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Articles by John E Dannenberg

Evidence Suppressed in California Ex-Parolee's Warrantless Search

Evidence Suppressed in California
Ex-Parolee's Warrantless Search

by John E. Dannenberg


The California Supreme Court held that evidence seized by a police officer accompanied by the ex-parolee's parole officer during a warrantless search of the ex-parolee's motel room must be suppressed under the Fourth Amendment. The good faith exception to ...

Writing to Win

by Steven D. Stark, Broadway Books, 1999, soft back, 283 pages

Review by John E. Dannenberg


Write succinctly! Or, alterna-tively, bore your intended reading audience to death with burdensome legal treatises steeped in excessive, redundant verbosity, liberally laced with old-as-the-hills cliches.


Get it? Writing to Win is a refreshing, practical ...

Psychologist Not Qualifiedly Immune in Prisoner Suicide Suit

by John E. Dannenberg


The Sixth Circuit US Court of Appeals ruled that a prison psychologist's awareness of a prisoner's potential for suicide was sufficient to defeat the psychologist's qualified immunity defense in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 wrongful death civil rights action brought by the prisoner's estate.


Michigan state ...

No Right to Artificial Insemination

by John E. Dannenberg


The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the right to procreate is fundamentally inconsistent with incarceration, thereby upholding a California state prison policy disallowing a prisoner from sending a sperm specimen to his wife for artificial insemination.


William Gerber, serving 111 years-to-life ...

Ninth Circuit Reexamines Standards for Qualified Immunity at Summary Judgment Stage in California Shooting Case

by John E. Dannenberg


Amending its earlier decision at 240 F.3d 845 [PLN, June `01], the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit clarified the evaluation of qualified immunity claims by prison officials at the summary judgment state of a prisoner's Eighth Amendment excessive force civil rights complaint.


Donnell ...

Exceptions Made To PLRA Exhaustion Requirement; Discovery Allowed

by John E. Dannenberg


Two U.S. District Courts recently made exceptions to the Prison Litigation Reform Act's (PLRA) requirement to exhaust administrative remedies. The Central District of California court ruled that when a prisoner's administrative appeal had been "granted" at an intermediate level, his remedies were deemed exhausted because he ...

PI Issued in Arizona Internet Communications Ban

by John E. Dannenberg

On December 16, 2002, the U.S. District Court (D. Ariz.) granted plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction (PI) enjoining the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADOC) from enforcing laws arising from Arizona House Bill 2376 (HB 2376) - an enactment banning Internet-generated communications with prisoners - pending ...

State Tolling Statute Applied in § 1983 Action

by John E. Dannenberg

The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that an underlying state tolling statute applied to a state prisoner's 42 USC § 1983 civil rights complaint, thus giving him time to complete his administrative grievance process as required by the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA).

Shaun ...

Acrimonious Michigan Prisoners' Rights Suit Settled After 15 Years

by John E. Dannenberg

A class-action lawsuit launched by Michigan state prisoners in 1988 which ultimately cost taxpayers $7.5 million in litigation costs was settled on November 4, 2003, resulting in prisoners gaining appropriate classification and psychiatric services, plus restrictions on administrative segregation that exacerbates serious psychological illness. In addition ...

Mismanaged, Money-Losing Folsom City Prison Closed

by John E. Dannenberg

Faced with losing $1.4 million in the following year, the City of Folsom, California, closed its 14 year-old, 380 bed minimum security prison and laid off most of the 70 city workers on June 30, 2003.

Known as the Folsom Community Correctional Facility (FCCF) [one of ...