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Union Denounces Prison Labor

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

Filed under: Work, Prison Industries

Union Denounces Prison Labor by Iowa DOC officials are aggressively marketing prison labor to private firms, with a goal of placing prisoners in at least 650 private-sector jobs. Iowa prisoners currently make license plates, produce furniture for government offices, and do telemarketing to promote Iowa tourism. They also make sandwiches …

Detainee Awarded $64,000 in Guard Attack

Article • September 15, 1997 • from PLN September, 1997

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Civil Procedure, Damages, Evidentiary Ruling, Costs, New Trial Motions

Detainee Awarded $64,000 in Guard Attack by A federal district court in Iowa denied jail guards' motion for a new trial on a detainee's jury verdict awarding $64,000 in an excessive force suit. Jeffrey Schultz was arrested and booked into the Woodbury county jail. During the booking Schultz was shackled, …

Iowa Grievance Retaliation Suit Set for Trial

Article • September 15, 1997 • from PLN September, 1997

Filed under: Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Disciplinary Hearings, Retaliatory Discipline, False Charges (Disciplinary Hearings), Standard of Proof, Administrative Exhaustion, Class Certification

Iowa Grievance Retaliation Suit Set for Trial by A federal district court in Iowa held that an Iowa DOC practice of punishing prisoners who filed grievances may violate the first amendment. The court also held that a higher standard of proof than the "some evidence" standard, was required before prisoners …

Retaliation Verdict Reversed

Article • August 15, 1997 • from PLN August, 1997

Filed under: Classification, Out of State Transfers, Retaliation for Litigating, Retaliatory Transfers, Damages, Interpreters, Qualified Immunity, Mail Regulations

Retaliation Verdict Reversed by In the February, 1996, issue of PLN we reported Sisneros v. Nix, 884 F. Supp. 1313 (D IA 1995), where a district court in Iowa awarded a prisoner $7,639.70 in damages after finding the prisoner had been subjected to a retaliatory prison transfer after filing suit …

Prison Pay Policy May Violate Court Access

Article • July 15, 1997 • from PLN July, 1997

Filed under: Hygiene Supplies, Court Access, Postage

Prison Pay Policy May Violate Court Access by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held that a prison pay policy requiring prisoners to buy hygiene items and litigation supplies may violate prisoners right of access to the courts. Three Iowa state prisoners in administrative segregation (ad seg) challenged …

Iowa Retaliation Verdict Affirmed

Article • June 15, 1997 • from PLN June, 1997

Filed under: Retaliation for Litigating, Retaliatory Transfers, Disciplinary Hearings, Informants (Disciplinary Hearings), Retaliatory Discipline, Standard of Proof, Damages

Iowa Retaliation Verdict Affirmed by In the March, 1994, issue of PLN we reported Goff v. Burton, 7 F.3d 734 (8th Cir. 1993) in which the eighth circuit court of appeals reversed a district court ruling in favor of George Goff, an Iowa prisoner who was retaliated against by prison …

Qualified Immunity for Infraction Suit

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

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Liberty Interests, Notice of Rules, Standard of Proof, Damages, Qualified Immunity

Qualified Immunity for Infraction Suit by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held that a district court erred when it found prison officials liable and awarded a prisoner damages after the court found no evidence supported a disciplinary committee's finding of guilt. The court also held that prisoners …

PLRA's IFP Provisions Violate Equal Protection

Article • February 15, 1997 • from PLN February, 1997

Filed under: PLRA, Filing Fees (PLRA), Frivolous Litigation (PLRA), Filing Fees

PLRA's IFP Provisions Violate Equal Protection by A federal district court in Iowa held that the In Forma Pauperis (IFP) provisions of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) are retroactive and violate the equal protection clause of the fifth amendment. Section 804(d) of the PLRA created a new subsection to …

Habeas Required for Disciplinary Hearing Challenges

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

Filed under: Disciplinary Litigation, Habeas Corpus, Media, Prisoner Media

Habeas Required for Disciplinary Hearing Challenges by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held that prisoners challenging the results of prison disciplinary hearings that result in the loss of good time cannot challenge the hearing result via 42 U.S.C. § 1983, but instead they must present their claim …

Iowa DOC Shake-Up

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

Filed under: Prison Rebellion, Escapes, Lockdowns, Guards/Staff, Assaults on Staff

