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Internal Affairs Reports Available to Maryland Criminal Defendant; 2 Prong Test Discussed

Article • June 15, 2008

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution, Civil Procedure, Disclosure of Records, Discovery

Internal Affairs Reports Available to Maryland Criminal Defendant; 2 Prong Test Discussed by Maryland’s Special Court of Appeals has held that a criminal defendant is entitled to disclosure of a detective’s Internal Affairs Division (IAD) filed, but held the Court must review that file to determine what must be disclosed. …

Maryland Prison Officials Get Qualified Immunity for Prisoner “Retake” Orders

Article • May 15, 2008

Filed under: Sentencing, Parole, Wrongful Imprisonment, Qualified Immunity

Maryland Prison Officials Get Qualified Immunity for Prisoner “Retake” Orders by Maryland Prison Officials Get Qualified Immunity for Prisoner "Retake" Orders Based on a state appellate decision concerning sentence credit, prison officials decided they had released some prisoners incorrectly, so they had them arrested and reincarcerated through "retake orders." The …

Audit Reveals Problems with Maryland’s New Prisoner Health Care System

Article • March 15, 2008 • from PLN March, 2008

Filed under: CMS, Contractor Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Staffing, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

Audit Reveals Problems with Maryland’s New Prisoner Health Care System by Michael Rigby Audit Reveals Problems with Maryland's New Prisoner Health Care System by Michael Rigby Maryland's new prisoner health care program remained understaffed in 2006, and the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) has yet to …

Guards’ Failure to Enforce Prison No-Smoking Policy May Violate 8th Amendment

Article • January 15, 2008

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Smoking, Summary Judgment

Guards’ Failure to Enforce Prison No-Smoking Policy May Violate 8th Amendment by Guards' Failure to Enforce Prison No-Smoking Policy May Violate 8th Amendment Dwayne Manning, a federal prisoner, was exposed to cigarette smoke when prison guards didn't enforce the prison's no-smoking policy. He developed medical problems and sued the guards …

Records Unsealed, Doors Re-opened to Proceedings in Maryland Police Shooting Settlement

Article • January 15, 2008

Filed under: Excessive Force, Shootings, Settlements, Disclosure of Records, Excessive Force (Police)

Records Unsealed, Doors Re-opened to Proceedings in Maryland Police Shooting Settlement by Maryland newspaper The Baltimore Sun (Sun) sought reversal of a 1999 court order closing courtroom doors and sealing records in a civil settlement for wrongful death following a shooting by police. On a writ of certiorari, the appellate …

Citizen Who Triggered Investigation Against Baltimore Police Refused Access To Report's Findings

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Civil Procedure, Disclosure of Records, Res Judicata

Citizen Who Triggered Investigation Against Baltimore Police Refused Access To Report's Findings by Maryland citizen Kevin Briscoe appealed a 1993 court ruling denying the disclosure of investigative records initiated by his complaint against Baltimore police. The court affirmed nondisclosure because Briscoe was not the subject of the investigation. Briscoe and …

Maryland Public Information Act Requires Disclosure of Criminal Case File To Defendant

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Disclosure of Records

Maryland Public Information Act Requires Disclosure of Criminal Case File To Defendant by Maryland's Court of Special Appeals has held that a criminal defendant is entitled to disclosure relating to his prosecution for murder upon request under the Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) once there is no pending proceeding. Maryland …

Jail Policy of Cross Gender Guard Doesn’t Establish Liability in Guard Rape

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Disabled Prisoners, Staffing, Civil Procedure, Damages, Municipal Liability

Jail Policy of Cross Gender Guard Doesn’t Establish Liability in Guard Rape by The plaintiff alleged that a male guard had engaged in sex with her, taking advantage of her mental and physical state. The officer was fired and entered an Alford plea to criminal charges. A policy of "cross-gender …

Prison Drinking Water and Wastewater Pollution Threaten Environmental Safety Nationwide

Article • November 15, 2007 • from PLN November, 2007

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Overcrowding, Environmental Law, Sewage, Water, Clean Water Act

Prison Drinking Water and Wastewater Pollution Threaten Environmental Safety Nationwide by John Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg Aging infrastructure concerns are not limited to America's highways, bridges and dams. Today, crumbling, overcrowded prisons and jails nationwide are bursting at the seams -- literally -- leaking environmentally dangerous effluents not just …

Little State, Big Problems: Maine’s Prison Crisis Continues Unabated

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Out of State Transfers, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Retaliation for Media Contact, Retaliatory Transfers, Hunger Strikes, Criminal Prosecution, Crime, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Access to Media, State Legislation

