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California Prisoner Awarded Over $1.26 Million in Suit Challenging Withheld Legal Mail Which Resulted in Habeas Loss
by David M. Reutter
On November 12, 2024, the federal court for the Eastern District of California entered judgment in favor of state prisoner Anthony Penton, adding $788,744.97 to an earlier $475,000 jury award on his claim that a guard violated his civil rights by withholding his mail without notice ...
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More from this issue:
- Fines and Fees Destroy the Impoverished and Perpetuate Mass Incarceration, by Douglas Ankney
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Eighth Circuit: Evidentiary Admissibility Is a “Red Herring” At Class Certification of St. Louis Jail Conditions Challenge, by Douglas Ankney
- After Florida Appellate Court Holds Crimes of ‘Attempt’ Eligible for Incentive Gain Time, Supreme Court Refuses Review, by Kevin Bliss
- Senate Votes to Increase Penalties for BOP Contraband Cellphone Smuggling
- Hep-C Treatment Needed in Los Angeles County Jails to Save Lives and Money
- With Eleventh Circuit Okay, Alabama Executes Third Prisoner by Nitrogen Hypoxia
- Washington Prisoners Prep for Firefighting Career After Release
- Pennsylvania Prisoner Released from Solitary After 15 Years
- Suits Filed Over Dehydration Deaths at Two Texas Jails, by Matthew Clarke
- Biden Commutes Sentences of Most Federal Prisoners on Death Row
- Blood in the Water Author Wins Censorship Challenges Against Illinois, New York Prison Systems, by Douglas Ankney
- Video of Autistic Ohio Teen’s Jail Death Undercuts Sheriff’s Report Calling It Suicide
- Two-Week Lockdown at BOP Women’s Prison in Minnesota After Nine Overdoses, Two Deaths
- Six Set Themselves on Fire at Virginia Prison in 2024
- Fifth Circuit Leaves Louisiana Prisoner Waiting for Reinstated Parole, by Douglas Ankney
- Maryland Cancels Debt Owed by 6,715 Parolees
- Nebraska Pioneers Diversion Program to Help Arrested Veterans Avoid Jail
- California Prisoner Awarded Over $1.26 Million in Suit Challenging Withheld Legal Mail Which Resulted in Habeas Loss, by David Reutter
- Texas Executioners Playing Fast and Furious to Obtain Lethal Drugs
- Ninth Circuit Greenlights Muslim Hawaii Prisoner’s Challenge to Early-Served Ramadan Meals, by Douglas Ankney
- Details Vague on Spending from San Diego Jail Detainee Welfare Fund
- Lawsuit Over Death or Severe Injury of 29 Houston Jail Detainees Survives Motion to Dismiss, by Matthew Clarke
- Mentally Incompetent Maine Defendants Sent to South Carolina Wellpath Lockup Called “Essentially Prison”
- Muslim New York Prisoner’s Free Exercise of Religion Claim Reinstated, by David Reutter
- Wisconsin DOC Under Fire for Hiring Censured Doctors
- $400,000 Jury Verdict for Medical Neglect Resulting in Amputation of Alabama Prisoner’s Toes
- Minnesota Prisoners Getting Scanned Mail, Kept Waiting 18 Months for Tablets
- Wellpath Declares Bankruptcy
- Fourth Circuit Revives West Virginia Prisoner’s RLUIPA Claim Over Religious Diet with Soy He Can’t Digest
- No Charges in Alabama Prisoner’s Torture, Rape and Murder
- Guard Pleads Guilty to Using Excessive Force at Indiana Jail Sued Nine Times in Two Years
- Pigeonly Flies Into Telecom Turbulence, Declares Bankruptcy
- BOP Prisoners in Alabama Strike to Protest Release Date Confusion
- Pennsylvania Jail Guards Accused of Ripping Surgical Pin from Detainee’s Shoulder
- Tenth Circuit Affirms PTS Driver’s Conviction for Torturous Detainee Transport
- Illinois Sheriff Resigns After Deputy Fatally Shoots 911 Caller
- Arizona DCRR Ordered to Fill Prison Medical Staff Vacancies—Again, by Matthew Clarke
- Four-Month Wait for 40 Percent of South Carolina Jail Detainees Needing Psychiatric Evaluation
- Oregon Supreme Court: Governor Can’t Revoke Commutation After Sentence Expires
- Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Missouri Guards in Transgender Prisoner’s Suit Alleging Retaliation and Unreasonable Search, by Douglas Ankney
- 150 People Sue Over Past Abuse at New York City Juvenile Facilities
- Former Tacoma Reentry Center Severs Washington DOC Contract
- $1.5 Million Settlement Reached for Oregon Prisoner’s Untreated Traumatic Brain Injury
- Fourth Circuit: Baltimore County Prisoners May Qualify as Employees under FLSA, by David Reutter
- Childhood Trauma Incidence Higher Among Those Incarcerated, by Anthony Accurso
- Nearly $12 Million Paid to Mentally Disabled Indiana Prisoner Wrongly Convicted of Murder, by Douglas Ankney
- “Locked In, Priced Out”: Markups and Kickbacks in Prison Commissaries
- With HRDC Amicus Brief, Survivor of Dead Washington Prisoner Wins Public Records Case, by Sam Rutherford
- Former Kentucky Sheriff Indicted for Murdering Judge in Chambers
- Michigan Supreme Court Greenlights Adding Restitution At Resentencing of Former Juveniles Sentenced to LWOP
- South Dakota DOC Locks Down Third Prison in 2024
- Second Rapper Stabbed in Atlanta Jail During Record-Long Trial
- New York City Held in Contempt in Long-Running Rikers Island Class-Action
- Lawsuits by Michigan Prisoner Yield $57,750 in Settlements, Plus Policy Changes
- Top Doc Sacked from Maryland Psych Hospital with “Climate of Chaos”
- 1994 Crime Bill Turns 30: A Legacy of Controversy
- Colorado Legislature’s New Jail Oversight Committee Not Weighted in Detainees’ Favor
- Securus/JPay Video Calling Service Potentially Threatened by New Rate Caps
- First Circuit Rejects Request by Securus and Pay Tel to Stay FCC Prison Phone Rate Caps
- Georgia Prisoner Accused of Running $3.5 Million “Protection” Racket
- GOP Michigan County Commissioner Re-elected— and Headed to Federal Prison
- Push to Digitize Rikers Island Mail Based on Faulty Drug Tests
- “Whoppergate” Embroils Georgia Sheriff
- News in Brief
- Turn Key Health Walks Away From Oklahoma County Jail
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:
- On Remand, Eleventh Circuit Clarifies, Affirms Grant of Habeas Relief to Death Row Prisoner, Aug. 1, 2025. Habeas Corpus, Death Penalty, Death Row.
- Fifth Circuit Announces When Initial § 2255 Petition Not Decided on Merits and Appeals Court Later Recalls Mandate Dismissing Direct Appeal and Affirms Conviction, Subsequent § 2255 Petition Not ‘Second or Successive’ Under AEDPA, Aug. 1, 2025. Habeas Corpus, AEDPA.
- Class-Action Suit at BOP “Rape Club” in California Settled for Record $116 Million, July 15, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, DOC/BOP misconduct, Settlements, Injunctions, Class Actions.
- Oregon Prisoners Can Now Seek Economic Damages for Future Lost Income More Easily, July 15, 2025. Retaliation, Settlements, Defamation, Employment Deprivation.
- Ohio Sued by Non-Profit Law Firm for Opening Prisoner Legal Mail, July 15, 2025. Attorney Client, Legal Materials, Attorney Calls, Legal Mail.
- Fourth Circuit Announces Counterman v. Colorado Is New Rule of Constitutional Law That Applies Retroactively to Cases on Collateral Review and Grants Authorization to File Successive § 2255 Motion, July 1, 2025. Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Habeas Corpus, Threats.
- Arkansas DOC Settles Retaliation Claim by Prisoner Who Also Won Back Confiscated COVID-19 Stimulus, June 1, 2025. Retaliation for Organizing, Legal Materials, Legal Mail.
- $50,000 for Excessive Force Claim by Maryland Prisoner Who Used to Be a Guard, June 1, 2025. Classification, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Legal Mail.
- Smart Communications Files for Bankruptcy Protection, June 1, 2025. Telephones, Mail, Legal Mail, Private Phone Contractors.
- Arguing Successful Federal Habeas Corpus Claims, June 1, 2025. Habeas Corpus, Sixth Amendment, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel.