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Jailhouse Lawyer Gets 16-1/2-Year Sentence for Defrauding Prisoner “Clients”
Loaded on Nov. 1, 2025
by Chuck Sharman
published in Prison Legal News
November, 2025, page 30
Filed under:
Prisoner Legal Assistance,
Restitution,
Forfeiture,
Revocation/Modification of Probation, etc.,
Fraud and Deceit,
Conditions of.
Location:
New York.
by Chuck Sharman
Admitting to a federal judge that he “made some mistakes,” a self-described jailhouse lawyer said that one mistake “was being overly optimistic on a few occasions and sharing that optimism with clients.” But since he wasn’t licensed to have legal clients, Christopher Reese, 57, was …
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More from this issue:
- America’s Deadliest Jails: Tarrant County Edition, by Anthony Accurso
- Washington Prisoners Gain Access to Crisis Hotline
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- HRDC’s Washington Jail Debit-Release Card Suit Survives Summary Judgment, by Chuck Sharman
- $11 Million Paid to Estate of Mentally Ill Illinois Jail Detainee Who Lost 60 Pounds During 85-Day Incarceration, by Chuck Sharman
- Dying Mississippi Prisoner Wins Preservation Testimony in Suit Blaming Terminal Cancer on Exposure to Janitorial Chemicals, by Chuck Sharman
- Missouri Blocks Spiritual Advisors from Prison Pastor’s Execution, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Ninth Circuit Finds No Bivens Extension Needed for Federal Prisoner Prescribed Water and Exercise for Thyroid Storms, by Chuck Sharman
- Trans Kentucky Prisoner Loses Bid to Block State’s New Ban on Hormone Replacement Therapy, by Chuck Sharman
- Enormous $14 Million Settlement Reached by Los Angeles County with Former Prisoner Exonerated After 20 Years, by Chuck Sharman
- San Diego County Files Unusual Suit Against NaphCare Over Jail Detainee’s Murder, by Chuck Sharman
- For Delay in Summoning Medical Care for Detainees, Alabama Jailers Granted Immunity But California Trooper Headed to Trial, by Chuck Sharman
- Seventh Circuit Rules Against Prisoner’s Deliberate Indifference Claim Over Wexford Health’s Poor Psychiatric Care, by Michael Thompson
- Sixth Circuit Clarifies What Constitutes PLRA “Strike” and Reinstates Michigan Prisoner’s Lawsuit, by Matthew Clarke
- $2.4 Million Paid to Indiana Prisoners Sickened With Legionnaire’s Disease by Contaminated Water, by Chuck Sharman
- Body-Worn Camera Program for Guards Expands to all Maryland Prisons, by Chuck Sharman
- CoreCivic Pays $82,500 for First COVID-19 Death at San Diego ICE Lockup, by Chuck Sharman
- Wisconsin DOC Ordered to Provide Programming for Pregnant Prisoners—34 Years After Law Was Passed, by Chuck Sharman
- Securus Loses Bid to Dismiss HRDC Price-Fixing Suit, by Chuck Sharman
- $150,000 Paid by Jacksonville for Mother of Five’s Jail Suicide, by Chuck Sharman
- Federal Injunction Bars ICE from Crowding Detainees in Unsanitary “Hold” Rooms in New York City Office, by Chuck Sharman
- While Mentally Ill Rikers Island Detainee Lay Dying, Staff Sprayed Air Freshener, Fudged Cell Checks, by Chuck Sharman
- SCOTUS Overturns Oklahoma Prisoner’s Death Sentence After More than 25 Years on Death Row, by Douglas Ankney
- $1.8 Million Settlement Reached Following CDCR Data Breach, by Chuck Sharman
- North Carolina Prison Officials Run Out the Clock On Trans Prisoner’s Vulvoplasty, by Chuck Sharman
- Seventh Circuit Dismisses Jail Detainee Suicide Case for Lack of Showing Deliberate Indifference, by Anthony Accurso
- Fourth Circuit Rules in Favor of Prisoner’s Eligibility for Time Credits, by Douglas Ankney
- Jailhouse Lawyer Gets 16-1/2-Year Sentence for Defrauding Prisoner “Clients”, by Chuck Sharman
- Federal Government, CoreCivic Slow-Walk Class-Action Challenges to Forced Labor of ICE Detainees, by Chuck Sharman
- Oklahoma County Jailers Lose Bids to Derail Three Suits Over Detainee Murders, by Chuck Sharman
- Ohio Appoints Special Prosecutor to Investigate Double Amputee’s Restraint and Death
- Fifth Circuit Remands Louisiana Detainee’s Medical Grievance Case, by Michael Thompson
- South Dakota Approves $650 Million New Prison Construction
- Eighth Circuit Orders Preliminary Injunction Requiring Minnesota to Reinstate Program Teaching Biblical “Authentic Manhood”, by Matthew Clarke
- Appeals Court Rules Michigan’s Tolling Provision Is Not Inconsistent with the PLRA, by Douglas Ankney
- California’s Attorney General Is Suing Los Angeles County Jails Over “Inhumane Conditions”, by Michael Thompson
- FCC Issues Proposed Rule Permitting Cellphone Jammers in Prisons and Jails, by Chuck Sharman
- Preliminary Injunction Halts Solitary Confinement of Mentally Ill Prisoners at New York Lockup Where Wildcat Guard Strike Began, by Chuck Sharman
- Florida Sheriff Fires Five Guards for Two Cases of Detainee Abuse
- $5.5 Million Paid for Two Withdrawal Deaths at Washington Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- $950,000 Awarded to Trans Maryland Prisoner Dropped on Her Face by Guards, by Douglas Ankney
- Seventh Circuit Affirms Liberty Interest in Harsh Solitary Confinement Case, by Michael Thompson
