Informant Statement Enough for Disciplinary Conviction by The plaintiff lost 13 days' good time in a disciplinary hearing. The identity of a confidential informant and the specifics of the informant's statement need not have been disclosed. Non-disclosure is acceptable when there is a valid reason for keeping the information confidential …
$75,000 Nominal Damage Award Improper; Reduced to $1.00 by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's decision reducing a $75,000 nominal damages award to $1.00. On November 18, 1995, Jose Alonzo Corpus was arrested in Minnesota on an outstanding warrant. While being booked into jail, Corpus exchanged …
Witness Protection Program Prisoners Double Celled by Witness protection Program Prisoners Double Celled The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit held that BOP prisoners in Minnesota who are in the witness protection program had no right not to be double celled. No breach of contract claim existed. The lower …
8th Circuit Upholds Minnesota Law Requiring Registration For Non-Sexual Offenses by The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Minnesota law requiring certain individuals convicted of non-sexual offenses to register as sexual predators. Brian Gunderson was charged with first degree criminal sexual conduct stemming from an alleged rape. The …
County Jail Not Liable for Failure to Treat Knee Injury by The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, affirming the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, held that a county jail was not liable for failure to schedule an operation on a jail prisoner's knee injured by a jail guard. Steven …
Limited Attorney Fee Award for Partial Victory by The U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota has held that a plaintiff who successfully challenged a jail strip search policy was the "prevailing party" for purpose of an attorney fee award as outlined in 42 U.S.C.A. §1988. Plaintiff brought a …
Transferred Prisoner States Claim As To Legal, Indigent Mail Policies by The United States Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a prisoner's 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action against prison officials stated a claim as to prison policy of not providing free postage or writing supplies for legal correspondence, forbidding …
Dismissal of Minnesota Sex Offender's Search and Seizure Claim Upheld by The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a civilly committed Minnesota prisoner's claim that the search and seizure of his property violated his constitutional rights and state law. While imprisoned at the Moose Lake facility …
MO Ad-Seg Regulations Create Liberty Interest by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Missouri State Penitentiary Regulation 20-212.040 creates a protected liberty interest that controls the placement of prisoners from the general population into administrative segregation. Two Missouri prisoners filed a 42 U.S.C § 1983 seeking damages for …
Qualified Immunity: An Objective Legal Reasonableness Test by Qualified Immunity: An Objective Legal Reasonableness Test The U.S. Supreme Court held that police officers conducting warrantless searches of innocent third party homes in search of fugitives are entitled to qualified immunity, if objective legal reasonableness is met. Russell Anderson, an agent …
Federal Prisoner's Retaliation and Pain Suit Reinstated by John Dasta, a federal prisoner in Minnesota, sued prison administrators and a guard in federal district court, claiming they were deliberately indifferent to his painful back condition, and that they retaliated against him for filing grievances, in violation of the 8th Amendment …
MN Prison Medical Consent Decree Still Active by In 1977 the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota issued a consent decree setting guidelines for the medical care provided to Minnesota state prisoners. In 2002, in response to the prisoners' pro se contempt motions, the State Department of Corrections …
Plaintiff Must Prove Liberty Interest in Avoiding Segregation by The plaintiff received a 30-day punitive segregation sentence and alleged deprivations of due process. At 1065: Assessing atypical and significant hardship is a question of fact that may require more than the complaint to assess, but this plaintiff filed hundreds of …
MN Lawyers Disciplined for Misuse of Legal Correspondence with Prisoner by In 2003-04, Eric C. Thole was a prosecuting attorney and John Lillie was a criminal defense attorney, both in Washington County, Minnesota. They established a capital ventures firm in partnership with Matthew Runningshield, who was serving time in a …
Rule 68 Offers Applicable to Class Actions by Rule 68, authorizing offers of judgment, is applicable to class actions (the court notes authority questioning or limiting this conclusion). Here, the offer was made before the plaintiff moved for class certification, and would satisfy the plaintiff's claim, so it mooted that …
Minnesota Court Invalidates Some Evidence Standard in Disciplinary Hearings for Fact-Finding by David Reutter Minnesota Court Invalidates Some Evidence Standard in Disciplinary Hearings for Fact-Finding by David M. Reutter The Minnesota Supreme Court has held that a Minnesota Department of Corrections disciplinary hearing fact-finder must find by a preponderance of …
Minnesota County Settles Suit over Untreated Appendicitis for $225,000 by On August 25, 2005, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota approved a $225,000 settlement to a Minnesota prisoner whose appendicitis went untreated at the Douglas County Jail. Jeremiah Bratsch, 21, suffered stabbing pains in his lower right …
8th Circuit Invalidates BOP Halfway House Policy; 7th Circuit Says Challenge Not Cognizable on Habeas by 8th Circuit Invalidates BOP Halfway House Policy; 7th Circuit Says Challenge Not Cognizable on Habeas The Eighth Circuit Court Of Appeals reversed the denial of a federal prisoner's 28 U.S.C. § 2241 habeas corpus …
