by David M. Reutter
Assistant U.S. Attorney General Amy L. Solomon, Director of the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), and National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Director Nancy La Vigne visited South Carolina’s Turbeville Correctional Institution (TCI) in June 2023 to inspect the Community Opportunity Restoration …
by David M. Reutter
On July 24, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit concluded that “precedents conclusively establish that the use of a taser on a non-threatening and cooperative subject is an unconstitutionally excessive use of force.” The Court, therefore, reversed summary judgment for …
by David M. Reutter
In a precedential opinion issued on August 21, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that a federal prisoner incarcerated in the state need not satisfy a state-law requirement for a certificate of merit in order to proceed with a …
by David M. Reutter
On September 30, 2023, the federal court for the Eastern District of Arkansas gave final approval to a settlement agreement under which for-profit prisoner transport firm Inmate Services Corp. (ISC) agreed to pay a total of $949,379.48 to resolve claims that it violated the …
by David M. Reutter
The federal court for the Middle District of Louisiana found on July 18, 2023, that a guard at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center (EHCC) violated a prisoner’s Eighth Amendment rights by failing to intervene when he was assaulted by another prisoner. After a bench trial, …
by David M. Reutter
On June 28, 2023, Florida prisoner Quincy Williams reached a settlement with the state and its Department of Corrections (DOC), which agreed to pay him $9,000 to resolve claims he was retaliated against—repeatedly—for exercising the right to grieve his conditions of confinement. The case …
by David M. Reutter
Observing that “Eighth Amendment claims for the deprivation of medical care are not analyzed body-part by body-part,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled on July 14, 2023, that a lower court erred in dismissing a Connecticut prisoner’s claim he was …
by David M. Reutter
On June 9, 2023, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed denial of defendant state prison officials’ motion to dismiss all but a negligent supervision and training claim that arose from a sexual and physical assault on a pretrial detainee at Potomac …
by David M. Reutter
In June 8, 2023, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia held that the Medical Professional Liability Act (MPLA), W. Va. Code §§ 55-7B-1 to 12, does not apply to the state Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR).
Before the court was …
by David M. Reutter
On July 31, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit rejected an argument by the Florida Department of Corrections (DOC) that a state prisoner’s suit should be dismissed because he was required to file a Petition to Initiate Rulemaking before proceeding …
