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Second Circuit Rules on Appointment of Counsel

Article • February 15, 1998 • from PLN February, 1998

Filed under: Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Retaliatory Transfers, Appointment of Counsel, Civil Procedure, Summary Judgment, Discovery, Local Rules

Second Circuit Rules on Appointment of Counsel by The court of appeals for the second circuit held that a district court abused its discretion by denying a pro se prisoner's motion to appoint counsel under a local court rule that conditioned such appointment on the prisoner's claim surviving a motion …

Trial Required in Oklahoma Beating Case

Article • February 15, 1998 • from PLN February, 1998

Filed under: Injury -- Misc., Guard Brutality/Beatings, Civil Procedure, Summary Judgment, Injunctions, Discovery, Mootness, Magistrates, Recusal, Supervisory Liability

Trial Required in Oklahoma Beating Case by The court of appeals for the tenth circuit held that a prisoner's claim for declaratory and injunctive relief are mooted once he is released from incarceration and that questions of fact regarding the application of force by guards precludes summary judgment in their …

Pro Se Tips and Tactics (Summary Judgments)

Article • December 15, 1997 • from PLN December, 1997

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Summary Judgment, Discovery

Pro Se Tips and Tactics (Summary Judgments) by John Midgley By John Midgley A tool used in many prison and jail cases, especially by defendants, is a summary judgment motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. If you lose a summary judgment motion brought by the defendant, you have …

Qualified Immunity in Failure to Protect Claim

Article • December 15, 1997 • from PLN December, 1997

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Summary Judgment, Appeals, Qualified Immunity

Qualified Immunity in Failure to Protect Claim by James Quigley By James Quigley The court of appeals for the fourth circuit, sitting en banc, held that there is no constitutional violation when unarmed prison guards fail to immediately intervene to protect a prisoner from assault by an armed prisoner; that …

Seventh Circuit Questions ADA Applicability to Prisons

Article • May 15, 1997 • from PLN May, 1997

Filed under: Disabled Prisoners, Medical, Medication, Systemic Medical Neglect, Pain, Summary Judgment, Americans with Disabilities Act

Seventh Circuit Questions ADA Applicability to Prisons by The court of appeals for the seventh circuit issued its first ruling on the applicability of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to prisoners. In doing so it held that claims of incompetent medical treatment are not cognizable under the ADA. It …

Prisoners Retain Right to Safety

Article • April 15, 1997 • from PLN April, 1997

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Eighth Amendment, Summary Judgment

Prisoners Retain Right to Safety by The court of appeals for the second circuit held that a district court erred in dismissing a prisoner's failure to protect claim on the basis that the prisoner could not name his attackers beforehand. The court also held that district courts cannot resolve conflicting …

Farmer Remanded Again, for Discovery

Article • April 15, 1997 • from PLN April, 1997

Filed under: Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Summary Judgment, Discovery, Transgender, Failure to Protect (Transgender)

Farmer Remanded Again, for Discovery by The court of appeals for the seventh circuit held a district court erred in dismissing a case without allowing the plaintiff to conduct discovery in order to oppose the defendants' motion for summary judgment. In doing so the court gives a detailed discussion of …

Litigant Entitled to Summary Judgment Notice

Article • March 15, 1997 • from PLN March, 1997

Filed under: Summary Judgment, Religious Freedom, Denial of Religious Services, Clergy

Litigant Entitled to Summary Judgment Notice by The court of appeals for the ninth circuit has reaffirmed that a district court which transforms a motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment by considering matters outside the pleadings must give the opposing party proper notice. Charles Anderson is a …

PLRA Not Applicable to Appeals Filed before Passage

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

Filed under: PLRA, Filing Fees (PLRA), Summary Judgment, Appeals

PLRA Not Applicable to Appeals Filed before Passage by The court of appeals for the second circuit held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act's (PLRA) fee provisions did not apply to appeals submitted prior to its passage. The court also held that summary judgment rulings must be properly supported by …

Alleged Work Refusal Requires Trial

Article • October 15, 1996 • from PLN October, 1996

Filed under: Prison Labor, Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Liberty Interests, Notice of Hearing, Summary Judgment

Alleged Work Refusal Requires Trial by The court of appeals for the second circuit held that a district court erred when it disregarded a prisoner plaintiff's affidavit that he had not refused a work assignment. The court also declined to decide whether state prisoners have a federal liberty interest when …

Prisoner Testimony Must Be Considered in Spears Hearing

Article • October 15, 1996 • from PLN October, 1996

Filed under: Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Summary Judgment, Complaints

