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HRDC Awarded Over $130,000 in Legal Costs and Fees for Defendant’s “Bad Faith” in Maine Records Lawsuit
by David M. Reutter
On January 16, 2024, Maine’s Superior Court for Kennebec County ordered state officials to pay $130,600.02 in attorney fees and legal costs to PLN’s publisher, the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), after making a rare finding that the officials exercised bad faith in repeatedly denying the ...
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More from this issue:
- NaphCare: More Proof That Privatized Healthcare Deals Death and Misery to the Incarcerated to Enhance Profits, by David Reutter
- Woman Denied Cardiac Care in Federal Prison in Texas—Despite Personal Assurance of BOP Medical Director
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- With Push to Empty North Carolina’s Death Row Comes Another to End Life Without Parole
- Drunken “Karen” Jail Guard in Michigan Invades Former Home, Demands to Speak to Prosecutor When Cops Arrive
- Alaska Prisons Report Three Deaths in Three Days
- Months-Long Wisconsin Prison Lockdown Prompts Lawsuits
- Florida County Makes Free Jail Phone Calls Available
- Colorado Prisoners Disciplined for Not Working Despite Ban on Prison Slavery
- From Prison Cook to Praised Pizza Chef
- Louisville Jail Records 15 Detainee Deaths, 16 Employees Fired
- 428 Georgia Prison Employees Criminally Charged in Five Years
- California Prisons Locked Down After Massive Riot Hospitalizes Prisoner, Eight Guards
- One Detainee Dying Every Week in L.A. County Jails
- Sentencing Project Finds “Important Inroads” Against Mass Incarceration, Racial Inequality Behind Bars
- Condemned Texas Prisoner Ruled Too Mentally Ill to Execute, by Matthew Clarke
- HRDC Awarded Over $130,000 in Legal Costs and Fees for Defendant’s “Bad Faith” in Maine Records Lawsuit, by David Reutter
- Oregon Prisoner’s Parole Deferral Based on “Dangerous Offender” Statute Reversed
- Maryland Compensates Exonerated Prisoner Over $340,000
- Seventh Circuit Again Rejects Challenge to Three-Book Limit at Cook County Jail by Now-Dead Detainee, by David Reutter
- $33 Million Awarded to Family of Oklahoma Jail Detainee Mocked By Nurse and Guards As He Died Begging for Help, by Douglas Ankney
- $9,000 Settlement in Wisconsin Prisoner’s Heat-Related Illness Suit, by Matthew Clarke
- Sixth Circuit Refuses Michigan Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim Despite Guard’s Conviction for Battery, by David Reutter
- Lights, Camera, Action! “Dead Man Walking” Comes to Sing Sing
- Parole and Probation Accused of Driving Prison Growth, by David Reutter
- Louisiana Supreme Court Springs Prisoner From Death Row
- $1.75 Million Settlement Reached in Washington Jail Suicide, by David Reutter
- Grand Jury Slams Sacramento County for Delaying Jail Improvements Mandated in Consent Decree, by Douglas Ankney
- Kansas DOC Claims Discrimination Against Wiccans Was “Inadvertent”, by Douglas Ankney
- California Adds Statewide Detention Monitors Overseeing Local Jails
- Massachusetts High Court Calls Denial of Prisoner’s Medical Parole without Risk Assessment Arbitrary and Capricious, by Douglas Ankney
- Third Circuit Revives Disabled New Jersey Prisoner’s Claim for Deprivation of Walking Cane, by Douglas Ankney
- Nine Employees Arrested at Troubled South Carolina Jail
- Missouri Moms Jailed After Kids Miss Too Much School
- Two Kansas Prison Guards Fired, Six Disciplined for Mocking Injured Prisoner and Refusing Her Help
- Exceptional Punishments, by Kate Weisburd
- N.J. Prison Guard Sacked Over Mock George Floyd Killing
- Third Circuit Unhappy with Federal Detainee’s Denied Marriage Request at Pennsylvania GEO Group Lockup
- Russian Opposition Leader Dies in Prison
- Oklahoma Jail Withholds Death Records, Fails to Report Five Since 2018, by Matthew Clarke
- $8.5 Million Settlement After Pretrial Detainee Suffocated by Guards and Medical Staff at Virginia Psychiatric Hospital, by David Reutter
- $11.6 Million Settlement Reached in HRDC Debit Release Card Case in Washington; California Victory Remanded
- Georgia Sheriff Resigns After Groping TV Judge’s Breast
- North Carolina Court of Appeals Reinstates Parolee’s Parental Rights, Says Parole Conditions Barred Him from Visiting Minor Daughter, by Matthew Clarke
- Finding Indiana Grievance Process “Unavailable,” Federal Judge Grants Summary Judgment to 22 Prisoners on Same Day
