by David M. Reutter
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that Connecticut was preempted under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 from indemnifying a guard and then seeking to recover over 60% of the judgment via state recoupment statutes. The court emphasized that its holding was based on the facts of ...
by David M. Reutter
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a civil rights complaint against a Georgia Sheriff. The Court held the Sheriff was entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity.
The Court's May 7, 2021, opinion was issued in an appeal brought by Oqueshia Andrews. Her civil ...
by David M. Reutter
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s order granting attorney’s fees after it found the Illinois Department of Correction (IDOC) was in “substantial noncompliance” with a consent decree in a class action lawsuit filed by deaf and hard of hearing prisoners. It reversed ...
by David M. Reutter
In a reversal of its own precedent, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that 42 U.S.C. section 1997e(e) permits claims for punitive damages without a showing of physical injury.
The court’s en banc ruling was issued on April 9, 2021 in an appeal brought by ...
by David M. Reutter
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a grant of summary judge to a prison official in a lawsuit alleging a prisoner was retaliated against for filling a grievance. It also affirmed the district court’s order denying the prisoner’s motion to compel discovery.
The court’s June ...
by David M. Reutter
An Oregon federal district court issued an order that certified a class in a lawsuit challenging the issuance of debit cards by NUMI upon release in lieu of the cash that was confiscated from detainees upon arrest.
The Courts June 8, 2021, order was issued in ...
by David Reutter
The Maine Department of Corrections (MDOC) announced on February 12, 2021, that it is expanding medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for prisoners with opioid-use disorder. The move is an expansion of a pilot project that started from an executive order issued in April 2019 by Gov. Janet Mills.
Going cold ...
by David M. Reutter
The Iowa Utilities Board ordered phone vendors that provide services to jails to lower their rates from as high as $1 per minute. The order comes after a two year review in which the Human Rights Defense Center, the publisher of Prison Legal News, urged ...
by David M. Reutter
The Kentucky Supreme Court held that the Louisville Metro Government (LMG) are entitled to sovereign and qualified immunity in a lawsuit alleging violation of Ky. Rev. Stat. 71.040.
The court’s December 17, 2020, opinion was issued in an appeal brought by the Estate of James Hatcher. ...
by David M. Reutter
Three former Georgia Sheriff’s deputies were denied immunity on December 8, 2020, by Washington County Judge H. Gibbs Flanders in a criminal prosecution, according to a December 9, 2020 article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The deputies face murder and related charges as a result of ...
