"Some Evidence" Exists Iowa Prisoner Engaged in Assault Rather than Fighting by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held there was some evidence" to find a prisoner at the Iowa State Penitentiary guilty of assault rather than fighting. A guard observed two prisoners horse playing in the exercise pen, and …
Iowa: Prior Sex Offenses Not Grounds For Prisoner's Continued Confinement by The Iowa Supreme Court held that a state prisoner who had prior convictions for sex offenses but was not currently imprisoned on sex- related charges was ineligible for commitment as a sexually violent predator. Jessie J. Gonzalez was convicted …
Iowa Jail Employee's Whistleblower Jury Award Reduced to $258,027 by Matthew Clarke by Matthew T. Clarke On December 31, 2003, a federal judge in Iowa reduced a whistle-blowing former assistant jail administrator's $250,000 jury award for emotional distress to $130,000 while letting stand the remaining award of $128,027 for lost …
Delayed Sweat Lodge Construction Unconstitutional; Qualified Immunity Granted by A federal district court in Iowa has held that prison officials' delay in constructing a Sweat lodge for Native American prisoners incarcerated at Fort Dodge Correctional Facility (FDCF) violates the prisoners' right to free exercise of religion under the First Amendment, …
Lifesaving Medical Treatment Mandated for IA Prisoner Despite Refusal by The Iowa Supreme Court has held the state has a compelling interest in requiring lifesaving medical treatment of a prisoner despite his refusal of that treatment. The prisoner was refusing daily kidney dialysis treatment, which would have resulted in his …
Filing Fee for State Habeas Corpus Unconstitutional by The United States Supreme Court held that a state could not require payment of a filing fee in state habeas corpus proceedings, or for appeals taken there from, while denying indigent prisoners access to the proceedings. According to the Court, "to interpose …
Public Defender not Actor Under Color of State Law for Withdrawing from Appeal by The U.S. Supreme Court held a public defender cannot be held liable under 42 U.S.C §1983 for moving to withdraw from a criminal defendant's appeal on the grounds the defendant's appeal and claims are frivolous. An …
Iowa Supreme Court Holds Prison Sex Offender Screening Process Constitutional by On October 22, 2004 the Iowa Supreme Court ruled on a prisoner's claim that a prison rule concerning sexually violent prisoners enacted after his imprisonment effectively removed him from consideration for early parole. The court held that although the …
$276,163 Award of Costs and Fees in Iowa Juvenile Detention Case by An Iowa federal District Court, in a pre-PLRA case, awarded $276,163.09 in attorney fees and costs in an action challenging juvenile detention and jailing practices in Webster County, Iowa. The litigation's history can be found at: Hendrickson v. …
PI Granted to Disclose Records Under PAMII by The plaintiff, an organization with authority under Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill Individuals ("PAMII") (a/k/a PAIMI), has the authority to investigate incidents of abuse and neglect and to have access to the records and facilities of publicly and privately run institutions, …
Lack of Interpreter at Some Hearings Upheld by The Spanish-speaking plaintiff, who had a lot of disciplinary charges, received an interpreter when he asked for one, but he didn't always ask. The magistrate judge found that he understood English enough to understand the nature of the proceedings and to respond …
Iowa Sex Offender Residency Restrictions Are Constitutional by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Iowa's sex offender residency restrictions are n to unconstitutional, reversing a lower court ruling that we previously reported. [PLN, December 2004, p. 28]. On July 1, 2002, the Iowa Legislature enacted Iowa Code Section …
Transexual Case Remanded for Trial by The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit reversed and remanded the grant of summary judgment in favor of Iowa prison officials. Plaintiff claimed to suffer from gender dysphoria, better known as transsexualism, and demanded medical treatment which prison officials refused to provide, at …
Retaliatory Transfer Illegal; No Right to Operate Business by The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit held that Iowa prisoners had no constitutional right to operate a leather goods business in prison nor to associate with other prisoners to operate such a business. The court held the district court …
Right to Be Jailhouse Lawyer Discussed by The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit reversed and remanded a district court ruling staying a § 1983 lawsuit brought by an Iowa prisoner who was fired from his prison job as a jailhouse lawyer. Referring to a separate consent decree and …
Grievance Retaliation Unlawful by The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit reversed the dismissal of an Iowa state prisoner's lawsuit claiming he was infracted for filing a grievance that prison officials claimed contained incorrect information. The court held that the content of administrative grievances is protected by the First …
No Right to Smoke by The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit held that Iowa prisoners have no constitutional right to smoke. No court has held otherwise. Given the rise in suits over exposure to second hand tobacco smoke more states are banning smoking. See: Grass v. Sargent, 903 …
Prisoner Strip Searches Upheld by The courts of appeal for the Eighth and Ninth circuit's upheld Iowa and Arizona prison policies of visually strip searching all prisoners in ad seg entering or leaving their cells. All circuit courts to consider this issue have upheld the visual strip searches of prisoners. …
Qualified Immunity Denial Upheld, Punishment Requires "Some Evidence" by Qualified Immunity Denial Upheld, Punishment Requires "Some Evidence" The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld denial of summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds to prison officials who punished a prisoner without evidence of wrongdoing. David Engel, a prisoner at the …
Iowa Sued Over Proselytizing Fundamentalist Christian Prison Program by Matthew T. Clarke Iowa Sued Over Proselytizing Fundamentalist Christian Prison Program by Matthew T. Clarke On February 13, 2003, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AUSCS) filed two lawsuits in federal court, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against officials …
