by David M. Reutter
On May 25, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reinstated a claim against a guard at Colorado’s Mesa County Detention Facility (MCDF) in the death of a mentally disabled detainee. Reversing a district court’s grant of summary judgment to the …
by David M. Reutter
On June 1, 2022, the Supreme Court of Ohio rejected the argument of state prison officials that copies of a prisoner’s “kites” — informal complaints, grievances and appeals — are exempt from disclosure under state public-records law. The Court not only ordered the documents …
by David M. Reutter
A Georgia prisoner who got into a spat with a prison gang and was allegedly sold out to them by guards received a $54,000 judgment in a federal civil rights action on November 21, 2021.
Mixing it up at Ware State Prison with …
by David M. Reutter
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were national shortages of personal protective equipment. Hand sanitizer was in great need. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) had a solution: Put prisoners to work making it.
Cuomo turned to the state’s …
by David M. Reutter
On May 24, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied a request for rehearing en banc of a case brought on behalf of a detainee at California’s Orange County Jail (OCJ) who died of an undiagnosed rupture in his aorta. …
by David M. Reutter
In May 2022, after a ruling in his favor by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, a former California prisoner accepted a settlement over an alleged assault by guards at Mule Creek State Prison. Importantly, the Court’s ruling held that a …
by David M. Reutter
In October 2022, the federal court for the Southern District of Indiana confirmed payment to a state prisoner of $30,501 in damages, which was awarded for retaliation he suffered when seeking protection from other prisoners.
The prisoner, Jason Seth Perry, was held at …
by David M. Reutter
On May 23, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a prisoner whose complaint was dismissed for failure to exhaust administrative remedies need not file a new suit after completing that task. Rather, a supplemental pleading is sufficient, the …
by David M. Reutter
On March 28, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit ruled that money may not be withdrawn from a federal prisoner’s trust account, even to satisfy court-ordered restitution, without first determining the source of the funds.
The Court’s decision concerned …
by David M. Reutter
Is it unconstitutional to deprive a mentally ill prisoner of exercise for three years? In Illinois, the answer is no, according to two of three judges on a panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit – a decision the full …
