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Sovereign Immunity Withstands RLUIPA; Jewish Succah may be Permissible Religious Exercise

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Damages, RLUIPA, Eleventh Amendment Immunity, Sovereign Immunity, Religious Freedom, Religious Diet, Religious Practices, Religious Property, Federal Legislation

Sovereign Immunity Withstands RLUIPA; Jewish Succah may be Permissible Religious Exercise by Sovereign Immunity Withstands RLUIPA; Jewish Succah May be Permissible Religious Exercise by David M. Reutter The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) does not waive a state’s Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity from suit for monetary damages. …

Qualified Immunity Denied to Guard Who Failed to Provide Safe Transport

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Transportation, Immunity/Liability, Qualified Immunity

Qualified Immunity Denied to Guard Who Failed to Provide Safe Transport by by David M. Reutter The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held on March 4, 2008 that a guard was not entitled to qualified immunity concerning a prisoner’s claim that the guard failed to provide safe transport, violating the …

Seventh Circuit: Crawford Not Applicable to Revocation Hearings

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Witnesses (Disciplinary Hearings), Confrontation, Sentencing, Parole

Seventh Circuit: Crawford Not Applicable to Revocation Hearings by On May 2, 2006, the Seventh Circuit held that the Sixth Amendment right to confrontation and cross-examination of witnesses as set forth in Crawford v. Washington, 561 U.S. 36 (2004), does not apply to revocation hearings. Lamond D. Kelley, a federal …

California Moratorium on Executions Continues

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty

California Moratorium on Executions Continues by Two days before his scheduled execution, the Ninth Circuit remanded back to the district court Albert Brown's Eighth Amendment challenge to the method of his execution to determine whether, under the "demonstrated risk" standard articulated by the Supreme Court in Baze v. Rees, 553 …

California: Prior Conviction for Being a “Felon in Possession of Firearm” Admissible as Evidence in Subsequent Criminal Trials

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Evidentiary Ruling (Disciplinary Hearings), Evidence, Criminal Prosecution, Civil Procedure, Evidentiary Ruling

California: Prior Conviction for Being a “Felon in Possession of Firearm” Admissible as Evidence in Subsequent Criminal Trials by The California Court of Appeal has held that a prior conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm is a crime of moral turpitude, and therefore that evidence of …

California Shells Out $250,000 to Settle Prisoner’s Wrongful Death Suit

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Medication, Cardiovascular, Wrongful Death, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

California Shells Out $250,000 to Settle Prisoner’s Wrongful Death Suit by In September 2008, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) agreed to pay $250,000 to settle a wrongful death suit brought by Victoria Wright, the surviving spouse of former CDCR prisoner Jay Wright, who died of cardiac arrest …

California Supreme Court Clarifies Meaning of Public Interest Litigation

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, Civil Procedure, Costs, Transcripts, Depositions

California Supreme Court Clarifies Meaning of Public Interest Litigation by The California Supreme Court has held that the issues underlying a published appellate decision, viz., Serrano v. Stefan Merli Plastering Co., Inc. (2008) 162 Cal.App.4th 1014, qualify the case as public interest litigation, which may entitle the prevailing party to …

CDCR Pays $7,500 to Resolve Payment Dispute in Employee Sexual Harassment Suit

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Sexual Harassment, Staff-Staff Harassment, Retaliation against Staff, Clergy, Employee Litigation

CDCR Pays $7,500 to Resolve Payment Dispute in Employee Sexual Harassment Suit by In February 2009, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) agreed to pay $7,500 to settle a payment dispute over a lawsuit filed by psychotherapist Sallie Mae Bradley for alleged sexual harassment by a CDCR Chaplain, …

CDCR Pays $25,000 to Settle Employee Harassment Claim

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Racial Discrimination, Gay/Lesbian, Religious Discrimination, Retaliation against Staff, Guards/Staff, Employee Litigation, Age Discrimination

CDCR Pays $25,000 to Settle Employee Harassment Claim by In December 2008, Sergeant Curtis Scott signed a Settlement Agreement with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), agreeing to settle the lawsuit he had initiated in April 2007. In that lawsuit, Scott alleged that, while employed at High Desert …

Conspiracy Claim Must Be Supported by Facts

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Conspiracy

Conspiracy Claim Must Be Supported by Facts by The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has held action under 42 U.S.C. § 1985 that conspiracy claims must be supported by facts and evidence. Mrs. Alvera M. Aldabe filed civil action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and 1985(3) claiming that a …

