By Brandon Sample
On September 4, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit joined the Second, Third, Eighth and Tenth Circuits in concluding that the Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) regulations categorically limiting eligibility for halfway house placement to the last ten percent of a prisoner's sentence is ...
By Brandon Sample
On May 7, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of a habeas petition challenging the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) refusal to grant a nunc pro tunc designation.
Charles Reynolds was arrested by state authorities after attempting to pass a forged ...
By Brandon Sample
On April 8, 2010, the Court of Appeals of Ohio remanded a prisoner’s negligence claim against the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRD).
Jack Nott sued the ODRC after his left leg was amputated from the knee down. In 2003, Nott was transported by guards from ...
By Brandon Sample
On January 14, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit decided that the registration requirements of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) do not apply to convictions under 18 U.S.C. § 1470, which prohibits the transfer of obscene materials to minors.
Matthew ...
By Brandon Sample
On April 26, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed the dismissal of a failure to protect suit filed by a federal prisoner who claimed that he was attacked by a guard for participating in a prison investigation.
"John Doe" sued Harley Lappin, ...
By Brandon Sample
Sex offenders that are civilly committed upon completion of their sentences are not "prisoners" within the meaning of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit decided October 19, 2009.
Dustin Merryfield was civilly committed under the Kansas Sexually Violent ...
No FTCA Claim for Property Erroneously Mailed Home by BOP; Failure to Protect Claim Cognizable
by Brandon Sample
The United States is immune from suit under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) for loss of property that resulted from the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) mailing a prisoner’s property home instead ...
By Brandon Sample
On March 28, 2008, U.S. District Judge Salvador E. Casellas denied a motion for judgment on the pleadings in a civil rights action challenging a strip and body-cavity search.
Carmen Figueroa-Flores was involved in a custody dispute in the Caguas Court of Minors in Puerto Rico. After ...
By Brandon Sample
The State of Illinois may lawfully deprive good time credits from prisoners who file frivolous post-conviction petitions, the Appellate Court of Illinois, Fourth District, decided November 26, 2008.
Cameron Shaw, an Illinois prisoner, filed a post-conviction petition under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act seeking relief from his armed ...
By Brandon Sample
The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), which prohibits a prisoner from proceeding in forma pauperis (IFP) in a federal lawsuit if the prisoner has had three or more suits or appeals dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failure to state a claim, applies upon release to suits ...
