eleventh Circuit Says ICE Detainee Is Not “Prisoner” Subject to PLRA, He Goes Missing from Georgia, by David Reutter
  57. Former PLN Editor Settles Suit Over Detention in Tennessee ‘Iron Man’ Cell, Gets 40-Year Prison Term for Vandalizing Nashville Jail, by Benjamin Tschirhart
  58. GTL Ordered to Pay $18.675 Million in Attorney Fees and Costs in Prison Phone Class Action, by Anthony Accurso
  59. News in Brief

More from Benjamin Tschirhart:

More from these topics: