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Nebraska UA Procedures Do Not Violate Due Process

Article • February 15, 2007 • from PLN February, 2007

Filed under: Searches, Drug Testing

Nebraska UA Procedures Do Not Violate Due Process by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court?s decision that Nebraska?s Department of Correctional Services (DCS) urine sample collection and testing procedures do not deprive prisoners of due process of law. DCS tests urine samples for drugs using the …

Nebraskas County Jails Neglect Mentally Disabled

Article • October 15, 2006 • from PLN October, 2006

Filed under: Disabled Prisoners, Systemic Medical Neglect, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

Nebraskas County Jails Neglect Mentally Disabled by Gary Hunter Nebraskas County Jails Neglect Mentally Disabled by Gary Hunter Nebraskas American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has revealed major problems in the state's county jails. Prisoners with physical handicaps, chronic illnesses and mental disabilities receive little or no healthcare in a state …

Nebraska Supreme Court Reverses Dismissal of Prisoners Drug Testing § 1983 Claim

Article • March 15, 2006 • from PLN March, 2006

Filed under: Searches, Drug Testing, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Americans with Disabilities Act

Nebraska Supreme Court Reverses Dismissal of Prisoners Drug Testing § 1983 Claim by Nebraska Supreme Court Reverses Dismissal of Prisoners Drug Testing § 1983 Claim The Nebraska Supreme Court reversed a lower courts dismissal of a prisoners 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action, finding that he stated a cognizable claim for …

Nebraska Native American Prisoners' Religious Program Reinstated

Article • February 15, 2006 • from PLN February, 2006

Filed under: Racial Discrimination, Settlements, Religious Freedom, Religious Diet, Denial of Religious Services, Religious Practices

Nebraska Native American Prisoners' Religious Program Reinstated by John Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg Native American prisoners and Nebraska's then Director of Corrections, Harold Clarke, reached a settlement agreement on March 15, 2005 in U.S. District Court (D. Neb.) to reinstate the Native American prisoners' club (Native American Spiritual and …

What's Wrong With the ACA?

Article • September 15, 2005 • from PLN September, 2005

Filed under: Totality of Conditions, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Shootings, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, ACA

What's Wrong With the ACA? by Elizabeth Alexander The American Correctional Association (ACA) is the largest and best-known organization of prison and jail staff in the country. It offers higher education programs designed to train prison industry professionals and, like a traditional professional association, it certifies persons as members in …

Nebraska Law Automatically Restores Felon Voting Rights

Article • September 15, 2005 • from PLN September, 2005

Filed under: Organizing, Voting, State Legislation

Nebraska Law Automatically Restores Felon Voting Rights by On March 10, 2005, Nebraska lawmakers overrode a veto by the governor and passed legislation automatically restoring the voting rights of felons. With the passage of Legislative Bill 53, Nebraska felons will automatically have their voting rights restored two years after completing …

Nebraska Prisoners Win Summary Judgment on Phone Access and Monitoring Issues

Article • June 15, 2004 • from PLN June, 2004

Filed under: Attorneys, Attorney Client, Telephone Access, Attorney Calls, Telephone Monitoring, Access to Media

Nebraska Prisoners Win Summary Judgment on Phone Access and Monitoring Issues by Nebraska Prisoners Win Summary Judgment on Phone Access and Monitoring Issues by Matthew T. Clarke A Nebraska state district court granted Nebraska state prisoners' summary judgment on issues involving the monitoring and recording of phone calls to government …

Prisons Nationwide Fail to Treat HCV Epidemic

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: CMS, Medical, Systemic Medical Neglect, Hepatitis

Prisons Nationwide Fail to Treat HCV Epidemic by John E Dannenberg Prisons Nationwide Fail To Treat HCV Epidemic by John E. Dannenberg The JeopardyTM answer is: "The national average treatment rate for HCV-infected prisoners." The winning question is: "What is approximately 1%?" With HCV [Hepatitis-C] infection rates in state prisons …

Nebraska Prisons Get Progressive Phone Contract

Article • October 15, 2003 • from PLN October, 2003

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

Nebraska Prisons Get Progressive Phone Contract by by Matthew T. Clarke In February, 2003, The Nebraska Department of Corrections (DOC) has contracted with AT&T to set up what may be the most progressive prisoner phone service in the United States. The five-year contract makes AT&T the sole provider of local …

California Prisoner Who Received First Heart Transplant Dies

Article • October 15, 2003 • from PLN October, 2003

Filed under: Medical, Cardiovascular, Transplants, State Legislation

California Prisoner Who Received First Heart Transplant Dies by A California man, who is believed to be the first prisoner in the nation to receive a heart transplant while incarcerated, died last December from complications relating to the operation. The man, whose name has never been released, was serving a …

