Search | Prison Legal News

Missouri Prison Litigation Reform Act's Fee Requirement Affirmed

Article • March 19, 2018

Filed under: PLRA

Missouri Prison Litigation Reform Act's Fee Requirement Affirmed by Edward Lyon by Edward B. Lyon Twenty-one Jefferson City, Missouri Correctional Center prisoners filed a class action challenge to the state's Prison Litigation Reform Act's (MPLRA) fee requirement for habeas corpus petitions in Cole County's circuit court. The court denied service of process, dismissed the …

State of Missouri v. Douglass, MO, Opinion, Evidence, Insufficient Search Warrant, 2018

Brief • February 13, 2018

Filed under: Fourth Amendment, rights, Search and Seizure, Warrantless Searches, Evidence - Admissibility

State of Missouri v. Douglass, MO, Opinion, Evidence, Insufficient Search Warrant, 2018 SUPREME COURT OF MISSOURI en banc STATE OF MISSOURI, Appellant, v. PHILLIP DOUGLASS, Respondent, and JENNIFER M. GAULTER, Respondent. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Opinion issued February 13, 2018 …

Missouri Supreme Court: Restitution Must be for Losses “Due to” Crime of Conviction

Article • January 31, 2018 • from PLN February, 2018

Filed under: Sentencing, Probation, Restitution

Missouri Supreme Court: Restitution Must be for Losses “Due to” Crime of Conviction by The en banc Missouri Supreme Court held that a trial court may order restitution only for “losses ‘due to’ the offense for which the defendant has been found (or pleaded) guilty.” Under Mo. Rev. Stat. 559.105.1, …

Eighth Circuit Upholds $1.25 Million Jury Award for Missouri Prisoner’s Death

Article • January 31, 2018 • from PLN February, 2018

Filed under: Wrongful Death, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death)

Eighth Circuit Upholds $1.25 Million Jury Award for Missouri Prisoner’s Death by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On June 22, 2017, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury award of more than $1.25 million in a lawsuit over a Missouri prisoner’s death. Danial Letterman was held at the …

Sexual Harassment Lawsuits, Settlements Rock Missouri Department of Corrections

Article • January 31, 2018 • from PLN February, 2018

Filed under: Sexual Harassment, Staff-Staff Harassment

Sexual Harassment Lawsuits, Settlements Rock Missouri Department of Corrections by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna The Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC), roiled by a series of lawsuits and settlements related to workplace sexual harassment of female employees, has been called “dysfunctional” by a special state legislative committee investigating DOC operations. …

Prison Broke: The Missouri Department of Corrections Can’t Escape its Own Worst Habits

Article • January 31, 2018 • from PLN February, 2018

Filed under: Staff-Staff Assault, Staff-Staff Harassment, Supervisor-Staff Harassment, Threats by Staff, Discrimination, Gender Discrimination -- Women, Racial Discrimination, Religious Discrimination, Guards/Staff

Prison Broke: The Missouri Department of Corrections Can’t Escape its Own Worst Habits by Karen Dillon by Karen Dillon, The Pitch Each day, as she prepared herself to work another shift at the Missouri Department of Corrections prison, Lashonda Reid knew to expect one thing. It would be bad. Reid …

State of Missouri v. Gilmore, MO, Opinion, Insufficient Evidence for Controlled Substance Conviction, 2018

Brief • January 16, 2018

Filed under: Sentencing, New Trial/Judgment of Acquittal, Evidence - Admissibility, Drug Laws/Offenses

State of Missouri v. Gilmore, MO, Opinion, Insufficient Evidence for Controlled Substance Conviction, 2018 SUPREME COURT OF MISSOURI en banc STATE OF MISSOURI, Respondent, v. VICKI LEANN GILMORE, Appellant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Opinion issued January 16, 2018 No. SC96341 APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT …

$19,719 to People in Prison for ADA Violations

Article • December 22, 2017

Filed under: Disabled Prisoners, Americans with Disabilities Act

$19,719 to People in Prison for ADA Violations by Matthew Clarke Plaintiffs Hickman, Barber, Newman and Lane were wheelchair-bound prisoners at the Western Missouri Correctional Center where they were denied proper medical treatment and accommodations for their disabilities. In July 1994, they filed suit in federal court against the prison …

Efforts to End “Scourge of Money Bail” Meeting with Success

Article • December 12, 2017

Filed under: Bail, Bail Bonds

Efforts to End “Scourge of Money Bail” Meeting with Success by David Reutter By David M. Reutter The initiative by Equal Justice Under Law to end the incarceration pending trial of persons too poor to post bail is reaping positive outcomes.  Each day, there are about 500,00 human beings who …

Missouri DOC Director Replaced after String of Harassment and Retaliation Lawsuits

Article • December 5, 2017 • from PLN December, 2017

Filed under: Sexual Harassment, Misconduct/Corruption, Discrimination, Retaliation

Missouri DOC Director Replaced after String of Harassment and Retaliation Lawsuits by After eight years on the job, Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC) director George Lombardi submitted a letter of resignation to then-Governor Jay Nixon on December 14, 2016. Lombardi, who spent over 31 years in corrections, agreed to resign …