- Alabama Denies Parole to Former Sheriff Convicted of Corruption
- Massachusetts Prisoners Again Stage Hunger Strike Against Solitary Confinement
- Eleventh Circuit Calls Georgia Prisoner’s Dismissed Suit Outside PLRA “Strike Zone”
- $19.3 Million Awarded to Former Illinois Prisoner Repeatedly Sexually Assaulted by Prison Counselor
- Missouri Expands Prison Mail Ban to Include Books Sent by Family, Friends
- Federal Prisoners Released Under First Step Act Show 37% Reduction in Recidivism, by Matthew Clarke
- Arizona Supreme Court Reverses Summary Judgment for Corizon Health in State Prisoner’s Death from Untreated Diabetes, by Matthew Clarke
- Washington DOC Outfits Guards with Narcan
- Class-Action Lawsuit Challenges Use of Presumptive Drug Tests by Washington DOC
- Fifth Circuit Finds Louisiana Prisoner’s Solitary Confinement Not Sufficiently “Atypical” to Violate the Constitution, by David Reutter
- Connecticut DOC Held Liable for Failure to Treat Transgender Prisoner’s Gender Dysphoria, by Douglas Ankney
- Eighth Circuit Affirms Qualified Immunity for Missouri Prison Chief in Sexual Abuse Claims Against Former Guard, by David Reutter
- Ninth Circuit Says Federal Prisoner in California May Have Bivens Claim for Delays in Medical Care Allegedly to Cover Up Assault by BOP Guard
- $2,000 Paid to Former Arkansas Jail Detainees Given Horse Dewormer for COVID-19, by Douglas Ankney
- At BOP California “Rape Club” Prison: Historic Ruling, FBI Raid, Warden Removed
- News in Brief
More from David Reutter:
- Help Wanted: 31,000 Prison Guard Jobs Open Nationwide, Sept. 1, 2025
- Fifth Circuit Greenlights Federal Takeover of Mississippi Jail, Aug. 1, 2025
- Ninth Circuit Revives Prisoner’s Claim Based on Guard’s Thwarting of Administrative Remedies, Aug. 1, 2025
- Tenth Circuit Ruling Paves Way for $2.7 Million Settlement for Intellectually Disabled Jail Detainee Raped by Sheriff, Aug. 1, 2025
- Ninth Circuit Agrees That Former Guantanamo Detainee Lacks Grounds to Sue for Waterboarding, Aug. 1, 2025
- Qualified Immunity Denied for Iowa Prison Doctor’s MRI Delay for Non-Medical Reasons, Aug. 1, 2025
- Ninth Circuit: Continuing-Violations Doctrine Applies for PLRA Administrative Exhaustion Purposes, Aug. 1, 2025
- First Circuit: Prosecutor’s Breach of Plea Agreement Requires Government’s Specific Performance of Agreement, Not Specific Performance by District Court, Aug. 1, 2025
- Oregon Prisoners Can Now Seek Economic Damages for Future Lost Income More Easily, July 15, 2025
- $22.5 Million Verdict Arrives Too Late for Wrongfully Convicted Illinois Prisoner, July 15, 2025
More from these topics:
- PLN Publisher Wins Settlement Records from Centurion in Florida Prisoner’s Wrongful Death, Aug. 1, 2025. Centurion, Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Records, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Public Records Act, HRDC Litigation.
- HRDC Wins $480,000 in Legal Fees from Centurion for Denied New Mexico Records, Aug. 1, 2025. Centurion, Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Records, Misdiagnosis, Failure to Treat, Malpractice, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Public Records Act, HRDC Publications, HRDC Litigation.
- $3,800 Paid to Ohio Prisoner for Denied Records Request, Aug. 1, 2025. Public Records Act.
- New York City Loses Bid to Withhold Jail Records, July 15, 2025. Attorneys, Public Records Act.
- Ohio Supreme Court Says Sheriff Must Get and Disclose Records of Private Contractors, July 15, 2025. Private Prisons, Contractor Liability, Public Records Act.
- Nearly $60,000 Awarded to Mother Of Dead Missouri Prisoner In Suit For His DOC Records, July 15, 2025. Medical Records, Disclosure of Records, Public Records Act.
- New Mexico Watchdog Group Sues for Video Allegedly Showing Jailers Killing Detainee, June 1, 2025. Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Public Records Act.
- GTL, Co-Defendant Agree to $21.3 Million Settlement with HRDC in Price-Fixing Lawsuit, April 1, 2025. Settlements, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Telephone Rates, HRDC Litigation, Global Tel*Link Corp.
- National Class Certified in Washington Jail Debit-Release Card Suit, April 1, 2025. Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Class Actions, HRDC Litigation.
- $4 Million Settlement Approved in HRDC’s Oregon Debit-Release Card Suit, April 1, 2025. Seizure of Prisoner Funds, HRDC Litigation.

