Second Circuit: Requiring Pretrial Detainees to Perform Forced Labor Unconstitutional; $15,000 Settlement on Remand
by Matt Clarke
On August 3, 2012, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held it is unconstitutional to force a pretrial detainee to perform labor other than that associated with personal housekeeping chores.
Finbar Patrick McGarry ...
Lost and Improperly Destroyed Evidence Thwarts Post-Conviction DNA Testing
by Matt Clarke
While crime labs across the country have been in the news for improper testing of forensic evidence in criminal cases, the problem with misplaced and improperly destroyed evidence is much more widespread.
Not just crime labs, but local ...
$66,000 Jury Award in New Mexico CCA Sexual Abuse, Retaliation Case
by Matt Clarke
On November 15, 2012, a New Mexico federal jury awarded $66,000 to a woman formerly incarcerated at a prison operated by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) who alleged she had been sexually assaulted by a Correctional ...
Exonerated Texas Prisoner’s Ex-Wife Not Entitled to Compensation
by Matt Clarke
In a May 12, 2014 opinion, a Texas Court of Appeals held that the former wife of a prisoner who spent over 24 years in prison was not entitled to a portion of the $2 million he received in ...
Illinois Prisoner Receives $12 Million Jury Award in Medical Neglect Suit
by Matt Clarke
n January 18, 2013, an Illinois federal jury awarded a state prisoner $12 million against an Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC) certified medical technician (CMT) who failed to provide anti-seizure medication, which caused the prisoner to ...
Kosher Meals Lawsuit Against Nevada DOC Dismissed
by Matt Clarke
On August 12, 2012, a Nevada federal district court approved a notice of proposed settlement in a class-action civil rights suit brought by a Jewish prisoner over the announced intent of the Nevada Department of Corrections (DOC) to stop providing ...
Federal Court Caseloads Threaten Constitutional Protections
by Matt Clarke
Civil and criminal case filings in federal courts have grown dramatically over the past two decades, but at the same time the number of judges available to hear them has barely increased according to a report by researchers at Syracuse University. ...
Texas Sex Offender Oversight Agency Faces Investigations, Calls for Reform
by Matt Clarke
An increasing number of attorneys, legislators and prisoner advocacy groups are calling for reforms to Texas laws governing the civil commitment of sex offenders, with many warning that the state’s civil commitment program may be unconstitutional due ...
Fifth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Prisoner’s Suit Claiming Lack of Medical Care
by Matt Clarke
On March 12, 2014, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed in part a district court’s dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a prisoner who was denied medical treatment after he fell and was injured. ...
In October 2011, when Texas enacted a law instituting a $100 annual copay for state prisoners seeking medical care, it was estimated the measure would generate $5.7 million in 2012 and help the cash-strapped state deal with a budget crisis. [See: PLN, Oct. 2012, p.42]. Instead, only $2.5 million ...
