The August 1996, issue of PLN reported Lewis v. Casey, 116 S.Ct. 2174 (1996). The Lewis court, though not explicitly overturning Bounds v. Smith, 430 US 817, 97 S.Ct. 1491 (1977), redefined the meaning of "court access" as it applies to prisoners. The Bounds court held that prison officials are ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 2
In February 1997, the Justice Department filed separate lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Phoenix and Detroit alleging that state-run prisons in Michigan and Arizona fail to protect female prisoners from sexual assaults committed by prison guards and staff.
At the Arizona Center for Women and at state prison facilities ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 3
The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) crime index for 1996 (preliminary figures) showed an overall crime rate decrease of 3 percent. Violent crime decreased 7 percent. It was the largest single-year drop since 1982, and marks the fifth consecutive year that UCR crime rates have declined.
California's largest cities experienced ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 4
The court of appeals for the seventh circuit held that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12132 and the Rehabilitation Act (RA), 29 U.S.C. § 794, explicitly apply to state prisoners. Anyone litigating an ADA or RA claim will find this ruling useful. The ruling also contains ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 5
In the July issue of PLN we reported "Judge Rules Texas Prisoner's Death Excessive Force" about Gary Crenshaw, 31, who died at the hands of his captors January 26, 1997, at the French Robertson Unit.
On June 30, 1997, a Jones County grand jury indicted Sgt. Monte Baker and guards ...
There is a great deal of talk and litigation about the Prison Litigation Reform Act which was part of the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appopriations Act of 1996 (PL 104-134, 110 Stat 1321 (1996)). One aspect of the PLRA causing a great deal of consternation is the severe limitations on ...
In the July 11 "Living Arts" section of the New York Times, appears a feature titled, 'For a Summer Getaway, a Model Prison." It is a personal narrative of NYT reporter Judith H. Dobrzynski's visit to Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia.
Eastern State, built in the 1820's, was the world's ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 7
A federal district court in Illinois held that prison officials were not entitled to qualified immunity from money damages for denying segregation prisoners all opportunity for out of cell exercise for one year. McNeal Watts, an Illinois state prisoner, was placed in segregation to serve a one year sanction after ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 8
by Adrian Lomax
In September, 1996, Melody Bird complained to guards at Florida's Pinellas County Jail that she was experiencing severe chest pains and having trouble breathing. Nurses at the jail, finding no discernible blood pressure, concluded that Bird was suffering a heart attack.
An immediate call for an ambulance ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 9
The court of appeals for the fifth circuit, sitting en banc, reversed its prior holding in Scott v. Moore, 85 F.3d 230 (5th Cir. 1996) [PLN, June, 1997] that inadequate jail staffing violated the due process rights of a woman detainee who was repeatedly raped by a jail guard. This ...
Shortly after Wayne Garner took over as Georgia's Corrections Commissioner in December 1995, he addressed the state legislature wherein he quipped, "...thirty to thirty-five percent [of GA prisoners] ain't fit to kill, and I'm going to be there to accommodate them." [See: "Georgia Prisons Enter the Dark Ages," PLN Vol. ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 10
After lower ranking guards crossed the blue line, Hays state prison Lt. Ray McWhorter offered a stunning account of events -- including allegations that senior GA DOC officials not only witnessed the massive shakedown, but were instrumental in igniting the firestorm of brutality.
McWhorter admitted taking part in the attack ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 11
In the January and December, 1996, issues of PLN we reported Baker v. Cuomo, 58 F.3d 814 (2nd Cir. 1995) and Baker v. Pataki, 85 F.3d 919 (2nd Cir. 1996)(en banc) in which New York state prisoners were using the Voting Rights Act (VRA), 42 U.S.C. § 1971 and 1973, ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 12
Human Rights Watch has been investigating prison conditions throughout the world for the last 10 years. Punishment Before Trial: Prison Conditions in Venezuela, issued in March 1997, is the 29th resulting report to appear.