Prisoner Testimony Must Be Considered in Spears Hearing by The court of appeals for the fifth circuit held that a district court abused its discretion when it heard a prisoner's testimony during a Spears hearing and then disregarded it and dismissed the complaint. Danny Eason, a Texas state prisoner, filed …

Guards' Smoke Violates Eighth Amendment

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

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Medical, Respiratory, Diabetes, Smoking, Eighth Amendment, Summary Judgment, Supervisory Liability

Guards' Smoke Violates Eighth Amendment by A federal district court in Illinois held that a guard deliberately blowing smoke into the face of a prisoner with respiratory ailments violates the eighth amendment. Clarence Walker is a 65 year old Illinois state prisoner who has emphysema, asthma and diabetes, among other …

Cavity Search in Public States Claim

Article • July 15, 1996 • from PLN July, 1996

Filed under: Discrimination, Gender Discrimination -- Men, Strip Searches, Summary Judgment, Complaints

Cavity Search in Public States Claim by The court of appeals for the tenth circuit held that strip searches by members of the opposite gender may violate the fourth amendment. Willie Hayes, a Colorado state prisoner, filed suit claiming his fourth, eighth and fourteenth amendment rights were violated when he …

Summary Judgment Notice Must Be Given by Court

Article • May 15, 1996 • from PLN May, 1996

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

Summary Judgment Notice Must Be Given by Court by The court of appeals for the ninth circuit has reaffirmed that when a district court considers matters outside the pleadings in ruling on the sufficiency of a complaint it must give the plaintiff notice and allow the plaintiff an opportunity to …

Discrimination Dismissal Reversed

Article • April 15, 1996 • from PLN April, 1996

Filed under: Racial Discrimination, Retaliation for Litigating, Disciplinary Hearings, Retaliatory Discipline, Summary Judgment

Discrimination Dismissal Reversed by The court of appeals for the eleventh circuit held that prisoners have a right to be free from racial discrimination and that direct evidence of such discrimination will usually make summary judgment inappropriate. Vincent Harris, a Florida state prisoner, filed suit against several prison guards and …

Seventh Circuit Discusses Sandin

Article • March 15, 1996 • from PLN March, 1996

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Liberty Interests, Informants (Disciplinary Hearings), Evidentiary Ruling (Disciplinary Hearings), Written Findings, Summary Judgment, Res Judicata

Seventh Circuit Discusses Sandin by In the August, 1995, issue of PLN we reported the supreme court's ruling in Sandin v. Conner , 115 S.Ct. 2293 (1995), which essentially gutted prisoners' right to due process in prison disciplinary hearings. Sandin opened up more questions than it purported to answer and …

Transexuals Entitled to Treatment

Article • March 15, 1996 • from PLN March, 1996

Filed under: Summary Judgment, Transgender, Transgender Medical Procedures

Transexuals Entitled to Treatment by The court of appeals for the tenth circuit has held that transsexual prisoners state a cause of action under the eighth amendment when they are not provided with any medical treatment by prison officials. The court also held that parties must be given notice when …

Clippings Suit Set for Trial

Article • March 15, 1996 • from PLN March, 1996

Filed under: Summary Judgment, Qualified Immunity, Mail, Publications/Books, Mail Regulations

Clippings Suit Set for Trial by The court of appeals for the second circuit held that whether a New York DOCS policy prohibiting prisoners from receiving newspaper clippings furthered a penological interest was doubtful and needed to be resolved at trial. Jimmie Allen filed suit against various prison officials after …

Fabricated Charges State Claim

Article • February 15, 1996 • from PLN February, 1996

Filed under: Retaliation for Litigating, Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Retaliatory Discipline, Hearing Officers, False Charges (Disciplinary Hearings), Confrontation, Cell Searches, Summary Judgment, Estoppell

Fabricated Charges State Claim by The court of appeals for the second circuit has held that a prisoner alleging guards had planted contraband in his cell in retaliation for prior lawsuits had presented sufficient evidence to proceed to trial. The court also held that the federal § 1983 suit wasn't …

NJ Prisoners Have Liberty Interest in Staying in Population

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

Filed under: Retaliation for Litigating, Disciplinary Hearings, Liberty Interests, Overcrowding, Summary Judgment, Ad-Seg Hearings

NJ Prisoners Have Liberty Interest in Staying in Population by The court of appeals for the third circuit has held that New Jersey state prisoners have a due process liberty interest, enforceable in federal court under § 1983, to remain in general population. David Sheehan is a PLN reader at …