Federal Appeals Court Denies Colorado Prisoner’s “Mail Box Rule” Appeal

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Appeals, Limitations

Federal Appeals Court Denies Colorado Prisoner’s “Mail Box Rule” Appeal by The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a Colorado district court’s order to alter the judgment in a suit won by a Colorado prisoner. Michael N. Milligan filed suit against Brian Matthews, a prison official at the prison in …

Federal Court Holds New Jersey Prisoner's PLN Denial Claim is Valid

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Mail, Publications/Books, Legal Mail, Censorship

Federal Court Holds New Jersey Prisoner's PLN Denial Claim is Valid by On February 23, 2011, a federal court held that a New Jersey state prisoner's suit complaining of, among other issues, prison officials denying him access to Prison Legal News, stated a valid claim. Raheem Taylor, a New Jersey …

Florida: Legislature's Attempt to Shift Overhead Costs of Appointed Counsel for Indigents from State to Counties Deemed Unconstitutional

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Attorneys, Appointment of Counsel, Public Defenders, State Legislation

Florida: Legislature's Attempt to Shift Overhead Costs of Appointed Counsel for Indigents from State to Counties Deemed Unconstitutional by The Florida Supreme Court has held that section 19 of chapter 2007-62, Laws of Florida, impermissibly shifts responsibility for funding overhead costs of court-appointed counsel from the state to the counties, …

California DOC Agrees to $135,000 Settlement for Failing to Diagnose Prisoner’s Cancer, Resulting in Death

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Cancer, Gastrointestinal, Wrongful Death, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

California DOC Agrees to $135,000 Settlement for Failing to Diagnose Prisoner’s Cancer, Resulting in Death by A $135,000 award was granted in the wrongful death suit against California Department of Corrections (CDOC). In July of 2000, Jake Mumm, a California prisoner, was housed at California Men’s Colony, where he began …

$150,000 Settlement in Tulsa, Oklahoma Police Beating of Juvenile Suit

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Juveniles, Excessive Force (Police)

$150,000 Settlement in Tulsa, Oklahoma Police Beating of Juvenile Suit by A $150,000 settlement was reached in a suit against police for excessive force on a teenage minor. The suit filed against the City of Tulsa stated that on April 12, 2008, three Tulsa City Police Officers, Stephen Boyes, Timothy …

$175,000 Settlement in New York False Arrest Suit

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Restraints, Juveniles, False Arrest, Excessive Force (Police)

$175,000 Settlement in New York False Arrest Suit by A $175,000 settlement was reached in a false arrest suit filed by a New York man and infant child. The suit arose on August 2, 2004 when Keith Brown and an infant child, D.M. were in the park in Pelham, New …

$180,000 Settlement Reached in a False Imprisonment Suit against Private Security Contractor

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Contractor Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Immigration, Police, False Arrest, Excessive Force (Police)

$180,000 Settlement Reached in a False Imprisonment Suit against Private Security Contractor by A $180,000 settlement was reached in a suit against U.S. Protect, a private security corporation under federal contract to oversee security at the border crossing in San Ysidro, California. On November 3, 2006, Maria Quinones, who is …

$350,000 Settlement Reached in Negligence Suit over California Youth Prison Suicide

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Mental Health, Suicides, Failure to Protect (Juveniles), Juvenile Prisons

$350,000 Settlement Reached in Negligence Suit over California Youth Prison Suicide by A $350,000 settlement was reached in a federal lawsuit related to the death of a prisoner at a youth prison in California. On August 31, 2005, Joseph Daniel Maldonado, a prisoner at N.A. Chanderjian Youth Correctional Facility, was …

$375,000 Settlement Reached in Racial Discrimination Suit against California DOC

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Discrimination, Racial Discrimination, Retaliation against Staff, Employee Litigation

$375,000 Settlement Reached in Racial Discrimination Suit against California DOC by A $375,000 settlement was reached in a racial discrimination suit against the California Department of Corrections (CDOC). Kevin Robinson began working for CDOC on January 1, 1999, at Pleasant Valley State Prison. In April 2006, Robinson’s supervisor, Sgt. Steve …

$465,000 Award in New York Jail Guard’s Sexual Harassment Suit

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Guards/Staff, Employee Litigation

$465,000 Award in New York Jail Guard’s Sexual Harassment Suit by A $465,000 award was granted by a federal jury to a female county corrections officer in a sexual harassment suit. Amy Negron filed suit against former Ulster County sheriff Paul Van Blarcum, former sheriff Richard Bockelman, and Corporal Paul …