HRW/Americas investigators spent three weeks in Venezuela in March 1996 during which they visited 11 of ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 12
For those interested in learning more about the current wave of human and civil rights abuses in the Georgia DOC the Prison and Jail Project, a non profit grassroots group in Georgia, has published a 45 page booklet titled "Stop Human Rights Abuses in Georgia Prisons." The booklet provides a ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 13
The supreme court of Mississippi held that retroactive application of a statute requiring felons to serve 85% of their sentence before release violated the ex post facto provisions of the Mississippi and United States constitutions. In 1995 the Mississippi legislature enacted Senate Bill (SB) 2175 which amended Miss. Code Ann. ...
Continuing the agenda of the prison guards union, the California Department of Corrections issued a notice of changes to prison administrative regulations governing appeals of conditions of confinement by prisoners. The changes include doubling the time limits prison staff have to respond to administrative appeals, limiting the number of appeals ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 14
The court of appeals for the fifth circuit held that under the PLRA prisoner litigants remain responsible for appellate filing fees in cases where the appeal is eventually dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. The court held that under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1) prisoners are liable for the filing fee upon ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 14
A federal district court in Indiana held that 18 U.S.C. § 3636(b)(2), which allows for the immediate termination of previously entered consent decrees, is constitutional. The court rejected arguments that § 3626(b)(2) violates prisoners' right to equal protection, impairs contracts and violates the separation of powers doctrine. This ruling comes ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 14
The court of appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held that PLRA fee requirements apply to all federal civil actions and must be paid by prisoners later released from prison. Shortly before being released from prison Peter Smith, a federal prisoner, filed suit in the appeals court under the ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 14
The court of appeals for the tenth circuit joined every other circuit to consider the issue by holding that the PLRA's fee requirements do not apply to habeas corpus petitions. Thus, indigent prisoners can still seek a waiver of filing fees for habeas petitions if they are indigent. See: McIntosh ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 14
The court of appeals for the fifth circuit held that a person who files a notice of appeal while in prison is subject to the PLRA's filing fee requirements even if later released from prison. The court distinguished this case from Haynes v. Scott, 116 F.3d 137 (5th Cir. 1997) ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 14
A federal district court in Indiana held that 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(e), which precludes suits by prisoners seeking money damages in the absence of physical harm, does not apply retroactively to suits filed before the PLRA's enactment. The court also held a prisoner states a claim for violation of his ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 14
The court of appeals for the fifth circuit held that released prisoners who are indigent need not pay PLRA filing fees. Harry Haynes was a Texas state prisoner released on parole shortly after suing prison officials. Haynes had sought leave to file suit In Forma Pauperis (IFP) without paying the ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 15
A federal district court in Michigan, in two consolidated long running class action suits, held that 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(d)(3) which limits attorney fees in civil rights cases to 150% of the amount allowed court appointed counsel under 18 U.S.C. § 3006A, cannot be retroactively applied to work performed after ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 15
In the July, 1996, issue of PLN we reported Hook v. Arizona, 907 F. Supp. 1326 (D AZ 1996) where the court held Arizona DOC officials In contempt for refusing to pay the fees for special masters appointed by the court to oversee implementation of court orders in four separate ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 16
The court of appeals for the ninth circuit held that magistrates lack jurisdiction to impose criminal contempt orders, even when the parties have consented to proceed before a magistrate. James Bingman, a Montana state prisoner, filed suit after not receiving adequate dental care. The magistrate judge issued a preliminary injunction ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 16
The court of appeals for the seventh circuit held that an Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC) policy prohibiting employees from writing directly to the Prisoner Review Board (PRB) on behalf of prisoners seeking clemency may be unconstitutional. Larry Shimer filed a petition for clemency and asked several prison guards to ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 17
The court of appeals for the tenth circuit affirmed a $5,000 judgment in favor of a jail prisoner who was assaulted after a guard told other prisoners he was a snitch. The court also affirmed an award of $93,649.61 in attorney fees and costs to the plaintiff. Craig Northington was ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 17
The court of appeals for the eleventh circuit reversed a judgment as a matter of law entered against a Florida prisoner after a jury found in his favor. The court reinstated both the verdict and a damage award for the prisoner. The court also held that the Florida DOC's hair ...
If a business near your home was dumping raw sewage into rivers and improperly storing toxic materials that contaminated your drinking water supply, would you want to know about it? Would you be grateful if an employee reported this to the proper authorities? How would you feel if the employee ...
