PLN Prevails in Motion to Unseal Settlement in CCA Class Action FLSA Case by On August 28, 2009, the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas unsealed a settlement agreement in a nationwide class-action lawsuit against Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the nation’s largest private prison firm. On July …
Sexual Abuse by Prison and Jail Staff Proves Persistent, Pandemic by Gary Hunter Sexual assault, rape, indecency, deviance. These terms represent reprehensible behavior in our society. They also represent recurring themes in our nation’s prisons – not only by prisoners, but also by guards and other staff members. PLN’s August …
Tenth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Suit for Failure to Prove Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies by On February 5, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed the dismissal of a suit against Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) for failure to prove exhaustion of administrative remedies. Wesley Purkey, …
Court Rejects Federal Prisoner Worker’s Claim of Copyright Infringement by Court Rejects Federal Prisoner Worker’s Claim of Copyright Infringement The U.S. Court of Federal Claims dismissed a prisoner’s copyright infringement suit for lack of jurisdiction; the dismissal was upheld on appeal. Robert J. Walton, a federal prisoner, sued the United …
Tenth Circuit Explains Sandin Standard to Determine Liberty Interests by In reversing a Kansas federal district court’s grant of summary judgment to prison officials, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has explained how the legal landscape changed by the ruling in Sandin v. Conner, 115 S. Ct. 2293 (1995). In …
Tenth Circuit Requires Factual Findings of Prisoner’s Confinement Conditions Under Sandin by The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a district court must make factual determinations of the prisoner’s particular confinement conditions when making a determination of whether the prisoner is being subjected to an “atypical and significant …
$45,000 Settlement For Refusal To Reset Federal Prisoner's Broken Wrist by Kansas federal prisoner Arthur Mitchell brought a federal tort action against the United States in 2001 after prison physicians refused to correct the misalignment of his broken wrist. The suit settled for $45,000. Mitchell was incarcerated at the Federal …
Federal Prisoner's Lost Eyeglasses Suit Settles by Kansas federal prisoner Alan Strong brought a federal tort action against the United States in 1998 after personnel at the United States Penitentiary (USP) at Leavenworth lost eyeglasses valued at approximately $1,000. The suit settled for an undisclosed amount in 1999. Strong was …
$5,000 Settlement For Leavenworth Guards' Unprovoked Beating Of Federal Prisoner by Illinois federal prisoner Kerry Dixon brought a combined Bivens and federal tort action against the United States in 1994 after guards beat him without just cause at the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas (USP Leavenworth) in 1993. The …
Prisoner's Action Dismissed For Non Exhaustion; Remanded To Ascertain Officials' Interference by Bob Williams By: Bob Williams Leavenworth (Kansas) federal pro se prisoner Jose Aquilar-Avellaveda appealed the dismissal of his Bivens complaint against prison officials for legal material confiscation and disposal, restrictive segregation and sleep deprivation. The dismissal for non-exhaustion …
Prisoner Transferred Under ICC May Sue Under Diversity Jurisdiction by On April 24, 2006, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a prisoner who had been transferred from Florida to Kansas may remain a citizen of Florida and still sue Kansas prison officials in federal court for violations of …
PLN Wins Kansas Censorship Suit by Michael Rigby 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 …
Barnwell v. CCA, KS, Memo in Support of Plf Mot for Class Cert, FLSA employee litigation, 2008 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS AT KANSAS CITY KEITH E. BARNWELL, et al. On Behalf of Themselves and All Others Similarly Situated, Plaintiffs, vs. CORRECTIONS CORPORATION OF …
Barnwell et al v. Corrections Corporation of America, KS, MiS Plf Motion, FLSA employee overtime understaffing, 2008 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS AT KANSAS CITY KEITH E. BARNWELL, et al. On Behalf of Themselves and All Others Similarly Situated, Plaintiffs, vs. CORRECTIONS CORPORATION OF …
Disabled Kansas Prisoners Forced Labor Claim Dismissed by The plaintiff, who had had heart bypass surgery and was on medical restrictions, was ordered to sand baseboard. He complained and the doctor said it was all right. He did the work, reported chest pains, and was taken to the clinic where …
PHS Not Liable in Kansas Wheelchair Collapse by The defendants were not deliberately indifferent in providing the plaintiff a wheelchair that collapsed under him. The court notes that they always recognized his medical needs by providing him a wheelchair, he signed two forms reflecting that the wheelchair issued to him …
Disabilities Subject to Correction Not Protected by ADA by Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, whether an impairment "substantially limits" one or more major life activities is assessed with reference to mitigating measures (in this case, medication for high blood pressure). That means someone whose disability is substantially corrected can …
Kansas Sex Offender Treatment Program Violates Fifth Amendment by The plaintiff was required to complete a sex offender treatment program or suffer impaired ability to earn good time, transfer to maximum custody, and loss of privileges for the review period, which "mirror the consequences imposed for serious disciplinary infractions." The …
Collecting Reasonable Fees from Kansas Prisoners for Government Reimbursement Not Unconstitutional by Kansas state prisoner Michael Taylor appealed the dismissal of his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging various constitutional violations for the deduction of supervision fees from his prison account. The dismissal of his suit was affirmed. Taylor was …
Factual Allegations Sufficient for Nutritional and Retaliation Claims to Proceed by by Robert Williams Holding that sufficient facts had been alleged, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed a lower court’s dismissal of a prisoner’s claim of inadequate nutrition and retaliation for filing grievances. Michael Strope, a …
