Damage Award and Attorney Fees in Censorship Suit Affirmed by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit affirmed a district court ruling awarding a prisoner $1 in damages and $500 in punitive damages against prison officials who censored racist religious publications pursuant to a "blanket ban" on such materials. …
PLRA Termination Provisions Constitutional by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held that the "immediate termination" provisions of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) does not violate the separation of powers doctrine, the due process clause, or equal protection. A contrary finding by an Iowa district court was …
Legal Papers Must be Returned to Owner; Prisoner Legal Mail Banned by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held a district court erred when it ordered prison officials to allow prisoner co-plaintiffs to correspond with each other about their case. The court affirmed an injunction requiring prison officials …
Iowa Prison Nurse Liable in Birthing by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held a prison nurse was properly found liable for ignoring a prisoner's complaint that she was in labor. The appeals court affirmed an award of $1,000 in compensatory damages but vacated an award of $3,500 …
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 …
