$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 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 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 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 …
No Interlocutory Appeal of Discovery Order by In a sharply worded opinion the eighth circuit court of appeals has described the limited circumstances in which it will entertain an interlocutory appeal from a district courts discovery orders. The case involves Sherman White, an Iowa state prisoner, who filed suit under …
Contempt Finding Reversed by In 1980 prisoners at the Iowa State Penitentiary (ISP) entered into a consent decree, Dee v. Brewer, with prison officials which prohibited guards from searching or removing prisoners legal papers from their cells when the prisoner was not present, unless exigent circumstances existed. In 1993 ISP …
Damage Awards Can be Used for Restitution by Under Iowa state law all felons must pay victim restitution. The DOC sets up a restitution plan whereby up to half of a prisoners earnings can be confiscated and sent to the county court clerk who disburses the funds to the victims. …
Prisoners Entitled to Free Legal Mail Postage by Several prisoners at the Iowa Mens Reformatory (IMP) f led suit under 42 U.S.A. § 1983 seeking injunctive relief from the prisons policy of denying indigent prisoners in administrative segregation any free legal or personal postage. Prisoners in ad seg are not …
No Help for Disciplinary Hearings by Ronald Kulow is an Iowa state prisoner. Kulow suffers from brain damage, has an IQ between 70 and 74 and borderline intellectual functioning. After having an altercation with another prisoner he was placed in involuntary protective custody where he received numerous disciplinary infractions. At …
No Immunity for Beating by Thomas Munz was an Iowa state prisoner called to testify in federal court. Munz was taken to the court by federal marshals. En route to the court, while bound hand and foot, Munz became violent and vandalized the interior of the marshal's car. When Munz …
Prison Alcohol Program May Violate Free Speech by The Iowa Civil Liberties Union (ICLU) and prisoners at the Clarinda Correctional Facility (CCF) filed suit under § 1983 challenging the DOC's expenditure of taxpayer funds on an alcohol rehabilitation program called "The Other Way." According to the complaint, this program has …
Prison Industries Supervisor Liable for Attack by Jay Holloway is a prisoner at the Iowa State Penitentiary (ISP). He was assigned to work in the prison industries building under the supervision of Ray Miller. While at work Holloway was attacked by four other prisoners who believed he had summoned a …
Non-English Mail Okay by Khannfeuang Thongvanh is an Iowa state prisoner. Thongvahn is a native Laotian whose primary language is Lao, though he speaks some English. Prison rules mandate that all incoming and outgoing prisoner correspondence be in English to allow for censorship. Prison officials at the Iowa State Reformatory …
HIV+ Cellmate Doesn't State Claim by This is yet another addition to the growing area of HIV/AIDS in prison case law. Andrew Marcussen is an Iowa state prisoner. He filed suit claiming prison officials were deliberately indifferent to his safety by assigning an HIV+ prisoner to his cell, thus, he …
Medical Claims Standards Discussed by Ronald Brewer is an Iowa state prisoner. He suffers from coronary artery disease. Employees of Correctional Medical Services (CMS), a contractor with the Iowa DOC, prescribed medicine for Brewer's illness but the treating doctor made an error in the dosage. Brewer filed suit claiming that …
Eighth Circuit Clarifies Retaliation Standard by George Goff is an Iowa state prisoner. On January 15, 1990, another prisoner at a medium security facility reported being stabbed. Confidential informants allegedly told prison officials that Goff was the culprit. On January 19, 1990, the prison's warden and deputy warden were served …
Outgoing Mail May Contain Slander by Aprisoner at the Iowa Men's Reformatory received a major disciplinary infraction for "verbal abuse" as a result of comments included in a letter he had written to his brother. The prisoner, Rick Bressman, wrote: "yeah, their (sic) real assholes, my counselor is a dick …
Law of Medical Treatment Explained by Ed Mead By Ed Mead Case Goes to Trial Over $12.40 Pair of Glasses Aprisoner at the Iowa State Penitentiary (ISP), Dean Benter, filed a suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging he was subjected to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the …
Some Evidence Standard Meets Due Process by Prison discipline imposed on the basis of "some evidence" that an inmate has violated prison regulations does not violate the fourteenth amendment's due process clause, a majority of the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held. In the prison setting, due process …
Disobeying State Court Order Basis for Section 1983 Liability by Ernest Walters is an Iowa state prisoner. He was infracted for allegedly lying to a guard. He was found guilty at a disciplinary hearing and punished. Walters filed a post conviction action in state court and won a default judgement …
