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Wisconsin Ban on Sexually Explicit Materials Unconstitutional

Article • May 15, 2002 • from PLN May, 2002

Filed under: Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Civil Procedure, Summary Judgment, Settlements, Class Notice, Sexually Explicit Materials, Tapes/Music (Mail)

Wisconsin Ban on Sexually Explicit Materials Unconstitutional by Bob Williams The Federal District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin has denied a motion for summary judgment finding the Wisconsin Department of Corrections' (WDOC) ban on sexually explicit materials violated prisoners' First Amendment freedom of speech and Fourteenth Amendment due …

Malicious Use of Force Violates Eighth Amendment

Article • October 15, 2001 • from PLN October, 2001

Filed under: Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Summary Judgment, Telephones, Attorney Calls

Malicious Use of Force Violates Eighth Amendment by John E Dannenberg The Third Circuit held that in claims alleging the malicious use of force by prison guards the wantonness of the attack, rather than the degree of injury suffered, is the dispositive issue for courts reviewing such claims on summary …

New York District Court Reversed for Failure to State Legal Reasoning

Article • August 15, 2001 • from PLN August, 2001

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Summary Judgment, Appeals

New York District Court Reversed for Failure to State Legal Reasoning by New York District Court Reversed For Failure To State Legal Reasoning The Second Circuit Court Of Appeals reversed a district court's dismissal of a pro se prisoner civil rights action. The Second Circuit found that the District Court …

Prisoner Defendants Entitled to Notice of Summary Judgment Requirements

Article • June 15, 2001 • from PLN June, 2001

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Summary Judgment

Prisoner Defendants Entitled to Notice of Summary Judgment Requirements by The court of appeals for the Ninth circuit held that pro se prisoner litigants who are being sued are entitled to notice from the court on the requirements of summary judgment to ensure the prisoner adequately responds to the moving …

Summary Judgment Reversed on Diabetes Claim

Article • February 15, 2001 • from PLN February, 2001

Filed under: Medical, Medication, Diabetes, Food, Summary Judgment

Summary Judgment Reversed on Diabetes Claim by The Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed a lower court's grant of a summary judgment in favor of a doctor and a deputy sheriff on a pre-trial detainee's §1983 claim that they were deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs. Floyd …

Wyoming Prisoners Win Summary Judgment for Increased Security

Article • May 15, 2000 • from PLN May, 2000

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Injunctions (PLRA), Summary Judgment, Class Certification, Supervisory Liability

Wyoming Prisoners Win Summary Judgment for Increased Security by John E Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The class of all Wyoming state pris-oners won injunctive relief forcing prison officials to protect them from unprovoked assault, bodily injury and death at the hands of other prisoners, now, and in the future. …

Notice of Summary Judgment Requirements Mandatory

Article • February 15, 2000 • from PLN February, 2000

Filed under: Classification, Furloughs, Summary Judgment

Notice of Summary Judgment Requirements Mandatory by The U.S. court of appeals for the Second Circuit held that it is inappropriate to enter summary judgment against a pro se litigant if there is no indication that the litigant understands the requirements for summary judgment. In 1995, Stanley McPherson was a …

Fact Issue of Physical Injury Precludes Summary Judgment

Article • September 15, 1999 • from PLN September, 1999

Filed under: Physical Injury Rule, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Summary Judgment

Fact Issue of Physical Injury Precludes Summary Judgment by Ronald Young The court of appeals for the Fifth circuit held that the material fact issue as to whether prisoner suffered more than de minimis physical injury from alleged excessive force precluded summary judgement in favor of prison officials. Juan Gomez, …

Motive Question Precludes Summary Judgment in Medical Suit

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

Filed under: Medical, Injury -- Misc., Summary Judgment, Premises Liability

Motive Question Precludes Summary Judgment in Medical Suit by The U. S. court of appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that the existence of a factual dispute as to whether jail guards and medical staff intended to punish a detainee for requesting medical treatment, precluded summary judgment. While Ronald Davis …

No Interlocutory Appeal on Supervisory Liability When Guard Stabs Prisoner

Article • July 15, 1999 • from PLN July, 1999

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Failure to Protect (General), Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Summary Judgment, Appeals, Qualified Immunity, Supervisory Liability

No Interlocutory Appeal on Supervisory Liability When Guard Stabs Prisoner by The court of appeals for the Fifth circuit held that it lacked jurisdiction to hear a warden's interlocutory appeal disputing material facts in the case. The court also held that letters from a prisoner alerting supervisory prison officials to …

Failure to Give Summary Judgement Notice is Reversible Error

Article • April 15, 1999 • from PLN April, 1999

Filed under: Medical, HIV/AIDS, Summary Judgment

Failure to Give Summary Judgement Notice is Reversible Error by The court of appeals for the Ninth Circuit, en banc, reaffirmed that pro se prisoner litigants are entitled to fair notice of the requirements of the summary judgment opposition rule. The court also held that the notice requirement may be …

Trial Required in Wisconsin Excessive Force Suit

Article • February 15, 1999 • from PLN February, 1999

Filed under: Cell Searches, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Summary Judgment, Qualified Immunity

Trial Required in Wisconsin Excessive Force Suit by Afederal district court in Wisconsin held that a trial was required to determine if excessive force was used during a prison cell search. The court held that defendant prison officials had failed to present sufficient evidence to support their motion for summary …

Abuse of Discretion to Dismiss Medical Suit

Article • February 15, 1999 • from PLN February, 1999

Filed under: Work Release, Medication, Seizures, Appointment of Counsel, Civil Procedure, Summary Judgment, Complaints, Parties, Contractor Liability

Abuse of Discretion to Dismiss Medical Suit by The Seventh Circuit court of appeals has held that a district court abused its discretion when, on technical procedural grounds, it refused to grant a prisoner leave to amend his suit adding the full names of defendants and dismissed the suit. Ralphfield …

Samuels v. Mockry Reversed Once Again

Article • February 15, 1999 • from PLN February, 1999

Filed under: Retaliation, Retaliation for Litigating, Prison Labor, Judiciary, Summary Judgment

Samuels v. Mockry Reversed Once Again by The court of appeals for the second circuit held that an issue of fact as to whether prison officials acted with a retaliatory animus when they placed a prisoner in the "Limited Privileges Program" (LPP), precluded summary judgment for the defendants. This is …

Movant Bears Summary Judgment Burden