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Riker v. Gibbons, NV, Complaint Class Action Declaratory and Injunctive Relief, medical conditions, 2008

Brief • March 6, 2008

Filed under: Medical, Conditions of Confinement

Riker v. Gibbons, NV, Complaint Class Action Declaratory and Injunctive Relief, medical conditions, 2008 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Amy Fettig (pro hac vice pending) Margaret Winter (pro hac vice pending) THE NATIONAL PRISON PROJECT OF THE ACLU FOUNDATION, INC. 915 15th …

Nevada Jail Strip Searches Before Release on Own Recognizance Unconstitutional

Article • February 15, 2008 • from PLN February, 2008

Filed under: Searches, Strip Searches, Arrestee Searches

Nevada Jail Strip Searches Before Release on Own Recognizance Unconstitutional by A Nevada federal district court has held that the Washoe County Sheriff Department?s (WCSD) policy of strip-searching all arrestees who self-surrender and are then released on their own recognizance (OR) is unconstitutional. Before the Court was a summary judgment …

NV Prisoner's Right-to-Private-Mental-Health-Consultation Suit to go to Trial

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

NV Prisoner's Right-to-Private-Mental-Health-Consultation Suit to go to Trial by Mark Miller, a Nevada state prisoner, received mental health consultations through his cell door. He filed grievances requesting private consultations, to no avail. He then filed suit in federal district court claiming that the denial of private mental health consultations violated …

Nevada Psychological Review Panel Hearings Subjected to Open Meeting and Constitutional Due Process Requirements

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

Filed under: Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Standing, Disclosure of Records, Sentencing, Parole

Nevada Psychological Review Panel Hearings Subjected to Open Meeting and Constitutional Due Process Requirements by Matthew Clarke by Matthew T.Clarke In two related cases, the Supreme Court of Nevada held that sex offender certification hearings held by the Nevada Psychological Review Panel (PRP) were subject to the Nevada open meeting …

Qualified Immunity Granted in Mail Inspection Case

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Qualified Immunity, Mail, Mail Regulations, Due Process, Legal Mail

Qualified Immunity Granted in Mail Inspection Case by A federal court in Nevada held that since the constitutionality of prison procedures governing the opening of prisoner mail was unclear, prison officials enjoyed qualified immunity with respect to the opening of a piece of mail from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, …

Publisher-Only Rule May Be Invalid as to Authors

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Mail, Publications/Books

Publisher-Only Rule May Be Invalid as to Authors by The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a Nevada publisher-only ban on publications may be unconstitutional as applied to authors. The court noted that Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 99 S.Ct. 1861 (1979) held that a publisher only rule …

NV Jail Commissioners Liable For Raped Prisoner

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Supervisory Liability

NV Jail Commissioners Liable For Raped Prisoner by The U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada held that a triable issue existed when a prisoner was raped while in custody. Christopher Warner was in custody of the Washoe County Jail when he was assaulted and raped by fellow prisoners. …

City Liable for Jay Walker Being Shot 14 Times by Cop

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Shootings, Police--Excessive Force, Police, Excessive Force (Police)

City Liable for Jay Walker Being Shot 14 Times by Cop by A statement by one police officer that the defendant officer who shot the plaintiff's decedent was "known to use 'heavy handed' tactics with citizens and was 'out to perform [his] job overzealous[ly] with prejudice towards people" and that …

No Liberty Interest in Sex Offender Classification

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Disciplinary Hearings, Liberty Interests

No Liberty Interest in Sex Offender Classification by A prisoner plaintiff said he had no internal procedure available to challenge his sex offender classification. Defendants said that the grievance system permitted classification matters to be aired. The court decides the question in favor of defendants and dismisses for non-exhaustion, noting …

Prison Strip Search Policy Reasonable, Tasers Okay

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Strip Searches, Excessive Force, Stun Guns/Tasers

Prison Strip Search Policy Reasonable, Tasers Okay by The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a maximum security prison's strip search policy was reasonable and, in a case of first impression, held that tasers, also known as "stun guns," could be used by prison guards to enforce compliance …

