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Articles by Roger Smith

New York City Settles Black Panther Frame Up Suit for $890,000

On December 5, 2000, New York City officials agreed to settle Dhoruba alMujahid bin Wahad's wrongful imprisonment suit for $490,000 in damages, costs, and attorney fees.

Wahad, a former Black Panther leader, was convicted of attempted murder in 1973, after he allegedly machinegunned two New York City police officers in ...

Custodial Rape of Female Prisoners Widespread in U.S.

Custodial Rape Of Female Prisoners Widespread In U.S.

by Roger Smith

American jail and prison officials sexually molest hundreds, and possibly thousands of women prisoners each year. According to a March 2001 report by Amnesty International USA, over 1,000 such cases were reported in the last 3 years with hundreds ...

Supreme Court Restricts ADA

The U.S. Supreme Court overruled an Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision allowing disabled persons to sue State employers for money damages in federal court under Title I of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). 42 U.S.C. § 12112. The 54 majority held that the U.S. Constitution Amendment Eleven shields ...

US Supreme Court Allows BOP Limit on Early Release Statute

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld 28 C.F.R. § 550.58(a)(1) (vi)(B) (Regulation), a federal Bureau Of Prisons (BOP) regulation modifying 18 U.S.C. § 3621(e)(2)(B) (Statute). The Statute provides that federal prisoners with nonviolent convictions may receive up to a one-year sentence reduction for participating in substance abuse programs. The Regulation ...

Washington DOC Settles Public Disclosure Suits

Plaintiffs Roger Smith, Donald Miniken, and Karl Twilleager, prisoners at the McNeil Island Correction Center (MICC) near Steilacoom, Washington, settled their consolidated Public Disclosure Act claims against defendants Washington Department of Corrections, MICC, and MICC Public Disclosure Officer, Rosemarie Routson on August 7, 2000.

The controversy arose from the prisoners' ...