Willful and Malicious Act Required for Minnesota fficial Immunity Precludes Summary Judgment by Minnesota state prisoner Brooks Fisher was assaulted during his imprisonment between 1998 and 2003. He sued the State of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Corrections plus several employees under § 1983 and the state constitution for …
Filing of Lawsuits Generally Protected Under First Amendment by At 1080 n. 4: "... [T]he First Amendment generally immunizes the act of filing a lawsuit from tort liability under the Noerr-Pennington doctrine. ... Only 'sham' lawsuits fall outside the Noerr-Pennington cloak of immunity. ... A lawsuit is a 'sham' if …
Federal Jury Awards $530,000 for Wrongful Death in Minnesota Jail by Michael Rigby On February 26, 2007, a federal jury in Minnesota awarded $530,000 to the family of a man who died in his cell after jailers and medical staff at the Washington County Jail repeatedly ignored his pleas for …
Minnesota Sanction for Sex Offender Treatment Refusal Violates Fifth Amendment by The Minnesota Court of Appeals held that disciplining a prisoner and extending his prison sentence for refusal to participate in sex offender treatment was a violation of the Fifth Amendment. The appellate court concluded that State ex rel. Morrow …
No Qualified Immunity for Ignoring Heart Condition Leading to Prisoner’s Death by No Qualified Immunity for Ignoring Heart Condition Leading to Prisoner's Death The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's denial of qualified immunity to jail officials who ignored a detainee's medical distress, causing his death. Walter …
Minnesota Prison Industries Managers Ride High on Prison Slavery by David Reutter by David M. Reutter A report by Minnesota?s Office of The Legislative Auditor (Auditor) has found conflicts of interest, the improper disposition of surplus property, and questionable contracting practices existed at MINNCOR Industries, Minnesota?s prison industry. That special …
Attorney Fees Awarded Despite Lack of Damages in Minnesota Jail Strip Search Suit by The U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota awarded attorney fees to a jail detainee even though a jury found the plaintiff had sustained no damages. Robert Swart was arrested by the Scott County [Minnesota] …
Federal Release Notice Statute Constitutional; Applies to Drug Trafficker Released Early by Federal Release Notice Statute Constitutional; Applies to Drug Trafficker Released Early The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a Minnesota District Court's order dismissing a claim seeking declaratory judgment against a statute requiring that law enforcement be notified …
Minnesota: No Immunity in Pregnant Detainee's Deliberate Indifference Suit by In this interlocutory appeal, the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a pregnant pre-trial detainee who was denied medical care alleged sufficient facts to preclude defendants' motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity. After being arrested shortly …
Review Board Required for Minnesota Sex Offender Treatment Facilities by The Supreme Court of Minnesota held that the Commissioner of the Department of Human Services was required to establish review boards for the state's Sex Offender Program (SOP) treatment facilities. Appellants, sex offenders civilly committed to SOP facilities as sexually …
Jail Prisoner's Dismissed Medical Claim Vacated and Remanded by The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a district court's dismissal of a former jail prisoner's claim against a county jail in Minnesota. David Elijah Bowers, Sr., a prisoner at Waupon Correctional Institution, was a prisoner at the Milwaukee County …
Supreme Court Discusses Standing to Sue by The U.S. Supreme Court held that environmental groups (respondent) lacked sufficient standing to pursue their claim against Secretary of the Interior (petitioner). Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 directed petitioner to review the actions of federally funded agencies to ensure …
Prisoner's Disciplinary Conviction for Possession of Unauthorized Medication Affirmed by The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, affirming the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, held that a federal prisoner could be disciplined for possessing psychotropic medications at one prison that were prescribed for him at a different prison. Daniel Wesley …
Minnesota Sex Predator Not Entitled to Jury Trial before Being Civilly Committed by Minnesota Sex Predator Not Entitled to Jury Trial before Being Civilly Committed James Poole, a Minnesota state prisoner, was civilly committed for an indefinite period of time under that state's sexual predator laws. He was not allowed …
Supreme Court Clarifies Limitations on Removed State Law Claims by The plaintiffs filed federal claims and state claims in federal court; the state claims were dismissed on Eleventh Amendment grounds and then refiled in state court, where they were dismissed on limitations grounds. 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a), the supplemental jurisdiction …
BOP Must Follow its own Rules by BOP Must Follow its Own Rules The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit held that a Missouri BOP prisoner was entitled to expect the BOP to follow its own policies. Federal prisoners can seek relief from such failures where constitutional rights are …
Due Process Required in BOP "Special Offenders" Classification by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a case involving two federal prisoners in Minnesota, found due process is required for "special offender" (later changed to "central monitoring case") classification. Upon entering the prison, the two prisoner-petitioners were classified as "special …
Consent Decree Entered Regarding Minnesota Prison Medical Care by On May 27, 1997, a consent decree enumerating the medical rights of prisoners in the Minnesota State Prison was entered in the District Court for the District of Minnesota. Plaintiffs, Minnesota state prisoners, brought an action under the Civil Rights Act …
Minnesota Supreme Court: Comparative Fault Analysis Inappropriate in Jail Suicide Case by Minnesota Supreme Court: Comparative Fault Analysis Inappropriate in Jail Suicide Case by Matthew T. Clarke The Minnesota Supreme Court (MSC) has held that it is inappropriate to perform a comparative fault analysis in the case of a prisoner …
Complaint Must State Defendant's Capacity When Sued by The plaintiff did not explicitly plead that she was suing the defendant police officers in their individual capacities, though she says so now. The court invoked the Eighth Circuit's rigid rule on this point and then denies her motion to file an …
