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Attorney Fees Awarded in Smoking Suit

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

Filed under: Smoking, PLRA, Attorney Fees (PLRA), Costs

Attorney Fees Awarded in Smoking Suit by A federal district court in Nebraska awarded a prisoner plaintiff $8,346 in attorney fees and $2,952 in expenses in a suit challenging Nebraska state prisoners' exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS, also known an second hand smoke). This to the first published case …

NSP Double Celling Order Vacated

Article • September 15, 1996 • from PLN September, 1996

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding, Eighth Amendment, Injunctions

NSP Double Celling Order Vacated by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held that a district court had to reconsider prisoners' double celling claims under the supreme court's ruling in Farmer v. Brennan, 114 S.Ct. 1970 (1994). This case arises from a class action suit filed by prisoners …

Women Prisoners Win Court Access Claim

Article • August 15, 1996 • from PLN August, 1996

Filed under: Gender Discrimination -- Women, Attorney Fee Awards, Court Access, Prisoner Legal Assistance, Law Library Access/Adequacy

Women Prisoners Win Court Access Claim by Past issues of PLN have reported the class action suit filed by women prisoners in Nebraska concerning a wide range of prison conditions. See: Klinger v. Nebraska DOC, 824 F. Supp. 1374 (D NE 1993); 31 F.3d 727 (8th Cir. 1994) and 887 …

Women Prisoners Lose Discrimination Suit

Article • January 15, 1996 • from PLN January, 1996

Filed under: Gender Discrimination -- Women, Education, Federal Statutory Law, Title IX

Women Prisoners Lose Discrimination Suit by Women Prisoners Lose Discrimination Suit In the December '94 issue of PLN we reported Klinger v. Nebraska DOC , 31 F.3d 727 (8th Cir. 1994) which had reversed an earlier ruling, at 824 F. Supp. 1374 (D NE 1993), PLN . Vol. 4, No. …

Reversal of Disciplinary Hearing Doesn't Moot Suit

Article • December 15, 1995 • from PLN December, 1995

Filed under: Disciplinary Litigation, Notice of Hearing, Standard of Proof, Civil Procedure, Damages, Mootness, Service, Local Rules

Reversal of Disciplinary Hearing Doesn't Moot Suit by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit has held that a state court reversal of a prison disciplinary hearing does not preclude the prisoner filing suit for money damages in federal court. The appeals court also criticized and reversed the lower …

No Immunity for Smoke Exposure

Article • August 15, 1995 • from PLN August, 1995

Filed under: Smoking, Immunity/Liability, Qualified Immunity

No Immunity for Smoke Exposure by The Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has affirmed a lower court ruling denying prison officials qualified immunity from money damages for exposing a prisoner to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS). George Weaver, a Nebraska state prisoner, was placed in a cell with a …

IFP Dismissal Reversed

Article • August 15, 1995 • from PLN August, 1995

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Filing Fees

IFP Dismissal Reversed by District courts reviewing a plaintiff's petition to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) must first review the complaints and decide whether they are legally or factually frivolous before they can demand partial payment of the filing fees. Bonnie McCaslin, a Nebraska state prisoner, filed nineteen lawsuits simultaneously …

Helms Amendment Ruled On

Article • July 15, 1995 • from PLN July, 1995

Filed under: Overcrowding, Eighth Amendment, Attorney Fee Awards, Civil Procedure, Injunctions, Standing, Federal Legislation

Helms Amendment Ruled On by In the December, 1994, issue of PLN we analyzed various provisions of the federal crime bill that was passed that year. One of the provisions was the Helms amendment which limited the relief that federal courts could grant in class action suits brought by prisoners …

No Immunity for Sweat Lodge Denial

Article • February 15, 1995 • from PLN February, 1995

Filed under: Appeals, Qualified Immunity, Religious Freedom, Religious Practices

No Immunity for Sweat Lodge Denial by Ralph Thomas is a Nebraska state prisoner. He filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claiming that prison officials had violated his right to religious freedom by denying him daily access to the prisons sweat lodge for prayer. He claimed this denial also …

Women Prisoners Lose Equal Protection Suit

Article • December 15, 1994 • from PLN December, 1994

Filed under: Discrimination, Gender Discrimination -- Women

Women Prisoners Lose Equal Protection Suit by In the December, 1993, issue of PLN, we reported on Klinger v. Nebraska Department of Corrections, 824 F. Supp. 1374 (D Neb. 1993) which had resulted in a significant victory for Nebraska's female prisoners who had filed a class action suit claiming they …

