Dockery v. Epps, MS, Complaint, Mental Health Conditions Solitary Confinement Class Action, 2013 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI JACKSON DIVISION JERMAINE DOCKERY, DAVID THOMPSON, JEFFERY COVINGTON, JOSEPH OSBORNE, COURTNEY GALLOWAY, PHILLIP FREDENBURG, JOHN BARRETT, TAFFOREST CHANDLER, DERRICK HAYES, ERIC WARD, CHRISTOPHER LINDSEY, DEXTER …
Mississippi Supreme Court Reverses $12.7 Million Tax Overpayment Award in AT&T’s Favor by Mississippi Supreme Court Reverses $12.7 Million Tax Overpayment Award in AT&T’s Favor In September 2012, the Supreme Court of Mississippi reversed a Hinds County Chancery Court ruling that awarded AT&T nearly $13 million as a result of …
Mississippi Supreme Court Upholds Outgoing Governor's 214 Messy Pardons by Joe Watson Two months of political gamesmanship and blustery media coverage came to an end on March 8 when the Mississippi Supreme Court upheld more than 200 pardons granted by Haley Barbour in his final days as governor. The court …
Fifth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Suit for Delay Bringing Arrestees Before a Judge by The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 Civil Rights action, alleging the violation of the 4th and 14th Amendments of two Mississippi men, who were detained for more …
Mississippi Judge Suspended 30 Days; Publicly Reprimanded; Fined $500; Assessed $100 Court Cost by On April 13, 2011, the Supreme Court of Mississippi disagreed with Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance recommendation on a formal complaint filed against Lamar County Justice Judge Carol Ann Bustin, who was charged with executing a …
Fifth Circuit Reverses $250,000 Award to Mississippi Prisoner Held too Long by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Christopher B. Epps, the Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC), was entitled to qualified immunity after a prisoner was held beyond the date …
CCA Ceases Operations at Mississippi Prison, County Jail by On November 10, 2011, Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps announced the closure of the privately-operated 1,172-bed Delta Correctional Facility in Leflore County. He said closing the prison was a mutual decision by state officials and Corrections Corporation of America …
Former Mississippi Mayor Charged with Sexually Assaulting Prisoner by Federal prosecutors have charged the former mayor of Walnut Grove, Mississippi with sexually assaulting a prisoner while acting under color of law. He also was charged with telling the prisoner to lie during an investigation into the incident. [See: PLN, April …
Fifth Circuit Rules on Prisoner’s ADA Claim; Issues Superseding Opinion by On October 14, 2010, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found that Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12132, does not abrogate a state’s sovereign immunity when the misconduct complained of does not …
Mississippi Supreme Court Denies Equity Court Review of Death Penalty Cases by Derek Gilna By Derek Gilna The complaint of sixteen death-row inmates in Mississippi which sought Chancery Court review of the adequacy of their legal representation has been denied by the Mississippi Supreme Court for lack of jurisdiction based …
Mississippi Oversight Committee Finds Fault in Operation of Prison Canteens by David Reutter by David M. Reutter In June 2011, the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) issued a report to the Mississippi legislature concerning the state’s prison canteen contract, the operation and oversight of that …
Exposure to Second Hand Smoke Sparks 8th Amendment Claim by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently affirmed in part and reversed in part a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging 8th and 14th Amendment violations. Jerry Marcus, a Mississippi prisoner, filed a § 1983 action against …
Presley v. Epps, MS, Motion for Attorney Fees, Death Row Conditions, 2011 Case: 4:05-cv-00148-DAS Doc #: 148 Filed: 11/08/11 1 of 47 PageID #: 1236 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI GREENVILLE DIVISION JEFFERY PRESLEY, et al., Plaintiffs, v. No. 4:05-CV-00148 CHRISTOPHER EPPS, et …
Administrative Forfeiture of Assets Requires Notice by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that an evidentiary hearing must be held to determine if constitutional notice was given by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to administratively forfeit $13,000. That holding comes after a Mississippi federal district court held the …
Fifth Circuit Holds Mississippi Felons May Not Vote in Presidential Elections by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that there was no exception to the disenfranchisement of felons in Mississippi state law that would allow them to vote in presidential elections. Assisted by the American Civil Liberties Union, Jerry …
Mississippi Governor Grants Early Release to Scott Sisters by Derek Gilna In a recent resolution to a celebrated Mississippi civil rights case, in which sisters Gladys and Jamie Scott each served 16 years of a life sentence for their part in a 1993 armed robbery that netted as little as …
Fifth Circuit Affirms Judgment for Deputies in Excessive Force Suit by On October 28, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a grant of summary judgment for sheriff’s deputies accused of excessive force in the death of a prisoner. Debbie Loggins died while being transported to …
Study Finds Discriminatory Jury Selection in Southern States by Derek Gilna A study by the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit legal organization based in Montgomery, Alabama, has found widespread discrimination in jury selection in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. The discriminatory practices …
Mississippi DOC Closes Unit 32 by A settlement agreement was reached in June 2010 to close the notorious Unit 32 at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman. The agreement provides for the dismissal of a lawsuit that challenged conditions at the supermax unit. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), in …
