On February 13, 2013, in an amended ruling, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a new trial for the estate of a deceased mentally ill prisoner, finding the district court had improperly excluded admissible testimony and a rebuttal closing argument.
Eric Vogel had been severely mentally ill since age ...
Oregon Workgroup Recommends Strategies to Deal with Prison Medical Care Costs
by Mark Wilson
State officials in Oregon continue to grapple with the rising cost of prisoner health care, which largely stems from a rapidly-expanding population of elderly prisoners who have costly physical and mental health care needs.
Over the ...
Washington Prisoner Granted Injunction Ordering Outside Orthopedic Evaluation
by Mark Wilson
A Washington federal district court issued a preliminary injunction ordering prison officials to have an orthopedic specialist evaluate a prisoner’s shoulder injury.
Washington prisoner Shawn Francis began complaining of shoulder pain in February 2007. After six months of ineffective ...
Seventh Circuit: New Trial for Wrong Legal Standard in Jail Death Case
by Mark Wilson
In an amended decision on August 14, 2014, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held a district court had abused its discretion when it required an inadequate medical care claim involving the death of a ...
Prisoners Released When Jails Can’t Feed Them
by Mark Wilson
"We didn’t have food for them and we don’t want to violate anyone’s rights when they are here,” said Wellston, Missouri Police Chief G. Thomas Walker, explaining why he released all of the prisoners from the city jail. “To keep ...
Ninth Circuit Finds Graham v. Florida Retroactive; 254-Year Sentence Unconstitutional
by Mark Wilson
On August 7, 2013, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held the Supreme Court’s categorical ban on life without parole (LWOP) sentences for non-homicide juvenile offenders applied retroactively on collateral review.
Roosevelt Brian Moore sexually assaulted four ...
Vermont: Retaliatory Furlough Denial Reviewable on Rule 75 Motion
by Mark Wilson
The Vermont Supreme Court has reversed a lower court’s denial of a prisoner’s motion to reopen his post-conviction relief case alleging the retaliatory denial of a furlough.
Before 2001, furlough eligibility for Vermont prisoners was not contingent on ...
Tenth Circuit: Ignoring Prisoner’s Severe Pain Precludes Qualified Immunity
by Mark Wilson
On August 12, 2014, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a prison nurse who refused to examine a prisoner suffering from severe abdominal pain was not entitled to qualified immunity.
At about 8:35 p.m. on October ...
Second Circuit Unseals Jail Conditions Settlement Compliance Reports; Public Has First Amendment Right of Access
by Mark Wilson
On August 18, 2014, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held “that the public’s fundamental right of access to judicial documents ... was wrongly denied” when a federal district court sealed settlement ...
Ninth Circuit: “Brutal” Cavity Search Violated Fourth Amendment
by Mark Wilson
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held on August 25, 2014, in a 2-1 decision, that a “brutal” warrantless body cavity search violated the Fourth Amendment.
In September 2006, Mark Tyrell Fowlkes was arrested on federal drug charges in ...
