No Absolute Immunity for Prison Disciplinary Board Members by The U.S. Supreme Court held that prison disciplinary board members were entitled only to qualified immunity, not absolute immunity, in a civil rights suit. Respondents, former federal prisoners at the US penitentiary in Marion, Illinois, were charged with, among other things, …
Illinois Jail's Bail Bond Fees Upheld by The plaintiff arrestees sued because sheriffs were charging "bail fees," authorized by state statute, to persons who made bail by depositing their bond with sheriff. The fee was set at $1.00 by statute, with provisions for counties to raise it if an independent …
No Immunity for Retaliatory Work Release Discipline by The plaintiff was on work release. He alleged that he had a dispute with an officer, filed a grievance against the officer, who then filed a false disciplinary report against him; the officer was allowed to participate in the hearing and dictated …
Class Action Suit Doesn't Affect Individual Damage Suits by The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit held that a district court in Illinois erred in dismissing a prison conditions suit filed by Illinois prisoners. The appeals court tersely noted this was the third time it had remanded the case …
Disciplinary Hearing Requires Fact Finding by The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit upheld the dismissal of an Illinois state prisoner's lawsuit over searches of his cell for refusing to pay a guard's extortion demand and that the guard planted false evidence in his cell as a result. The …
Guards Liable for Failing to Protect Snitch by The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit held that a district court erred in dismissing an Illinois prisoner's suit that guards were deliberately indifferent to his safety when he was attacked by a cellmate in Protective Custody. Plaintiff had previously assisted …
Infraction Finding Must State Evidence Relied On by A federal district court in Illinois held that the due process rights of an Illinois state prisoner were violated when the infraction report stated he was guilty of the charged offenses but did not state the evidence relied on for that finding. …
Destruction of Court Papers States Claim by The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit held that an Illinois state prisoner had stated a claim for violation of his right to due process when jail guards destroyed court papers he needed to seek post conviction relief. Lower court erred in …
Illinois Prisoner Not Entitled to Two Types of Good Time Together by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois did not err when it dismissed a prisoner's complaint that was filed for denial of good time …
Illinois Prisoner Has No Liberty Interest in Personal Property by The Appellate Court of Illinois, Fourth District, held that the Sangamon County, Circuit Court, did not error when it dismissed a prisoner's complaint, for denying his due process rights by taking or limiting his personal property in prison. A prisoner …
Aryan Brotherhood Prison Killing Appeals by The Aryan Brotherhood (AB) is a small criminal organization based mainly in the California and federal prison systems. A series of four cases involving the criminal convictions of various AB members for prison murders, several in the control unit of the federal penitentiary in …
Heck Rule Fails to Prevent Parolee From Filing Under § 1983 by Heck Rule Fails to Prevent Parolee From Filing Under § 1983 The Northern District Court of Illinois determined that the Heck rule does not prevent a state parolee from proceeding with a civil action under 42 U.S.C. § …
Supreme Court Restricts RICO Act's Application Against Protestors by The United States Supreme Court, in a decision with potentially far- reaching consequences for protestors, held that abortion services providers cannot use the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act, 18 U.S.C. §§1962(a), (c), and (d), the Hobbs' Act, 18 U.S.C. …
Religious Name Changes Required To Follow State Procedure by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that a prisoner could be required to follow state name-change procedures in order to have the name change recognized by prison authorities; declaratory relief not included in the judgment itself was …
Failure to Administer Medication as Prescribed not Actionable by The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a guard's failure to administer medication exactly as prescribed, without additional exacerbating hardships, does not violate the Eighth or Fourteenth Amendments. This 42 U.S.C §1983 action was brought by a pretrial detainee at …
Illinois Court Without Authority to Withhold Prisoner's Income by The Illinois Fourth District Court of Appeals reversed a trial court's order requiring the Department of Corrections (DOC) to withhold 50% of a defendant's monthly income and remit it to the clerk to satisfy restitution and court costs. The State conceded …
Mail Restrictions Examined Under Turner Standard by The U.S. Supreme Court held that prison regulations allowing the rejection of certain subscription publications must be examined under the standards set forth in Turner v. Safely. This decision further reaffirms the procedural due process protections of Procunier v. Martinez, 416 U.S. 396, …
7th Circuit Upholds Illinois Prisoner's Segregation, Denial of Outside Exercise by The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held in this case that a prisoner's 70 days in segregation, and the denial of outdoor exercise while there, was not unconstitutional. While imprisoned at the Stateville Correctional Center in Illinois, plaintiff …
Absent Conflict, Magistrate May Determine Prisoner Placement During Litigation by Absent Conflict, Magistrate May Determine Prisoner Placement During Litigation The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that a federal prisoner could be held in a particular prison upon order of a U.S. magistrate. Prisoners involved in actions …
Discretionary Exception Bars Federal Tort Claim For Cellmate Attack by A federal prisoner filed a Federal Tort Claims Act complaint alleging the Government was negligent in failing to prevent his cellmate from attacking him. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed an Illinois district court's judgment under …
