Retaliation Suit States Claim by Afederal district court in Illinois held that a jail prisoner had stated a claim upon which relief could be granted in his lawsuit alleging retaliation. David Lewis was a prisoner in the Cook county (Chicago) jail in Illinois where he worked as a law library …
FRAP 24 Good Faith Standard Not High by The court of appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that district courts should not apply inappropriately high standards when making "good faith" determinations on in forma pauperis (IFP) motions under Rule 24 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (FRAP). The court …
Infraction Inadmissable at Criminal Trial by The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit held that a district court erred when it admitted testimony on the outcome of a prison disciplinary hearing in a criminal trial on the same charges. Anthony Thomas was convicted in federal court of mailing death …
Illinois Exhaustion Described by A federal district court in Illinois held that a prisoner had fully exhausted all available administrative remedies under 42 U.S.C. § 1997e when he submitted a grievance through all levels of the Illinois Department of Corrections. Brian Jones filed suit claiming a prison guard beat him …
PLRA Physical Injury and Administrative Exhaustion Requirements Not Retroactive by A federal district court in Illinois held that 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a), which requires administrative exhaustion before prisoners file suit, and 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(e), which requires physical injury, before prisoners can file suit, do not apply retroactively to suits …
Illinois KKK Guard Loses Lawsuits, Goes to Prison by Paul Wright On December 4, 1998, former Illinois prison sergeant Wallace Scott Weicherding (64) was sentenced to 5 years, 10 months in federal prison after being convicted on conspiracy and weapons charges. Weicherding was arrested with five other men who called …
District Court Can't Dismiss Appeal for Failure to Pay Filing Fee by The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit held that district courts lack the statutory authority to dismiss appeals due to a party's failure to pay the filing fee. Earl Sperow, an Illinois state prisoner, filed a lawsuit …
De Facto Ban on Live Testimony Unconstitutional by The court of appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that the Stateville (Illinois) Correctional Center policy of denying virtually all live witness testimony at prison disciplinary hearings, which could result in revocation of good-time credits, violates due process. However, the court vacated …
Seventh Circuit Defines Court Access Claims Involving Property by The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit held that prisoners cannot base court access claims on the loss of property unless that loss results in an ongoing hindrance or actual injury to an underlying claim. The court also discussed pleading …
No Administrative Exhaustion Required for Monetary Claims; No Qualified Immunity for the Malicious Use of Force by Two federal district courts in Illinois held that a state prisoner was not required to exhaust his administrative remedies when filing suit seeking damages if the administrative remedies did not provide for damages. …
Jail Brutality Verdict Reversed Due to Improper Argument and Jury Instruction by The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit reversed a jury verdict in favor of jail guards because their lawyer argued the detainee-plaintiff's attorney did not believe his client. The court also held that a jury instruction on …
PLRA "Three Strikes" Provision Upheld and Discussed by PLRA "Three Strikes" Provision Upheld and Discussed The ostensible purpose of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) was to curtail frivolous litigation by prisoners. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) was enacted which does not allow In Forma Pauperis (IFP) status for prisoners that …
Illinois Sheriffs Are County Employees by Illinois Sheriffs are County Employees The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit held that sheriffs in Illinois are county, not state, employees and therefore are not entitled to Eleventh amendment immunity from suits for money damages. Two citizens arrested by Dupage county sheriffs …
No Refund of PLRA Fees by The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit held that the In Forma Pauperis (IFP) provisions of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) are constitutional and prisoners do not get a refund of the partial filing fees they pay if they later refuse to …
ADA/RA Apply to Jails and Give Deaf Right to TDD by The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., (ADA) and Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794, (RA) apply to jails and require that deaf prisoners be given access to alternate assistance in …
No Exhaustion Required for Money Damage Claims by A federal district court in Illinois held that where prison administrative remedies do not provide for money damages there is no administrative remedy available for prisoner plaintiffs to exhaust within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a) of the PLRA. Section 1997e(a) …
Garnishment Proceeding Part of Underlying § 1983 Action by The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit held that proceedings to garnish the wages of civil rights defendants against whom judgment has been entered are part of the underlying civil rights actions and district courts retain jurisdiction to enforce the …
Illinois Suing Prisoners for Cost of Incarceration by Illinois prisoner Kenneth Williams has spent much of the last 12 years working in the Stateville Correctional Center tailor shop sewing prison pants, coats, jumpsuits and shirts. As a result of the job, Williams has saved about $5,000. Money he says he'll …
Dismissal for Incompetent Appointed Lawyer Reversed by The court of appeals for the seventh circuit held that district courts should not dismiss cases for want of prosecution where court appointed counsel is plainly incompetent. Lawrence Dunphy, an Illinois state prisoner filed suit claiming prison officials violated his eighth amendment rights …
Court Refunds PLRA Deferred Fee Overpayment by A federal court in Illinois has held that neither prison officials nor the courts have the statutory authority to take more than 20% of a prisoner's monthly income to satisfy deferred filing fees under the PLRA. James Higgason, an Illinois prisoner, filed suit …
