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Articles by Michael Rigby

Steep Surcharges for Driving Violations Clog Texas Courts, Create Criminals

by Mike Rigby

A program designed to raise money for highway projects and trauma care by assessing steep surcharges for drunk driving and other traffic violations is clogging Texas courts and causing the dismissal rate for DWI cases to skyrocket, former state district judge David Hodges told the Texas Public ...

Maryland Law Counts Prisoners According to Pre-Incarceration Residence

by Mike Rigby

A new Maryland law – the first of its kind – changed the way state prisoners were counted in the 2010 census. Historically, prisoners have been counted according to the location of the facility where they reside, which artificially inflates the populations of prison towns. Under the ...

Child Porn Investigations May Snare the Innocent

by Mike Rigby

A new threat looms in the Internet age – the threat of improper prosecutions and wrongful convictions for the unwitting receipt, possession or attempted possession of child pornography. Everyone is at risk, as these offenses can be committed by hackers who gain remote control of your computer, ...

Officials Agree To Cap Population at D.C. Jail

After decades of fighting lawsuits, skirting court orders, and defying legislative decrees, the District of Columbia Mayor’s Office has finally agreed to a definitive population cap at the notoriously overcrowded and dangerous D.C. Jail.

Under the terms of the settlement, the jail will hold no more than 2,164 prisoners—a number ...

PLN Wins Kansas Censorship Suit

by Michael Rigby

On October 1, 2007, in a lawsuit filed by Prison Legal News (PLN), the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas held that a Kansas prison policy limiting the amount of money prisoners can spend on publications, a total ban on gift subscriptions, and the failure ...

No Safety or Security for Maryland Prisoners

Twenty-five guards have been fired amid allegations that they beat prisoners at two Maryland prisons.

The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) initially terminated the employment of eight guards on April 4, 2008. Another nine were fired a week later. All had been employed at the Roxbury ...

Dallas County, Texas, Criticized for Offering Probation to Murder Defendants

According to a Dallas Morning News article published on November 10, 2007, Dallas County, Texas, leads the state in the number of probation deals it hands out to murder defendants. The highly critical five-part series implies that Dallas County prosecutors and judges simply overlook the seriousness of these crimes and ...

Washington DOC Pays PLN $541,000 for Illegally Withholding Records

The Washington Department of Corrections will pay Prison Legal News $541,000 for illegally withholding public records. It is the largest records-related settlement in Washington state history, and it brings the total amount PLN has won against the state DOC in the past decade to $1.3 million, mostly in attorney fees. ...

Texas Youth Commission Wants Increased Pepper Spray Use Despite Settlement

by Michael Rigby

Less than three months after agreeing to a court settlement limiting the use of pepper spray on juveniles, the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) has failed to curb its use and is actually planning to increase the use of chemical weapons on young people in its care. The ...

Audit Reveals Problems with Maryland’s New Prisoner Health Care System

Audit Reveals Problems with Maryland's New Prisoner Health Care System

by Michael Rigby

Maryland's new prisoner health care program remained understaffed in 2006, and the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) has yet to implement promised drug treatment programs or an electronic database meant to better track ...