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Connecticut Settles Mental Health Suit

Article • April 15, 2009

Filed under: Medical, Systemic Medical Neglect, Settlements, Class Certification, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

Connecticut Settles Mental Health Suit by On May 22, 1995, the state of Connecticut agreed to settle a lawsuit challenging the quality of mental health care it provides to its prisoners. Edward Roe and class of other prisoners sued Connecticut prison officials alleging that the mental health services provided by …

Imprisoned Connecticut Politician Gets Special Privileges

Article • April 15, 2009 • from PLN April, 2009

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Government Misconduct, Crime

Imprisoned Connecticut Politician Gets Special Privileges by Matthew Clarke Imprisoned Connecticut Politician Gets Special Privileges by Matt Clarke In October 2008, the Hartford Courant reported that former Connecticut State Representative Jesse G. Stratton had received special privileges from Department of Corrections officials. Stratton, a 61-year-old widow with three grown children, …

$400,000 Award in Failure to Protect Connecticut Suicidal Prisoner

Article • February 15, 2009 • from PLN February, 2009

Filed under: Municipal Liability, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Mental Health, Suicides

$400,000 Award in Failure to Protect Connecticut Suicidal Prisoner by $400,000 Award in Failure to Protect Connecticut Suicidal Prisoner A Connecticut judge has awarded a prisoner’s estate $403,164.30, finding the City of Hartford police were liable for the prisoner’s suicide death. At a bench trial, the Court held the arresting …

Connecticut DOC Settles Prisoner’s Brutal Beating By Ten Guards For $500,000

Article • January 15, 2009 • from PLN January, 2009

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Snitch Jacketing, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Connecticut DOC Settles Prisoner’s Brutal Beating By Ten Guards For $500,000 by Connecticut DOC Settles Prisoner’s Brutal Beating By Ten Guards For $500,000 The Connecticut Department of. Corrections (CDC) settled for $500,000 the civil rights complaint brought by a prisoner who was brutally assaulted by ten CDC guards solely for …

Connecticut Police, City Liable For Withholding, Doctoring Evidence In False Arrest

Article • January 15, 2009

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Wrongful Imprisonment, Police, False Arrest

Connecticut Police, City Liable For Withholding, Doctoring Evidence In False Arrest by Connecticut resident Christopher Russo appealed the dismissal of his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action after being falsely arrested and imprisoned for over seven months. He was acquitted after police were forced to present exculpatory evidence. The ruling was …

Connecticut DOC Settles Prisoner Hogtying Death For $900,000

Article • December 15, 2008 • from PLN December, 2008

Filed under: Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints

Connecticut DOC Settles Prisoner Hogtying Death For $900,000 by Connecticut DOC Settles Prisoner Hogtying Death For $900,000 The Connecticut Department of Corrections (CDC) settled a wrongful death complaint for $900,000 when a prisoner who was hogtied in a prison classroom died of traumatic asphyxia from the application of such restraint. …

Obesity Upheld as Classification Criteria

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Medical, Obesity, Ad-Seg Hearings

Obesity Upheld as Classification Criteria by The plaintiff's placement in administrative segregation and his transfer did not deny due process. Assuming he had a liberty interest in remaining in general population at the sending facility, he received due process under Helms v. Hewitt. Enhancing the level of his assaults for …

No Right to Have Evidence Preserved or Wrongdoers Prosecuted

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Criminal Prosecution, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings

No Right to Have Evidence Preserved or Wrongdoers Prosecuted by At 81: ". . . [T]here is no federal right to have criminal wrongdoers prosecuted. See Leeke v. Timmerman, 454 U.S. 83, 87 (1981)...." The failure to preserve evidence of an alleged use of force did not violate the right …

Federal Forfeiture Law Application Reversed

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution, Money/Property, Forfeiture

Federal Forfeiture Law Application Reversed by Harold and Kathleen von Hofe, both Connecticut state prison guards, were arrested after sixty-five marijuana plants were discovered in their basement. Harold pled guilty to manufacturing a controlled substance, a felony, and Kathleen pled guilty to misdemeanor possession of the same. The federal government …

Connecticut Police Brutality Suit Settles For $44,000

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Police, Excessive Force (Police)

Connecticut Police Brutality Suit Settles For $44,000 by Connecticut resident Jacob Dagley brought action against the City of Norwalk (City) and it's police after suffering numerous injuries in 2003. Several policemen beat and kicked Dagley after subduing him. The suit settled for $44,000. Police stopped a vehicle they thought was …

PLRA Three Strikes Law Constitutional

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: PLRA, Frivolous Litigation (PLRA)