Seizure of Nevada Prisoner Wages Held Constitutional

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Money/Property, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Restitution

Seizure of Nevada Prisoner Wages Held Constitutional by Nevada prisoners filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that a prison policy of deducting room and board expenses from wages earned in a work program violated their constitutionally protected rights of due process and equal protection. The district court for …

Nevada: Prisoners Eligible for Out-Of-State Jail Time

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Classification, Out of State Transfers

Nevada: Prisoners Eligible for Out-Of-State Jail Time by The Nevada Supreme Court held that a state prisoner was "entitled to credit for time served in presentence confinement in another jurisdiction when that confinement was solely pursuant to the charges for which he was ultimately convicted." Joshua I. Nieto was arrested …

No Deliberate Indifference to Medical, Denial of Access to Courts

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Medical, Skeletal Injury, Legal Materials

No Deliberate Indifference to Medical, Denial of Access to Courts by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the delay of a prisoner's medical treatment did not constitute deliberate indifference, nor did his limited access to legal research material constitute denial of access to the courts. …

Nevada Supreme Court Upholds Segregation of HIV-Positive Prisoners

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Classification, HIV/AIDS

Nevada Supreme Court Upholds Segregation of HIV-Positive Prisoners by Nevada state prisoner Brian Lepley appealed a trial court decision denying his federal civil rights claim that he should not be segregated from other prisoners because he is HIV-positive. The Nevada Supreme Court held that Lepley's complaint "did not state a …

9th Circuit Reversed SJ for Non-Exhaustion

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Federal Statutory Law, Americans with Disabilities Act

9th Circuit Reversed SJ for Non-Exhaustion by In an unpublished opinion, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court's grant of summary judgment to prison officials for a prisoner's purported non-exhaustion. Nevada prisoner John Auer brought suit, alleging excessive force, retaliation and denial of access to the courts …

Escape Begins When Prisoner Departs Custody

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Criminal Prosecution, Escapes, Sentencing, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines

Escape Begins When Prisoner Departs Custody by The court of appeals for the Ninth circuit held that for U.S. Sentencing Guidelines purposes, an "escape" begins when a federal prisoner departs lawful custody with the intent to evade detection. The case involves a BOP prisoner who walked away from a prison …

Nevada Smoking Suit Dismissed

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Smoking

Nevada Smoking Suit Dismissed by Placing the non-smoking plaintiff in a cell for 42 days with a heavy smoker did not violate the Eighth Amendment, since he suffered only discomfort, irritation, and coughing, and 42 days doesn't pose an unreasonable risk to future health (based on what evidence, the court …

Limitations Period Tolled During Exhaustion Process

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Administrative Exhaustion, Limitations

Limitations Period Tolled During Exhaustion Process by The plaintiff alleged serious injuries as a result of an assault by another prisoner. Defendants moved to dismiss on limitations grounds. Whether the limitations period is equitably tolled during exhaustion is determined by state tolling doctrines. There's no law directly on point in …

Nevada Prisoner Awarded $18,700 For Retaliation Claim

Article • May 15, 2007 • from PLN May, 2007

Filed under: Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Conditions of Confinement, Food

Nevada Prisoner Awarded $18,700 For Retaliation Claim by On October 14, 2005, a federal jury in Nevada awarded $18,700 to a state prisoner who suffered a retaliatory transfer and punishment after he voiced complaints about the prison?s food and grievance procedures. According to the lawsuit, prisoner Phillip Lyons was elected …

Attorney Fees Awarded in NV Legal Access Suit

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, Court Access, Law Library Access/Adequacy

Attorney Fees Awarded in NV Legal Access Suit by A federal district court in Nevada granted a prisoner plaintiff's motion for attorney fees of $6,838.98 after successfully forcing the Nevada State Prison to maintain certain levels of legal materials at the prison. See the underlying case at Morgan v. Nevada …