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 …
Court Reverses Del Raine v. Carlson by The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed a ruling that an Illinois Federal Prisoner was entitled to relief in form of expungement of record of his confinement to segregation. The decision was made without published opinion. See: Del Raine …
Settlements Are Public Records by The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit held that civil rights settlements are public records and their disclosure to the public is protected by the free speech and free press clauses of the First amendment. The limited exceptions for secrecy in court records are …
No Disclosure of Federal Prisoners Held in Illinois Jail by A federal district court in Illinois held that the Illinois Freedom of Information Act did not allow the disclosure of the names of federal prisoners held in the DeWitt county jail in Illinois. A reporter from The Pantagraph, a local …
District Court Enjoins Illinois Prison Regarding Deficient Health Care by Illinois prisoners at the Menard Correctional Center (MCC) filed suit under 42 U.S.C. §1983 and state law claims, asserting that health care at MCC was constitutionally inadequate and that MCC engaged in "systematic denial of adequate health care services." The …
Prisoner's Suit Over Unsanitary Meals States Claims by The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois held that a prisoner's claims under 42 U.S.C. §1983 and state law were sufficient to withstand a motion to dismiss. Nartin Drake, a prisoner at the Cook County Jail, brought actions under …
Sentence of Internet Usage Ban Requires Notice and Limitations. by The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held a special provision of supervised release that prohibits "access to any internet services without prior approval of the probation officer" requires notice prior to the hearing and limitations on the ban. This is …
No Attorney Fee Award After Timely Offer Of Settlement by The U.S. Supreme Court held that Illinois police officers who had made a timely settlement offer before trial were not responsible for attorney fees incurred by Respondent after the offer. Respondent brought action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state …
Class Representative Must Have Same Interest as Class by An Illinois federal district court has held that a prisoners' class action may proceed with a new representative when the original representative's claims no longer possesses the same interest and suffered the same injury of the class. After discovery, the class …