Little State, Big Problems: Maine’s Prison Crisis Continues Unabated by Lance Tapley Little State, Big Problems: Maine?s Prison Crisis Continues Unabated by Lance Tapley Only big prison systems mistreat prisoners, right? Only prison systems where racism, right-wing tough-on-crime attitudes, or prison-industrial-complex power have full reign, like in California or Texas, …

Maryland Prison Audit Reveals Potential Fraud “Undetectable”

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, DOC/BOP misconduct

Maryland Prison Audit Reveals Potential Fraud “Undetectable” by Michael Rigby Maryland Prison Audit Reveals Potential Fraud "Undetectable" by Michael Rigby Maryland employees responsible for millions of dollars worth of equipment and funds perform their duties without adequate oversight or fiduciary controls, an audit of the Jessup Region of the Maryland …

Maryland Closes Decrepit, Scandal-Plagued House of Correction

Article • September 15, 2007 • from PLN September, 2007

Filed under: Classification, Transfers, Failure to Protect (General), Assaults on Staff

Maryland Closes Decrepit, Scandal-Plagued House of Correction by The dilapidated and violent relic known as the Maryland House of Correction (MHC) has finally closed. MHC?s remaining 842 prisoners were transferred on March 16, 2007. The most troublesome prisoners were moved to various federal prisons around the country; the rest were …

Maryland Restores Voting Rights to 50,000 Felons

Article • June 15, 2007 • from PLN June, 2007

Filed under: Organizing, Voting, State Legislation

Maryland Restores Voting Rights to 50,000 Felons by Annapolis, MD - Governor Martin O?Malley on April 24, 2007, signed legislation re-enfranchising more than 50,000 Maryland residents who have completed their felony sentences of prison, parole, and probation. O?Malley?s support of the ?Voting Registration Protection Act? ends the state?s draconian lifetime …

Summary Judgment on Wrongful Arrest Reversed

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Summary Judgment, Discovery, False Arrest

Summary Judgment on Wrongful Arrest Reversed by The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated and remanded the grant of summary judgment to various state, county, and city defendants by the U.S. District Court of Maryland in a wrongful arrest case. Tray Carter was twice arrested and held in …

Pretrial Detainees May Not Be Disciplined or Denied Family Visits

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Legality of Rules

Pretrial Detainees May Not Be Disciplined or Denied Family Visits by The United States District Court for the District of Maryland ruled that pre-trial detainees may not be disciplined in any way, and should be permitted to visit with family members and enjoy other privileges. Pre-trial detainees at the Baltimore …

Fourth Circuit Discusses Standard of Review in Prisoner Assault Cases

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General)

Fourth Circuit Discusses Standard of Review in Prisoner Assault Cases by Prisoner assault cases are governed by a deliberate indifference standard and not a negligence standard, and the two standards are not the same thing. The question is whether the warden acted "obdurately or wantonly." In making the last statement, …

Fourth Circuit Vacates Maryland Beating Verdict

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Excessive Force, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints

Fourth Circuit Vacates Maryland Beating Verdict by The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a jury's verdict finding guards at the Maryland Correctional Adjustment Center violated a prisoner's Eighth Amendment rights by using excessive force on him. Quinten X. Jackson claimed guards used excessive force on him in two …

Mental Exam Barred in Discrimination Suit

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Damages, Expert Witnesses, Federal Statutory Law, Title VII

Mental Exam Barred in Discrimination Suit by An employee did not place her mental condition sufficiently "in controversy" to require her to submit to a mental examination under Rule 35, Fed.R.Civ.P., by alleging emotional distress as an element of damages in a Title VII discrimination case. While her mental condition …

Firing of Maryland Muslim Chaplain Upheld

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Discrimination, Racial Discrimination, Religious Discrimination, Title VII

Firing of Maryland Muslim Chaplain Upheld by The plaintiff, who said he was constructively discharged from a contractual position as Muslim chaplain, sued under Title VII, alleging that he was discriminated against by being subjected to a racially hostile workplace. The court concludes as a matter of law that the …

Qualified Immunity for Maryland Officials Requiring Jewish Prisoner to Clean Cell on Sabbath

Article • May 15, 2007

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

Qualified Immunity for Maryland Officials Requiring Jewish Prisoner to Clean Cell on Sabbath by Qualified Immunity for Maryland Officials Requiring Jewish Prisoner to Clean Cell on Sabbath Prison officials' designation of Saturday as cell cleanup day violated the Free Exercise clause as applied to an Orthodox Jewish prisoner. (They made …