Prisoner Lawsuits Not Subject to Heightened Pleading Standard in Seventh Circuit by The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a prisoner's complaint need only state the prisoner's legal claim together with some indication of the time and place: detailed facts need not be supplied. Brian K. Thomson, an Illinois …
Former Illinois Governor Indicted on Federal Charges by Former Illinois governor and Nobel Peace Prize nominee George Ryan was indicted December 17, 2003, on federal charges of racketeering, mail and tax fraud, and lying to investigators. Federal prosecutors allege that Ryan and his political bedfellows treated state employees and the …
No Qualified Immunity in Jail Suicide Attempt by The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of qualified immunity to a police officer on a claim of deliberate indifference to an Illinois pretrial detainee's suicide risk. On June 4, 1998, Steven Cavalieri kidnapped his former girlfriend, Stephanie Rouse, and …
Illinois Appeals Court Overturns Warden's Reckless Homicide Convictions by Illinois Appeals Court Overturns Warden's Reckless Homicide Convictions by Matthew T. Clarke Near midnight on the night of Octo-ber 14, 2000, a state-owned car driven by William Barham, Warden of the Shawnee Correctional Center, spun off a road and down an …
Facts Contained in Administrative Remedies Not Automatically Deemed Facts Alleged in Complaints by The Seventh Circuit Court of Apeals held the attachment of grievances to a complaint, for the purpose of demonstrating exhaustion of remedies, does not permit holding that the plaintiff vouches for the truth of the statements in …
$3 Million in Settlements for Wrongful Illinois Convictions by by Matthew T. Clarke On June 17, 2003, Illinois passed a state budget that includes around $1.5 million in settlements for wrongly convicted former prisoners, including Rolondo Cruz and Aaron Patterson, former death row prisoners pardoned by former Governor George Ryan. …
$1.5 Million Illinois Prison Rape Verdict Overturned by In a 2-to-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit overturned a jury's $1.5 million verdict in favor of a prisoner who was sexually assaulted by his cellmate. Anthony Riccardo and Juan Garcia were both housed in the segregation …
Illinois Segregation Brutality Suit Fails Because Injury Was De Minimis by John E Dannenberg Illinois Segregation Brutality Suit Fails Because Injury Was De Minimis by John E. Dannenberg An Illinois state prisoner who alleged in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil rights complaint that he had been maliciously injured by …
RFRA May Protect Federal Prisoners' Right to Cast Spells by RFRA May Protect Federal Prisoners' Right to Cast Spells The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (7th Circuit) has reinstated a federal prisoner's religious freedom lawsuit under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-1. Kerry …
$15 Million Award for Wrongful Conviction Upheld by $15 Million Award for Wrongful Conviction Upheld The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a district court's denial of qualified immunity for two Chicago policemen who had concealed evidence and induced witnesses to testify falsely against a man wrongfully …
Illinois County Necessary Party in Suit Against Elected Official by Illinois County Necessary Party in Suit Against Elected Official In a case of great importance to those seeking damages in suits on jail conditions in Illinois, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held a county must satisfy any judgment or …
Physical Injury Rule Doesn't Bar Strip Search Suit by Vacating dismissal by the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a prisoner adequately pleaded an Eighth Amendment violation in a prison strip-search and that 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(e) does not bar …
Degorski v. Wilson, IL, Complaint, Jail Beating, 2004 Case: 1:04-cv-03367 Document #: 1 Filed: 05/12/04 Page 1 of 9 PageID #:1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS or::? u1 ~ . , •<J ( EASTERN DIVISION ' ( I .. . JAMES DEGORSKI, DOCKETED~ Plaintiff, MAY …
Chicago's Brutal Jail Guards by by Matthew T. Clarke A series of brutal beatings of prisoners by guards at the Cook County (IL) Jail in Chicago has already resulted in more than $1.5 million being paid to prisoner victims with several unsettled lawsuits still in court. Two jail guards resigned …
Bond Fees State Eighth Amendment Claim by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed a district court's dismissal of a lawsuit by arrestees who challenged Illinois counties' practice of charging a bond fee as a condition of release from jail. Six former arrestees brought an action under …
Fourteenth Amendment Not Violated By Arrest Without Probable Cause by The U.S. Supreme Court held that an arrestee's allegation that his arrest without probable cause violated substantive due process did not state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The petitioner surrendered to police upon issuance of a warrant charging …
State Auditor: Illinois DOC Kept Sloppy Records of Guns and Money by According to a state auditor's report covering a two-year period ending June 30, 2002, the Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC) failed to keep proper track of all of its weapons. One weapon on the DOC inventory could not …
Inmate Compensation Program Applies to Federal Pretrial Detainees by Inmate Compensation Program Applies to Federal Pretrial Detainees, Is Exclusive Remedy for Work-Related Injury The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Inmate Compensation Program (ICP) at 18 U.S.C. § 4126(c) applies to pretrial federal detainees. Leo Paschal was a …
Jury Awards $1.75 Million Against CMS in Illinois Jail Suicide by Correctional Medical Services (CMS), a private provider of medical services to jails and prisons, lost a jury verdict in a case brought by a former Lake County, Illinois, Jail prisoner's estate alleging that CMS violated the prisoner's constitutional rights, …
Scandal-Ridden, Bankrupt MCI WorldCom Wins No-Bid California Prisoner Phone Contract by Marvin Mentor A renewed four-year no-bid prisoner phone contract was awarded in June, 2002 by the California Department of General Services to MCI WorldCom, a telephone conglomerate whose recent bankruptcy exposed the largest accounting fraud in US business history …