PLRA Three Strikes Law Constitutional by The plaintiff is barred by the three strikes provision, which is not unconstitutional, holds the court in an insubstantial opinion. See: Demos v. John Doe/Manufacturers/Skoal/Copenhagen Pipe & Tobacco, 118 F.Supp.2d 172, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16287

Injunction Over Towing, Sale of Cars Without Notice to Owners Reversed

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Police Searches, Civil Procedure, Injunctions, Mootness

Injunction Over Towing, Sale of Cars Without Notice to Owners Reversed by The district court found that municipal practices of towing and selling automobiles without notice to their owners denied due process. During the litigation, the defendants changed their regulations. The district court said they "did not go far enough" …

$80,000 Settlement For Injury Caused By Defective Federal Prison Sidewalk

Article • June 15, 2008 • from PLN June, 2008

Filed under: Skeletal Injury, Immunity/Liability, Premises Liability

$80,000 Settlement For Injury Caused By Defective Federal Prison Sidewalk by The Bureau of Prisons has agreed to pay Beatrice Codianni-Robles, a prisoner at the Federal Correctional Institute in Danbury, Connecticut, $80,000 to settle a federal tort claims suit. While walking outside her prison unit on July 29, 2002 Codianni-Rubles …

Taking DNA Samples from CT Sex Offenders Upheld

Article • May 15, 2008

Filed under: Searches, DNA Testing/Samples

Taking DNA Samples from CT Sex Offenders Upheld by Plaintiffs challenged a Connecticut statute that required all convicted sex offenders incarcerated on its effective date to submit blood samples for analysis and inclusion in a DNA bank. Taking a blood sample is a search under the Fourth Amendment. However, in …

$200,000 Settlement for Negligent Medical Care/ Treatment of Federal Prisoner

Article • May 15, 2008

Filed under: Skeletal Injury, Injury -- Misc., Misdiagnosis, Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Prison/Jail Murders, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints

$200,000 Settlement for Negligent Medical Care/ Treatment of Federal Prisoner by The Bureau of Prisons has agreed to pay Beatrice Codianni-Robles, a prisoner at the Federal Correctional Institute in Danbury, Connecticut, $200,000 to settle a federal tort claims suit. After concluding a job on the prison yard on September 12, …

As Connecticut's Prison Population Increases, So Does the Number of Imprisoned Mentally Ill

Article • April 15, 2008 • from PLN April, 2008

Filed under: Medication, Medical Expenses, Statistics/Trends, Overcrowding, Staffing, Sentencing, Parole, Three Strikes, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), State Legislation

As Connecticut's Prison Population Increases, So Does the Number of Imprisoned Mentally Ill by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Like other prison systems throughout the nation, Connecticut's is reaching peak capacity. In the midst of dealing with overcrowding and parole issues, the Connecticut Department of Correction (CDOC) must also …

Non-English Speaking Fed Prisoner Entitled to Representative at Prison Disciplinary Hearing

Article • January 15, 2008

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Notice of Rules, Interpreters (Disciplinary Hearings)

Non-English Speaking Fed Prisoner Entitled to Representative at Prison Disciplinary Hearing by In 1976, Aharon Ron, a federal prisoner in Lexington, Kentucky, was found hiding in a barn with his visitor. He was infracted for being in an unauthorized area. Ron didn't understand English very well and, when presented with …

Connecticut Prisons Begin 10% Deductions of Prisoner Monies

Article • January 15, 2008 • from PLN January, 2008

Filed under: Seizure of Prisoner Funds, News, State Legislation

Connecticut Prisons Begin 10% Deductions of Prisoner Monies by The Connecticut Department of Corrections (CDOC) has put into effect a new state law that creates savings accounts for prisoners. The new law, which took effect July 1, 2007, allows CDOC to automatically deduct 10 percent of any funds that are …

Connecticut Prisoners’ Families Gouged on Phone Calls

Article • December 15, 2007 • from PLN December, 2007

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

Connecticut Prisoners’ Families Gouged on Phone Calls by Connecticut Prisoners' Families Gouged on Phone Calls Until recently, most Connecticut Department of Correction (CDOC) prisoners were forced to make phone calls using an MCI (Verizon Business) collect calling system at rates much higher than those charged to the general public. Under …

Connecticut Strip Search Suit Settles For $2.5 Million

Article • November 15, 2007 • from PLN November, 2007

Filed under: Searches, Strip Searches, Arrestee Searches, Damages

Connecticut Strip Search Suit Settles For $2.5 Million by The State of Connecticut will pay $2.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit that alleged the state maintained an unconstitutional practice of strip searching all incoming prisoners at the New Haven Community Correction Center (NHCCC). Plaintiff Charles Campbell claimed that …