Virginia Prisoner Defeats Summary Judgment, Settles Religious Diet Case by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon Aaron Carter is a Virginia state prisoner; he is also a member of the Nation of Islam. Due to his religion’s dietary restrictions, he was enrolled in the prison system’s Common Fare program (CFP), which …
Federal Court Issues Injunction Over Conditions on Virginia’s Death Row by Matthew Clarke by Matthew Clarke On February 21, 2018, a federal district court issued an injunction prohibiting the Virginia Department of Corrections (DOC) from reverting conditions of confinement on death row to those that existed when a lawsuit challenging …
Porter v. Clarke, USA, Brief of Appellees, Conditions of Confinement, 2018 Appeal: 18-6257 Doc: 25 Filed: 08/21/2018 Pg: 1 of 73 No. 18-6257 INTHE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT Thomas Porter, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellees, V. Harold W. Clarke, et al., Defendants-Appellants. On Appeal frorn the United …
Austin v. Correct Care Solutions, VA, Settlement, Wrongful Death, 2018 Case 2:17-cv-00291-RJK Document 131 Filed 08/09/18 Page 1 of 9 PageID# 2085 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA Norfolk Division JOE AUSTIN AND MICHELLE WILSON. CO-ADMINISTRATORS OF THE ESTATE OF HENRY CLAY STEWART, Deceased, Plaintiffs, Civil …
Virginia: Former Assistant Warden Gets Suspended Sentence for Trading Privileges for Sex by Monte McCoin by Monte McCoin On March 19, 2018, former Indian Creek Correctional Center assistant warden Clyde Alderman, 68, entered an Alford plea to three misdemeanor counts of solicitation. By entering the plea, Alderman, without admitting guilt, …
ACLU Virginia -- Women in the Criminal Justice System - Pathways to Incarceration in Virginia, 2018 PHOTO: NARAL PRO-CHOICE OF AMERICA/FLICKR WOMEN IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: PATHWAYS TO INCARCERATION IN VIRGINIA Acknowledgement First and foremost, we would like to thank the residents of Friends of Guest House in Fairfax, …
Porter v Clarke, VA, Brief of Appellants, Conditions of Confinement, 2018 Appeal: 18-6257 Doc: 19 Filed: 07/09/2018 Pg: 1 of 69 No. 18-6257 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT THOMAS ALEXANDER PORTER; ANTHONY BERNARD JUNIPER; MARK LAWLOR, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. HAROLD W. CLARKE; DAVID ZOOK, Defendants-Appellants. …
Virginia Parole Board Changes “Three-Strikes” Interpretation by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Virginia’s parole board is changing a policy under which the state’s “three-strikes” law was used to deny parole to 262 prisoners who previously had never been incarcerated before their current charges. The change came on the heels …
New Virginia Law Requires Oversight of Jail Deaths by As of May 2018, Virginia’s Board of Corrections (BOC) had counted 21 jail deaths in the state since the start of the year. But thanks to a new law passed in 2017, the BOC now has authority to review deaths in …
HRDC v. SW Virginia Regional Jail Authority; U.S.D.C. (W.D. VA) Case Number: 1:18-cv-00013-JPJ-PMS; OPINION AND ORDER granting Motion for Preliminary Injunction. Signed by Judge James P. Jones on 7/3/2018 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA ABINGDON DIVISION HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENSE CENTER, Plaintiff, v. SOUTHWEST …
Retaliatory “Rough Ride” by Prison Guards States Eighth Amendment Claim by David Reutter by David Reutter The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a Virginia state prisoner had stated a claim for violation of his constitutional rights when guards gave him a “rough ride” in a prison van in …
Virginia Federal Court Holds Nation of Gods and Earth is a Religion by A federal district court has ordered the Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) to remove the security threat group designation from the Nation of Gods and Earth (NGE), “recognize it as a religion, and afford it the rights …
PLN Censorship Suit Against Virginia Jail Headed to Trial by A lawsuit filed by Prison Legal News against censorship practices at the Northwest Regional Adult Detention Center (NWADC) in Winchester, Virginia has been scheduled for a jury trial later this year. The suit will proceed with NWADC and Superintendent James …
Kovari v. U.S. Prisoner Transport and John Does, injuries during transport, complaint, 2018 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA HARRISONBURG DIVISION 4/24/2018 S/J.Vasquez EDWARD KOVARI, Plaintiff, v. BREVARD EXTRADITIONS, LLC, d/b/a U.S. PRISONER TRANSPORT; PRISONER TRANSPORTATION SERVICES OF AMERICA, LLC; PRISONER TRANSPORTATION SERVICES, LLC; …
U.S. v. Wooden, ruling, removal of pedophilic-disorder diagnosis, 2018 PUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 16-7607 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Petitioner - Appellant, v. WALTER WOODEN, Respondent - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Raleigh. …
Prisons and Jails Impose More Restrictions on Mail, Visits to Curtail Contraband by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Citing a need to stop the smuggling of drugs and other contraband, some prisons and jails have placed new and stringent restrictions on both prisoner mail and visitation. Beginning in April 2017, …
$125,000 Settlement After Failure to Protect Verdict in Virginia by Following a July 2017 federal jury verdict that found guards had failed to protect a prisoner from an attack by another detainee at the West Virginia Regional Jail (WVRJ), the parties agreed to settle the case for $125,000. The suit …
Virginia Prisoner’s Name Change Request for Religious Purpose Requires Hearing by On August 17, 2017, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled a circuit court had abused its discretion in dismissing a prisoner’s application for a name change based upon religious reasons. The Supreme Court held that a religious reason for a …
Fourth Circuit Vacates Sua Sponte Dismissal Due to Non-exhaustion by The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated a district court’s sua sponte dismissal of a prisoner’s lawsuit for failure to exhaust available administrative remedies. The Virginia Department of Corrections’ (VDOC) grievance procedure requires prisoners to first submit an informal …
Adams v. Ferguson, et al., VA, opinion, qualified immunity, 2018 PUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 17-1484 ROXANNE ADAMS, Administrator of the Estate of Jamycheal M. Mitchell, Deceased, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. DEBRA K. FERGUSON, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Defendant - Appellant, and NAPHCARE, INC.; NSEKENENE …
