Eighth Circuit: Shackling Pregnant Prisoner During Labor Unconstitutional by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On October 2, 2009, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, held that shackling a pregnant prisoner while she was in labor constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Shawanna …
Arkansas Prisoner Almost Dies After Being Left in Feces by Justin Miller An Arkansas prison guard who had been previously fired and rehired by the state’s prison system was terminated a second time after he was involved in an incident that almost resulted in a prisoner’s death. On June 22, …
Arkansas Prisoner Awarded $625 for Refusing to Clean His Cell on the Sabbath by On April 13, 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Harry F. Barnes adopted a magistrate’s report and recommendation that found an Arkansas prisoner should be awarded $625 after being punished for refusing to work on the Sabbath. …
Eighth Circuit Upholds $1,500 Award for Failure to Provide Kosher Diet; Grooming Restrictions Also Upheld by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court’s award of $1,500 to an Arkansas prisoner who was denied kosher meals. The Court of Appeals also affirmed the lower court’s ruling that upheld …
No Qualified Immunity for Guards Who Failed to Help Vomiting Prisoner Who Died by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has affirmed a denial of qualified immunity for three Greene County, Arkansas jail guards accused of violating a prisoner’s Eighth Amendment rights. On January 4, 2002, Phil …
Palton v Remley, AR, Verdict, sexual abuse, 2009 Case 5:06-cv-00198-SWW-HLJ Document 223 Filed 07/16/2009 JURY INTERROGATORIES Page 1 of 3 NOTE: Complete the following interrogatories by writing in the names required by your verdict. 1. On plaintiff Jason Palton' s claim against defendant Antonio Remley, as submitted in Jury Instruction …
Arkansas Sends Toxic Tech Trash to UNICOR Recycling Program by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke A number of counties in Arkansas have been sending their toxic electronics waste, including broken computers and televisions, to Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (UNICOR), the industry program for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP). UNICOR …
Prison Officials May Limit Access to Tarot Cards Under RLUIPA by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed an Arkansas federal district court’s order that held a prison policy that requires prisoners to check out tarot cards from a chaplain and prohibits keeping cards in cells does not violate …
Arkansas City Settles Dispute Over Housing Prisoners In County Jail by The City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas reached a settlement with Jefferson County, Arkansas over a declaratory judgment regarding the meaning of the phrase "prisoners of municipalities" as used in an Arkansas statue governing how jail costs are appropriated between …
Sexual Abuse by Prison and Jail Staff Proves Persistent, Pandemic by Gary Hunter Sexual assault, rape, indecency, deviance. These terms represent reprehensible behavior in our society. They also represent recurring themes in our nation’s prisons – not only by prisoners, but also by guards and other staff members. PLN’s August …
Summary Judgment Denied For Arkansas Officials Accused of Excessive Force and Deliberate Indifference by Harry Barnes, U.S. District Judge, has denied summary judgment to a group of Arkansas officials accused of using excessive force and exhibiting deliberate indifference toward serious medical needs in the arrest of an individual. Harry Hill, …
Eighth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Due Process Challenge to Continued Confinement in Administrative Segregation by On May 12, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed a grant of summary judgment for Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC) officials alleged to have denied a prisoner due process by …
Washington DOC Restarts Private Industry Prison Jobs Following State Constitutional Amendment by John Dannenberg Washington DOC Restarts Private Industry Prison Jobs Following State Constitutional Amendment by John E. Dannenberg After eliminating private industry prison work programs in response to a Washington State Supreme Court ruling declaring the underlying statute unconstitutional …
Arkansas Juvenile Center Continues Violating Rights Despite 2003 Court Enforceable Agreement by Bob Williams By Bob Williams Arkansas protection and advocacy group Disability Rights Center (DRC) reported on conditions at the Alexander Youth Services Center (Center) in 2006. The programs at the Center were determined inadequate and discriminatory in some …
Arkansas Woman Left in Cell for Four Days Without Food or Water by Arkansas Woman Left in Cell for Four Days Without Food or Water In March 2008, a woman was locked in a small courthouse holding cell without food or water for four days after an Arkansas bailiff forgot …
ADA Valid Exercise of Congressional Authority by The Americans with Disabilities Act is not invalid under the Eleventh Amendment because it is a proper exercise of Congress's authority under 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. Unlike the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the legislative record of which lacked examples of modern instances …
IDEA is Constitutional by The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was valid under 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment and therefore Congress successfully abrogated states' Eleventh Amendment immunity. Alternatively, it provides an unambiguous waiver of Eleventh Amendment immunity by clearly conditioning the receipt of federal funds on states' willingness to …
Eighth Circuit: Administrator of Prisoner's Estate May Not Sue Pro Se by On March 29, 2005, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the administrator of the estate of a prisoner who died of cancer while incarcerated in the Arkansas Department of Corrections may not file a suit for …
Eighth Circuit Upholds Arkansas Sex Offender Registration/Residency Restrictions by Matthew Clarke by Matthew T. Clarke On July 13, 2006, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a civil rights challenge to provisions of the Arkansas Sex Offender Registration Act, Ark. Code Ann. § 12-12-901 et seq., and …
Arkansas Trooper Mistakes Mentally Disabled Man for Fugitive and Kills Him; Deceased's Family Paid $1 Million by Former Arkansas State Trooper Larry Norman pled guilty to a charge of misdemeanor negligent homicide after killing mentally disabled Joseph Erin Hamley. Norman had mistaken Hamley, 21, for an escaped fugitive, and shot …