Iowa DOC Shake-Up by Michael Brant The Iowa DOC administration under director Sally Chandler Halford is taking a "get tough" position against prisoners. Up for a tough reconfirmation next year by the senate, the director plans to shake-up the whole system in the wake of recent incidents within the Iowa …

Iowa State Court Rules on Forfeiture

Article • September 15, 1996 • from PLN September, 1996

Filed under: Money/Property, Forfeiture

Iowa State Court Rules on Forfeiture by Michael Brant The Iowa supreme court recently ruled that civil forfeiture of cash proceeds from illegal drug sales was not punishment for double jeopardy application, reversing the district court's decision that dismissed the state prosecution of a drug charge, since it occurred after …

Retaliatory Transfer and Discipline Unconstitutional

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

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Retaliatory Transfers, Whistleblowing, Malicious Prosecution, Retaliatory Discipline, Crime/Demographics, Informants, Attorney Fee Awards, Damages, Qualified Immunity, Guard Unions

Retaliatory Transfer and Discipline Unconstitutional by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit affirmed an award of damages and attorney fees to an Iowa prisoner who was infracted and transferred after he cooperated with an investigation into guard misconduct. Robert Cornell was contacted in 1987 by DOC internal affairs …

Dismissal of Women's Suit Affirmed

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

Filed under: Discrimination, Gender Discrimination -- Women

Dismissal of Women's Suit Affirmed by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit affirmed the dismissal of a class action suit by women prisoners in Iowa. Past issues of PLN have reported Pargo v. Elliot, 49 F.3d 1355 (8th Cir. 1995), a class action suit in which women prisoners …

Section 1983 Appropriate for Disciplinary Hearings

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

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation

Section 1983 Appropriate for Disciplinary Hearings by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit has held that prisoners can challenge prison disciplinary hearings under § 1983 without exhausting habeas corpus remedies. Billy Joe Armento-Bey, an Iowa state prisoner, filed suit in federal court under § 1983 claiming his due …

Iowa Supreme Court: Hearing Required Before Prisoner Funds Seized

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

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

Iowa Supreme Court: Hearing Required Before Prisoner Funds Seized by The Iowa state supreme court has held that prisoners must be afforded a hearing before prison officials seize funds sent to the prisoner from outside sources in order to pay court ordered restitution. In 1982 Jerry Ashburn was convicted of …

Case Updates

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

Filed under: Gender Discrimination -- Women, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Religious Freedom, Religious Names

Case Updates by Women Prisoners : In the November, 1995, edition of PLN we reported the appeal court's decision in Pargo v. Elliot , 49 F.3d 1355 (8th Cir. 1995) in which the appeals court reversed and remanded the case for the lower court to determine whether women prisoners in …

$7,639.20 Awarded in Retaliatory Transfer

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

Filed under: Classification, Out of State Transfers, Racial Discrimination, Retaliation for Litigating, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Retaliatory Transfers, Damages, Injunctions, Interpreters, Qualified Immunity, Mail Regulations

$7,639.20 Awarded in Retaliatory Transfer by Afederal district court in Iowa awarded $7,639.20 in compensatory and punitive damages to a prisoner who was transferred from an Iowa state prison to Arizona in retaliation for suing and filing grievances against Iowa prison officials. The plaintiff, Alfonso Sisneros, was largely successful on …

Iowa Crime Legislation

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

Filed under: Crime, Filing Fees, Sentencing, Pardons/Clemency, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, State Legislation

Iowa Crime Legislation by Michael Brant The 1995 Iowa legislature passed a new wave of bills that affect many Iowa prisoners and ex-prisoners. Among these new laws are: The refusal of the county treasurer to renew vehicle registrations if the person has unpaid delinquent restitution; the inmate hard labor law …

Standard for Gender Discrimination Clarified

Article • November 15, 1995 • from PLN November, 1995

Filed under: Discrimination, Gender Discrimination -- Women

Standard for Gender Discrimination Clarified by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit has held that heightened judicial scrutiny may be appropriate in equal protection claims brought by female prisoners. This ruling will be of special interest to female prisoners. Women prisoners in Iowa filed a class action suit …

8th Amendment Discussed

Article • August 15, 1995 • from PLN August, 1995

Filed under: Medical, Skeletal Injury, Surgery, Eighth Amendment, Restraints

8th Amendment Discussed by In a lengthy ruling a district court in Iowa gave an extensive discussion of the history of the eighth amendment and numerous cases regarding its application to medical neglect cases. This case is useful not so much for the facts or issues presented in the underlying …