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Articles by David Reutter

Second Circuit Grants New York Officials Qualified Immunity for Prisoner’s Stolen Sentence Credits

by David M. Reutter

On October 12, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment to Defendant officials with New York’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) in a state prisoner’s civil rights action. The Court recognized that Steven …

West Virginia Supreme Court Orders Prison Officials to Develop Good-Time Credit Policy

by David M. Reutter

On October 16, 2023, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia reversed denial of mandamus relief to a prisoner and compelled the Commissioner of the state Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) to “develop a policy directive and/or operational procedure that is in …

Ninth Circuit Affirms Class Action Consent Decree at California’s Alameda County Jail

by David M. Reutter

On October 6, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a consent decree in a class-action lawsuit filed over solitary confinement of mentally ill detainees at the Santa Rita Jail in Alameda County, California.

As PLN reported, the suit …

Fired Alabama Guard Reinstated Despite Excessive Force Used on Prisoner Who Died

by David M. Reutter

On October 24, 2023, the Alabama Personnel Board (APB) reinstated Capt. Timothy McCorvey, a guard dismissed by the warden at Ventress Correctional Facility in 2023 for using excessive force against a prisoner who later died of blunt force trauma.

Around 2:20 a.m. on …

Eighth Circuit: Arkansas Detainee Suffering Fatal Seizure Might Have Been Faking or Might Have Gotten Better

by David M. Reutter

In a maddening decision issued on January 31, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed the denial of qualified immunity (QI) to four guards from Arkansas’s Benton County Detention Center (BCDC), in a lawsuit accusing them of deliberate indifference to …

Unable to Post Bail, Detainee Starves to Death in Arkansas Jail

by David M. Reutter

A lawsuit filed in federal court for the Western District of Arkansas on January 13, 2023, makes a stunning claim: That a man was left to starve to death in jail because he couldn’t afford bail.

Larry Eugene Price, Jr.,50, was suffering an …

$1.4 Million Verdict for Florida Jail Guard Injured in Transport Van Crash

by David M. Reutter

On May 20, 2021, a Florida jury awarded $1.4 million to Bradford County Jail guard Clinton Jenkins, 53. The jury’s award was based on its finding that the truck driver who crashed into Jenkin’s jail transport was negligent and liable for the crash and …

Florida Supreme Court Bans ‘Vexatious’ Prisoner From Filing Further Pro Se Petitions

by David M. Reutter

On April 13, 2023, the Supreme Court of Florida directed its Clerk to “reject any future pleadings or other requests for relief” submitted by state prisoner Daryl A. Sanders, “unless such filings are signed by a member in good standing of The Florida Bar.”

…

Eleventh Circuit: “More than Gross Negligence” Required to Prove Deliberate Indifference

[See update at end of article] 

by David M. Reutter

On May 22, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment to Defendant officials at Georgia’s Walker State Prison (WSP), where a prisoner accused them of deliberate indifference to …

Suit Proceeds Against CoreCivic by Guard Strip-Searched at Georgia Prison

by David Reutter

 

On March 13, 2023, the federal court for the Southern District of Georgia denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a guard for private prison giant CoreCivic, alleging she was unconstitutionally strip-searched at Wheeler Correctional Facility (WCF).

“Though Defendants attempt …