No Qualified Immunity for Guards Who Failed to Provide CPR

Article • September 15, 2002 • from PLN September, 2002

Filed under: Cardiovascular, Qualified Immunity, Wrongful Death, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

No Qualified Immunity for Guards Who Failed to Provide CPR by No Qualified Immunity for Guards who Failed to Provide CPR The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit struck down a district court's grant of qualified immunity and summary judgment in favor of three Nebraska prison guards who …

Whistle-blowing Doctor Shakes Up Nebraska DOC

Article • November 15, 2000 • from PLN November, 2000

Filed under: Medical Misconduct, Retaliation, Retaliation against Staff, Whistleblowing, Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Employee Litigation, American Correctional Association

Whistle-blowing Doctor Shakes Up Nebraska DOC by Dan Pens I have a story to tell--about how a doctor can be used to kill patients. I will talk to anybody you want me to. I spent twelve years of my life, and these people push me around and turn me into …

Attorney Fees Must Be Expressly Reserved

Article • August 15, 1999 • from PLN August, 1999

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Totality of Conditions, Attorney Fee Awards, Settlements

Attorney Fees Must Be Expressly Reserved by The court of appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that a failure to expressly raise the issue of attorney fees during settlement negotiations waives any subsequent claim thereto. This case involves several prisoners, who sued the director of the Nebraska DOC, under 42 …

Nebraska Prisoners Have Right to Defend Against Suit

Article • October 15, 1998 • from PLN October, 1998

Filed under: Court Access, Court Appearances

Nebraska Prisoners Have Right to Defend Against Suit by The Nebraska court of appeals held that prisoners have a due process right to defend themselves against lawsuits. Frances Thompson, an animal rights activist, and PLN subscriber, imprisoned in Nebraska, was sued by the University of Nebraska for unpaid student loans. …

Fee Required in Voluntary Dismissal

Article • May 15, 1998 • from PLN May, 1998

Filed under: PLRA, Filing Fees (PLRA)

Fee Required in Voluntary Dismissal by A federal district court in Nebraska held that the IFP fee requirements of the PLRA, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2) require payment of the full filing fee even if the prisoner plaintiff later decides to voluntarily dismiss the action. See: Conley v. Henderson , 980 …

Attorney Fee Award in Smoking Suit Affirmed

Article • March 15, 1998 • from PLN March, 1998

Filed under: Smoking, PLRA, Attorney Fees (PLRA), Eleventh Amendment Immunity

Attorney Fee Award in Smoking Suit Affirmed by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit affirmed an award of $11,299.17 in attorney fees to a prisoner who sued over being exposed to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS, AKA second hand smoke). In the December, 1996, issue of PLN we reported …

Nebraska Women's Court Access Case Reversed

Article • September 15, 1997 • from PLN September, 1997

Filed under: Gender Discrimination -- Women, Court Access, Law Library Access/Adequacy

Nebraska Women's Court Access Case Reversed by In the August, 1996, issue of PLN we reported Klinger v. Nebraska DOC, 909 F. Supp. 1329 (D NE 1995) which held that women prisoners in Nebraska were denied their right of access to the courts when the prison law library consisted only …

No Frivolousness Review Allowed When Filing Fee Paid

Article • June 15, 1997 • from PLN June, 1997

Filed under: Work Release, Transfers, Filing Fees (PLRA), Civil Procedure, Frivolous Litigation, Service, Local Rules

No Frivolousness Review Allowed When Filing Fee Paid by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held that a district court erred when it dismissed portions of a pro se prisoner's complaint after the filing fee had been paid. The lower court also erred when it instructed the defendants …

PLRA Not Retroactive on Attorney Fees

Article • December 15, 1996 • from PLN December, 1996

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding, Attorney Fees (PLRA), Injunctions

PLRA Not Retroactive on Attorney Fees by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) provisions limiting attorney fees in prison cases is not to be retroactively applied. The court also affirmed the district court ruling that the practice of randomly double …

Prison Officials Liable for Double Celling

Article • December 15, 1996 • from PLN December, 1996

Filed under: Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding, Injunctions

Prison Officials Liable for Double Celling by In the September, 1996, issue of PLN we reported Jensen v. Gunter , 73 F.3d 808 (8th Cir. 1996) where the appeals court vacated a district court ruling that double celling practices at the Nebraska State Penitentiary (NSP) violated the eighth amendment where …