After a scandal in which guards boiled a mentally ill prisoner alive, California's most notorious prison is once more the target of an investigation into abuse and excessive force. Pelican Bay prison guards are accused of setting up prisoners convicted of sex offenses against minors for assault. One guard faces ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 20
In past issues of PLN we have reported that several states, including Arizona, California, Washington and New Jersey, had sued the federal government seeking reimbursement for the expense of incarcerating illegal aliens. To date all the suits have fallen flatly on their faces, despite having been filed with much fanfare ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 20
The court held that 18 U.S.C. § 242 imposes criminal liability on government officials who violate the constitutional rights of citizens if the unlawfulness in question is apparent in light of preexisting law. The court adopted a test identical to the qualified immunity test used to impose civil liability for ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 20
The court held that the standard of review, articulated by enactment of the Anti Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), for federal habeas corpus petitions does not apply retroactively to petitions filed on or before the AEDPA's enactment on April 23, 1996. This includes habeas petitions pending on the ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 20
The court struck down a Mississippi law that conditioned appeals in parental rights cases to prepayment of record preparation fees, with no provisions for indigents. The case involved a mother who lost parental rights, forever, to her two minor children and she could not appeal the trial court ruling as ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 21
In its first five weeks of operation, the CCA-owned and operated Northeast Ohio Correctional Center (NOCC) in Youngstown was locked down three times. According to warden Willis Gibson, the first lockdown occurred on May 30 after 50 Washington D.C. prisoners, apparently unhappy about their transfer, had to be forced into ...
My husband and I toured the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center, a new "private prison" that is soon to open in Youngstown. Near the entrance there is a bulletin board with the words, "Yesterday's Closing Stock Price," a reminder that the Corrections Corporation of America is in business to make a ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 22
A large number of prison uprisings and breakouts occurred throughout Colombia in the first quarter of 1997. On January 5, eighteen prisoners escaped from the prison in Arauca. On January 12, rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia broke 39 prisoners out of the Caloto prison in southwestern Columbia. ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 23
In response to a recent issue [April '97] of Prison Legal News, [you] apparently told your readers that free copies of the Federal Judicial Center publication "Resource Guide for Managing Prisoner Civil Rights Litigation" were available at no charge by writing to our office. That information is not correct.
When ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 23
The court of appeals for the ninth circuit held that male prisoners have no clearly established right to be free from sexual harassment by male work supervisors. Herman Blueford, a California state prisoner, filed suit claiming his eighth amendment rights were violated when Bishop Moses, Blueford's supervisor at the Calipatria ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 24
In the July, 1996, issue of PLN we reported passage of the 1996 federal budget. In addition to severe budget cuts for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), a private non profit corporation that distributes government funds to independent legal programs around the country, Congress also imposed severe limitations on how ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 24
The court of appeals for the ninth circuit held that a district court erred when it upheld the denial of Kosher meals to Jewish prisoners in Arizona.
Kenneth Ashelman is one of 70 Jewish prisoners in the Arizona DOC. Prison officials in that state refuse to provide Jews with Kosher ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 25
A federal district court in New York found sufficient evidence to support a finding that a guard sexually abused a county prisoner; that such acts violated due process; that the guard was not entitled to qualified immunity; that state law claims required service of notice of claim on the county; ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 25
In the September, 1996, issue of PLN we reported Taylor v. Rhode Island, 908 F. Supp. 92 (D RI 1995) where a district court struck down as violating the ex post facto clause and due process a state statute requiring probationers to pay a $15 monthly supervision fee, even if ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 26
AL: On June 30, 1997, Jerrick Snell, already sentenced to 20 years in prison for cocaine possession was resentenced to life in prison after he told judge Lawson Little to perform oral sex on him when Little walked past his cell. Little ordered Snell gagged and returned to court. Lawyer ...
Loaded on
Oct. 15, 1997
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1997, page 27
The court of appeals of New York (the highest state court) held that the establishment clause of the U.S. constitution is violated when an atheist prisoner was deprived of family visits for refusing to participate in a religious oriented Alcohol and Substance Abuse Treatment (ASAT) program. David Griffin, an atheist ...