- Eleventh Circuit Overturns 1990 Alabama Death Sentence Over Racially Biased Jury Selection; ACLU Report Shows It Is Still Happening, by Matthew Clarke
- Eleventh Circuit Declines to Extend to Summary Judgment Proceedings a Rule Requiring District Courts to Notify Pro Se Litigants, by Douglas Ankney
- BOP Cancels Union Rights for Prison Guards
- $4 Million Verdict Returned in Colorado Jail Suicide Case, by Chuck Sharman
- $100,000 Settlement Reached Between Imprisoned BOP Guard and Prisoners He Raped, by Chuck Sharman
- Fifth Circuit Dismisses Sex Abuse Claims Filed by Three Texas Prisoners Against Guard, by Chuck Sharman
- Nearly $528,000 Paid by Kansas Jail to Detainees Raped by Guards, by Chuck Sharman
- Two Re-Entry Non-Profit Leaders in Tennessee and Massachusetts Accused of Criminal Charges
- New York Jury Convicts Former Guard for Robert Brooks’ Taped Killing
- The Last Escaped Detainee from the New Orleans Jail Was Arrested in an Atlanta Crawlspace
- California Approves Higher Wage for Prisoner Firefighters (But Still Underpays)
- Former Prisoners’ Challenge to Virginia Constitution’s Felony Disenfranchisement Clause Allowed to Proceed, by Douglas Ankney
- $3.6 Million Paid by Minnesota County After Hemophiliac Jail Detainee Died from Brain Bleed, by Chuck Sharman
- Appeals Court Allows Illinois Prisoner’s Suit for Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies, by Douglas Ankney
- FCC Votes For Dramatic Hike to Prison Phone Call Rates, by Chuck Sharman
- News in Brief
More from Chuck Sharman:
- Most U.S. Prisoners Now Barred from Directly Receiving Physical Mail, Feb. 1, 2026
- Washington County Pays $300,000 to Jail Detainee Denied Treatment for Kidney Stone, Feb. 1, 2026
- Michigan Claws Back $1.2 Million Paid to Wrongfully Convicted Former Prisoner, Feb. 1, 2026
- $450,000 Paid for Michigan Jail Detainee’s Fentanyl Death, Incarcerated Husband Prevails in Claim for Part of Payout, Feb. 1, 2026
- North Carolina Parole Commission Agrees to Stop “Moving Goalposts” for Prisoners Who Committed Crime as Juveniles, Feb. 1, 2026
- $2 Million Settlement Reached for 12-Year-Old’s Gang Rape in Detroit Juvenile Detention Center, Feb. 1, 2026
- Alabama and Wexford Health Pay Undisclosed Settlement for Delays Costing Prisoner Partial Foot Amputation, Feb. 1, 2026
- Delaware Settles Suit Over Depriving Young Prisoners of Special Education, Feb. 1, 2026
- Georgia Grand Jury Dings Augusta Jail for Overcrowding Days Before Violent Detainee Assault, Feb. 1, 2026
- Federal Court Strikes Much of Virginia’s Felony Voting Restriction, Feb. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Exonerated Former Prisoner Wins Election for Chief Record Keeper in New Orleans, Jan. 1, 2026. Prisoner Legal Assistance, Juries, Public Records, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment.
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Duration of GPS Monitoring Must Be Considered in Individualized Reasonableness Determination and Resulting Monitoring Period May Be Shorter Than Probationary Term, Jan. 1, 2026. Parole/Probation Searches, Condition of Probation, GPS Tracking Device, State Constitutional Claims, Conditions of.
- Slender Man Stabber’s Escape Prompts “Serious Questions” for Wisconsin DOC, Jan. 1, 2026. Escapes, Electronic Monitoring, Conditions of.
- Arkansas “Jailhouse Attorney” Secures Return from Retaliatory Transfer Out of State, Dec. 1, 2025. Out of State Transfers, Retaliation for Litigating, Prisoner Legal Assistance, Religious Practices, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
- Five New York Prison Guards Charged with Employment Fraud, Dec. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Workers' Compensation, False Statements/Perjury, Bribery/Extortion/Theft, Fraud and Deceit.
- Eighth Circuit Announces § 2255 One-Year Limitations Period Begins to Run in Deferred-Restitution Criminal Case When Subsequent Amended Judgment Finalizes Amount, Nov. 15, 2025. Limitations, Habeas Corpus, Restitution, AEDPA.
- Federal Injunction Bars ICE from Crowding Detainees in Unsanitary “Hold” Rooms in New York City Office, Nov. 1, 2025. Diabetes, Failure to Treat, Totality of Conditions, Food, Overcrowding, Plumbing, Sanitation, Bedding, Hygiene Supplies, Prisoner Legal Assistance, Legal Materials, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Summary Judgment, Injunctions, Class Certification, Immigration Detention.
- $1.8 Million Settlement Reached Following CDCR Data Breach, Nov. 1, 2025. DOC/BOP misconduct, Medical Records, Settlements, Class Certification, Disclosure of Records, Class Notice, Public Records, Restitution, Trust Accounts.
- Ninth Circuit Holds Untruthful Responses to Questions Government Is Not Permitted to Ask on Visa Application Is Still Fraud if Responses Could Have Influenced Decision to Grant Request for Visa, Oct. 15, 2025. False Statements/Perjury, Essential Elements of Crime, Fraud and Deceit, Immigration Law/Offenses, Authority and Jurisdiction.
- News in Brief, July 15, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Failure to Protect (General), Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, halfway houses, New Trial/Judgment of Acquittal, Bribery/Extortion/Theft, Fraud and Deceit.

