$156,289 in Attorney Fees Awarded for Enforcing California Jail Prisoners’ Federal Consent Decrees
by John E. Dannenberg
On , August 22, 2007, the U.S. District Court (N.D. Cal.) approved $156,289 in attorney fees and costs for the enforcement of two consent decrees related to law libraries and disciplinary procedures at ...
CA State Auditor: 352 Licensed Residential Living Facilities Errantly Housed Registered Sex Offenders
by John E. Dannenberg
The California State Auditor cross-checked the State’s database of its 59,000 registered sex offenders and that of its Department of Social Services (DSS) state-funded alcohol and drug rehabilitation residential living facilities and found ...
by John E. Dannenberg
Civil rights advocates and attorneys have raised concerns over a recent policy implemented by the Sacramento County, California jail system whereby prisoners are asked to sign a “screening form” prior to release that inquires whether they were mistreated during their incarceration. The pre-release form is purportedly ...
Banning of Newsletter in Wisconsin Prison Violates First Amendment
by John E. Dannenberg
A U.S. District Court has held that a decision by the Wisconsin Dept. of Corrections (WDOC) to ban a prisoner’s receipt of The New Abolitionist, an establishment-critical newsletter, was an exaggerated response and thus violated the prisoner’s ...
by John E. Dannenberg
Politics in Virginia have trumped reason when it comes to releasing eligible offenders on parole. Notwithstanding examples of successful reintegration into society after such prisoners are released, political pressure has driven the parole board’s grant rate down from 40% to 5.6%. It also drove previous parole ...
TASER International’s Stock Shocked By $6.2 Million Damages Award
by John E. Dannenberg
The stock of TASER International, Inc. tanked by 11% to $6.13 per share on June 9, 2008 when three days earlier a federal jury in San Jose, California awarded $6.2 million in a wrongful death suit to ...
Teeth Extraction Policy for CA Women Prisoners Rescinded
by John E. Dannenberg
As part of a bizarre medical policy, the California Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has for years imposed a rule that requires women prisoners who apply for alternative community incarceration programs, where they can live with their ...
Sixth Circuit: $4.5 Million Award Upheld Against Michigan DOC Doctor in Dehydration Death of Mentally Ill Prisoner
by John E. Dannenberg
The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a $4.5 million damage award against a Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) doctor whose deliberate indifference resulted in the death of ...
by John E. Dannenberg
Ten Michigan attorneys were awarded two different awards by two national attorney professional associations. The attorneys received the National Lawyers Guilds’ coveted Law for the People award. The NLG was founded in 1937 as the nation’s first racially integrated bar association. In addition to the NLG ...
Michigan Federal Court Issues Injunctive Relief for Lifer Parole Hearings
by John E. Dannenberg
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan issued a declaratory judgment and remedial injunctive order granting new hearings to non-drug offense parolable Michigan prisoners sentenced to life prior to 1992, who had been ...
