by David M. Reutter
On August 2, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed dismissal of a lawsuit alleging a private North Dakota juvenile home was liable for the suicide of a 12-year-old detainee. Because the facility and its employees were operating under contract …
by David M. Reutter
Twice in July 2022, the federal court for the District of Arizona spanked Centurion of Arizona, healthcare provider for the state Department of Corrections (DOC), issuing injunctions to correct mismanagement of prisoner medication.
On July 1, 2022, the Court issued a preliminary injunction …
by David M. Reutter
On August 18, 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced the first fruits of an investigation into allegations of voter fraud tied to the 2020 election. The state Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) arrested 20 ex-felons that day for voting illegally. That’s 20 potentially …
by David M. Reutter
On June 15, 2022, in a precedential ruling that might help the next prisoner plaintiff, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that “a prisoner has a valid access-to-courts claim” when “denial of access to legal materials — before and/or during …
by David M. Reutter
On June 14, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed the grant of summary judgment to a Missouri prison food service director accused of interfering with a prisoner’s medical diet and then retaliating against him for filing grievances.
Before …
by David M. Reutter
On June 10, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that a Florida jail’s policy requiring detainees to sign up for Passover meals 45 days in advance did not violate the constitution or the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons …
by David M. Reutter
On June 21, 2022, the federal court for the Southern District of Florida significantly trimmed a class-action lawsuit alleging that private prison operator The GEO Group misled investors in its stock, causing them to suffer losses.
For the last three decades, GEO Group …
by David M. Reutter
In a letter to PLN on May 16, 2022, the California Office of the Inspector General (OIG) confirmed that no one was disciplined at the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) following a bizarre incident in January 2020, when a state prisoner murdered …
by David M. Reutter and Keith Sanders
A law that severely limits the use of solitary confinement in Connecticut jails and prisons took effect July 1, 2022. It also creates an ombudsman position within the state Department of Corrections (DOC), selected from candidates nominated by a new nine-member …
by David M. Reutter
Just as the Virginia Department of Corrections (DOC) was preparing to release 560 prisoners in July 2022, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) and state lawmakers stepped in with a budget amendment that stripped away sentence credits, leaving the prisoners in their cells.
“They dangled …