Eighth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Prisoners’ Suit over Repeated Overnight Deprivation of Clothing

Article • December 5, 2017 • from PLN December, 2017

Filed under: Eighth Amendment, Clothing, Jail Specific

Eighth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Prisoners’ Suit over Repeated Overnight Deprivation of Clothing by Reversing the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by pretrial detainees at a Missouri jail, the Eighth Circuit held in a January 17, 2017 decision that depriving them of clothing up to three nights a week was …

Missouri Town Pays $1.2 Million to Settle Lawsuit over Jail Suicide

Article • December 5, 2017 • from PLN December, 2017

Filed under: Failure to Treat, Jail Specific, Wrongful Death, Suicides

Missouri Town Pays $1.2 Million to Settle Lawsuit over Jail Suicide by Lonnie Burton by Lonnie Burton On March 13, 2017, the city of Pagedale, Missouri agreed to pay $1.2 million to the family of a woman who hung herself at the city jail two-and-a-half years earlier. The resolution of …

Missouri’s Release of Pot Dealer Doing LWOP Gives Hope to Nonviolent Drug Offenders Incarcerated Nationwide

Article • November 28, 2017

Filed under: War on Drugs, Sentencing, Parole

Missouri’s Release of Pot Dealer Doing LWOP Gives Hope to Nonviolent Drug Offenders Incarcerated Nationwide by Joe Watson By Joe Watson Jeff Mizanskey, a 62-year-old Missouri state prisoner serving life without parole (LWOP) on a nonviolent drug conviction, was released on Sept, 2, 2015, eliciting cautious optimism that thousands like …

Allen v. City of St. Louis, MO, Settlement, Wrongful Conviction, 2017

Brief • November 24, 2017

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Mental Health, Police, False Arrest

Allen v. City of St. Louis, MO, Settlement, Wrongful Conviction, 2017 Release and Settlement Agreement The parties to this Release and Settlement Agreement ("Agreement") are Plaintiffs Elfrieda Allen, in her capacity as Personal Representative of the Estate of George Allen, Jr., and Lonzetta Taylor (collectively, "Plaintiffs"), and the City of …

LaFleur v. Missouri DOC, MO, Petition for Damages, Prison Workplace Harassment, 2017

Brief • November 17, 2017

Filed under: Sexual Harassment, Staff-Staff Harassment, Gender Discrimination -- Women, Work, Americans with Disabilities Act, Mental Health

LaFleur v. Missouri DOC, MO, Petition for Damages, Prison Workplace Harassment, 2017 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI AT INDEPENDENCE JENNIFER LAFLEUR, 104 D. SE 24th Street Oak Grove, MO 64075 Plaintiff, ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) vs. …

Missouri Has Difficulty Retaining Provider for Execution Drugs

Article • November 7, 2017 • from PLN November, 2017

Filed under: Medical, Eighth Amendment, Civil Procedure, Public Records, Public Records Act

Missouri Has Difficulty Retaining Provider for Execution Drugs by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Missouri Department of Corrections ran afoul of the state’s public records laws when it tried to withhold its source of propofol, a lethal injection drug, a state court judge ruled. That’s when the drug’s …

Brown v. Precythe, Order, 2017

Brief • October 31, 2017

Brown v. Precythe, Order, 2017 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI CENTRAL DIVISION NORMAN BROWN, et al., Plaintiffs, v. ANNE L. PRECYTHE, et al., Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) No. 2:17-cv-04082-NKL ORDER Plaintiffs Norman Brown, Ralph McElroy, Sidney Roberts, …

Gasca v. Precythe, MO, Amended Class Action Complaint, Parole Revocation, 2017

Brief • October 12, 2017

Filed under: Class Certification, Parole Conditions, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights

Gasca v. Precythe, MO, Amended Class Action Complaint, Parole Revocation, 2017 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI STEPHANIE GASGA, MILDRED CURREN, TIMOTHY GALLAGHER, KENNETH HEMPHILL, JESSE NEELY, AMBER WYSE and SOLOMON WARREN, ) ) ) ) ) on behalf of themselves and all similarly …

Eighth Circuit Greenlights Jail Detainee’s Excessive Force Claim, but Loss at Trial Affirmed on Appeal

Article • October 10, 2017 • from PLN October, 2017

Filed under: Excessive Force (Police)

Eighth Circuit Greenlights Jail Detainee’s Excessive Force Claim, but Loss at Trial Affirmed on Appeal by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis The Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed a district court’s ruling that held a jail detainee’s excessive force and assault and battery claims could not go forward. …

J.G. V. Arnott, MO, Judgement, Search of Transgender Woman in Jail, 2017

Brief • September 29, 2017

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Gay/Lesbian, Searches, Strip Searches, Arrestee Searches, Body Cavity Searches, Conditions of Confinement, Guards/Staff

J.G. V. Arnott, MO, Judgement, Search of Transgender Woman in Jail, 2017 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI SOUTHERN DIVISION J.G., ) ) ) ) ) Case No.: 16-03347-CV-S-REL ) ) ) ) Plaintiff, v. JAMES ARNOTT, et al., Defendants. JUDGMENT Pursuant to Federal …