Father May Sue for Mentally Ill Son’s Jail Assault by Father May Sue for Mentally Ill Son's Jail Assault The plaintiff brought suit as "next friend" of his son, who was assaulted in jail and who he alleged was mentally incompetent. The defendants objected to his doing so because no …
Three Murders in Three Months at Mississippi Control Unit Lead to Improvements And New Consent Decree by "Taken as a whole, I am convinced the conditions in Unit 32 are as bad as anywhere in the whole country," observed Margaret Winter, a lawyer with the National Prison Project of the …
Relief for Unconstitutional Mississippi Death Row Conditions Affirmed on Appeal by Bob Williams By Bob Williams The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has affirmed most of the sweeping reforms to be implemented at the Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP), Unit 32-C, Death Row. After several death row …
Alves v. Harrison County, MS, second amended complaint, jail restraint chair injury, 2007 Case 1:06-cv-00912-LG-JMR Document 80 Filed 10/18/2007 Page 1 of 11 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI SOUTHERN DIVISION KASEY D. ALVES PLAINTIFF VERSUS CAUSE NO.:1:06cv912 LG-JMR HARRISON COUNTY MISSISSIPPI, BY AND THROUGH THE …
Fifth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Mississippi Retaliation For Letters to a Newspaper Claim by In an unpublished opinion the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court's dismissal, for failure to state a claim, of a prisoner's retaliation suit against one prison official, but upheld the dismissal of claims …
Qualified Immunity Not Applicable to Private Defendants by The U.S. Supreme Court held that qualified immunity from suit, with respect to government officials is not available to private defendants charged with § 1983 liability for invoking state replevin. In July 1986, Bill Cole sought to dissolve a cattle partnership with …
Sheriff Not Liable for Deputy Abusing Arrestee by The plaintiff was in an accident and was arrested for DWI. She alleged that she was verbally threatened and recklessly shoved into a police car, injuring her, and that the deputy intentionally drove in such a way as to cause her more …
Forcible Police Detention States Claim by The plaintiff's allegation that a police officer grabbed him from behind, slung him to the ground, rolled him over and then handcuffed him, and then dragged him to the police car when he wouldn't walk, all because he wouldn't pay a debt claimed by …
No Liability for Untreated Cancer Death Claim by The decedent was imprisoned after he was diagnosed with widespread testicular cancer; he had two rounds of chemotherapy and was brought into remission each time. After his imprisonment, the cancer reappeared and his doctor advised immediate commencement of "salvage chemotherapy" (within five …
Fifth Circuit Vacates Summary Judgment in Sheriff's Property Liability Case by The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated and remanded a grant of summary judgment to a county and its surety company in a case involving a deputy sheriff's theft of property. Gerald and Tonya Henley were arrested and …
Mississippi Prison and Jail Officials Immune From Medical Neglect Suits by The Mississippi Supreme Court held that prison medical personnel are immune from any suit brought by a prisoner alleging negligence or wrongful death. This suit was brought by the estate of a Mississippi prisoner who died of meningitis. The …
Municipalities Must Have Unconstitutional Policy To Be Liable Under §1983 by Municipalities Must Have Unconstitutional Policy To Be Liable Under §1983 The U.S. Supreme Court held that the city of St. Louis was not liable in an employee's §1983 action because the employee had not shown the alleged violation was …
Judicial and Good Faith Immunity Available under § 1983 by Judicial and Good Faith Immunity Available under § 1983 The United States Supreme Court held that the Civil Rights Act did not abolish the traditional immunity accorded to judges for acts within their judicial role, and that police officers can …
Don't Sue Agreement Enforced in Jail Fire by The court of appeals for the Fifth circuit vacated a jury verdict of $200,000 in favor of a Mississippi prisoner injured in a jail fire because plaintiff had signed an agreement saying he wouldn't sue the jail in exchange for probation and …
Jail Has Duty to Provide Legal Material by The court of appeals for the Fifth circuit held that a district court erred in dismissing a Mississippi prisoner's claim that the Jackson county jail lacked adequate legal material. Due to overcrowding in the state prison system, plaintiff and other state prisoners …
Jail Newspaper Ban Unconstitutional by The court of appeals for the Fifth circuit held that a jail ban on newspapers violates the First amendment. The appeals court reversed the trial court verdict in favor of Adams County, Mississippi, jail prisoners on the issues of laundry services, outdoor and indoor exercise …
Class Certification Confers Subject Matter Jurisdiction by The court of appeals for the Fifth circuit held that a district court erred when it dismissed a class action suit against the Adams county jail in Mississippi for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The appeals court held that courts must reach the …
MS Jail Conditions Unconstitutional by In a seminal jail conditions case, the court of appeals for the Fifth circuit, en banc, set forth standards for future jail litigation. The court gives an extensive discussion of unconstitutional conditions in this Mississippi jail including: racial segregation of prisoners, overcrowding, prisoner run housing …
No Right to Breastfeed by The court of appeals for the Fifth circuit held that neither a woman prisoner nor her child had any right to breastfeed the child while she was imprisoned. See: Southerland v. Thigpen, 784 F.2d 713 (5th Cir. 1986).
Nine Month Delay in Bringing Mississippi Detainee Before Court Defeats Qualified Immunity by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held jail officials at Mississippi's Hinds County Jail were not entitled to qualified immunity for failing to take a pretrial detainee before a court for nine months. The detainee was arrested …
