by David M. Reutter
In partially denying state officials’ motion for summary judgment, an Illinois federal district court discussed the constitutional parameters involved in the use of a Rapiscan Secure 1000 device, which uses “back-scatter” X-ray technology to perform body scans on visitors entering a detention facility.
Before the court ...
by David M. Reutter
New technology that helps law enforcement officials track sexual predators, terrorists and other criminals has been an effective tool that has led to thousands of arrests, but privacy experts are concerned about the convergence of information used to obtain those results.
At the center of the ...
by David M. Reutter
North Carolina’s Department of Corrections (NDOC) has inadequate procedures to contain prisoner medical costs and it overpays for prisoner medical care, concludes a fiscal control audit issued by the state’s auditor.
NDOC spends over $100 million yearly in prisoner medical care, and the costs continue to ...
by David M. Reutter
With the State of New York having 5,000 empty prison beds and a large budget deficit, it would seem the logical decision would be to save taxpayer dollars by closing some prisons. That, however, is not the choice of New York’s elected officials.
Rather than shut ...
by David M. Reutter
The District of Columbia agreed to pay $13,302,500 to settle a class-action lawsuit related to the illegal arrest of 680 people. Those people were arrested on April 15, 2000 in connection with the protest against the Prison Industrial Complex during the International Monetary Fund-World Bank demonstrations. ...
by David M. Reutter
North Carolina’s Department of Corrections (NCDOC) has entered into a settlement agreement that allows prisoners to prepare for publication and receive compensation for manuscripts so long as the prisoner “authorizes a family member to handle all issues and correspondence related to the business aspect of publishing ...
by David M. Reutter
Those who have the black mark of a felony conviction face prejudice in the job market even when the economic picture is rosy. In these times of the Great Recession, that black mark has the ex-con jobless rate six times higher than those without a felony ...
In February 2010, former Okaloosa County, Florida Sheriff Charlie Morris pleaded no contest to state racketeering and money laundering charges related to an employee bonus kickback scheme that netted him thousands of dollars.
To enter the plea, Morris was transported from federal prison where he was serving a 71-month sentence ...
by David M. Reutter
A Pennsylvania federal jury has awarded $185,000 to a prisoner in a civil rights action alleging conspiracy, retaliation, obstruction of access to the courts and defamation of character.
Pennsylvania state prisoner Andre Jacobs prosecuted the lawsuit pro se. His complaint involved events that occurred at SCI-Western ...
by David M. Reutter
On February 4, 2010, the Washington State Supreme Court held that prisoners challenging prison disciplinary decisions do not have to make a prima facie case of prejudice to obtain review in a personal restraint petition. However, they still must show that the disciplinary hearing was so ...