RFRA Must Be Argued on Merits

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Qualified Immunity, Religious Freedom, Religious Practices

RFRA Must Be Argued on Merits by Prisoners at the Nebraska State Penitentiary filed suit under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb claiming that prison officials had violated their right to practice their religion. The prisoners are adherents to Asatru, an Icelandic term for the ancient …

Filthy Cell Standards Clarified

Article • July 15, 1994 • from PLN July, 1994

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Eighth Amendment, Sanitation, Damages

Filthy Cell Standards Clarified by Two Nebraska jail prisoners, one convicted of a crime, one not yet convicted were moved into a jail cell containing a "toilet... covered with dried feces on both the inside and outside, the sink was covered with hair and vomit, the floor was covered with …

Gender Based Treatment Disparity Violates Equal Protection

Article • December 15, 1993 • from PLN December, 1993

Filed under: Work Release, Gender Discrimination -- Women, Prison Labor, Education, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Federal Statutory Law, Title IX

Gender Based Treatment Disparity Violates Equal Protection by Ed Mead If you are a woman and you break the law in Nebraska, and if you are required to serve a prison sentence, you will be sent to the Nebraska Center for Women (NCW). NCW is located in York, a small …

Court Bans Double Celling of New Prisoners

Article • May 15, 1993 • from PLN May, 1993

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Legality of Rules, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding, Staffing, Ventilation, Noise, Injunctions, Qualified Immunity

Court Bans Double Celling of New Prisoners by Prisoners at the Nebraska State Penitentiary filed a class action suit challenging numerous conditions of confinement at the penitentiary. Most of the claims relate to overcrowding and the overall poor living conditions which include: excessive noise, lack of ventilation, inadequate staff, assaults …

Prisoner Entitled to Appointment of Substitute Counsel

Article • December 15, 1992 • from PLN December, 1992

Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Prisoner Entitled to Appointment of Substitute Counsel by Richard Rayes is a Nebraska state prisoner. Rayes filed suit under § 1983 claiming prison guards had slammed a steel door on his hand breaking a finger, that medical staff refused to treat him, and guards confiscated his finger splints on three …

Guards Need Not Disclose Identity Of HIV-Positive Cons

Article • August 15, 1992 • from PLN August, 1992

Filed under: Medical, HIV/AIDS, Medical Records, Frivolous Litigation, Estoppell

Guards Need Not Disclose Identity Of HIV-Positive Cons by A prisoner in the medium security unit of a Nebraska state prison brought a federal civil rights lawsuit against the warden and other prison personnel, claiming that they subjected him to cruel and unusual punishment by: (1) conspiring to conceal the …

Counsel Should Be Appointed in Religious Suit

Article • April 15, 1992 • from PLN April, 1992

Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, Religious Freedom, Religious Practices

Counsel Should Be Appointed in Religious Suit by Counsel Should Be Appointed In Religious Suit A Muslim prisoner in Nebraska sought to send a $2.00 donation to a Mosque in Lincoln, which prison officials refused to permit him to do. The practice of Zakah, a form of charity, is one …

Female Guards Can Pat Search Male Prisoners

Article • June 15, 1991 • from PLN June, 1991

Filed under: Discrimination, Gender Discrimination -- Men, Pat Searches

Female Guards Can Pat Search Male Prisoners by Prisoners at a Nebraska state all-male prison brought a civil rights lawsuit complaining that their constitutional right to privacy was violated by pat searches performed by female guards and by female guards observing them nude or partially nude while they showered, used …

NE Phone Contract PCS RFP 2008

Kickback publication

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

NE Phone Contract PCS RFP 2008 ATTN: Todd Dlouhy/Ruth Gray Nebraska Department of Correctional Services State Purchasing Bureau 301 Centennial Mall South, Mall Level Lincoln, NE 68508 State of Nebraska Request for Proposal for Contractual Services Inmate Calling Services RFP No. 2505Z1 Request for Proposal for Inmate Calling Services Release …

NE Phone Contract with PCS Amendment 1

Kickback publication

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

NE Phone Contract with PCS Amendment 1 N D~nENT State PurchasIng Bureau 301 Centennial Mall South, 1st Floor Lincoln, Nebraska 68508 OR P.O. Box 94847 Uncoln, Nebraska 68509-4847 Telephone: (402) 471-2401 Fax: (402) 471-2089 VENDOR NUMBER: CONTRACT NUMBER 35216 04 1400197 VENDOR ADDRESS: PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES, INC 11859 WILSHIRE BLVD …