Contract Rabbi Acting In Ecclesiastical Nature by Washington state prisoner James Shilling, a converted orthodox Jew, filed a Federal civil rights complaint against Washington and Nevada Department of Corrections (DOC) personnel, as well as Rabbi Gary Friedman, alleging that they denied him kosher meals while housed in Nevada DOC as …
Private Medical Company Not Municipality Subject to Punitive Damages by The plaintiff, who had had repeated shoulder surgery, reinjured his shoulder in jail. He got an x-ray but no treatment except pain killers and referrals to mental health. After release, he had to have two additional surgeries on his shoulder. …
Nominal Damages Verdict Against Nevada Police Upheld by The plaintiff was arrested, but the district attorney declined to prosecute. The plaintiff then filed an excessive force complaint. The officer accused of excessive force notified the district attorney's office, which then filed misdemeanor battery charges against her. The court affirms a …
Raped Prisoner's § 1983 Suit States Claim by Raped Prisoner's § 1983 Suit States Claim The U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada held that a prisoner's civil rights suit against county commissioners stated a claim. After allegedly being raped by fellow prisoners in the Washoe County (Nevada) Jail, …
Early Release Debacle Prompts Nevada Prison Director’s Resignation by Matthew Clarke Early Release Debacle Prompts Nevada Prison Director's Resignation by Matthew T. Clarke Jackie Crawford, director of the Nevada state prison system since May 2000, announced her resignation from the $116,000-a-year position on September 15, 2005. The announcement cited health …
BOP Halfway House Walkaway Is Not Federal “Crime of Violence” by John Dannenberg BOP Halfway House Walkaway Is Not Federal "Crime of Violence" by John E. Dannenberg The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a walkaway from a federal halfway house did not fit the categorical "crime of …
Nevada Summary Judgment for Non-Exhaustion Reversed by The Nevada Supreme Court reversed a lower court's grant of summary judgment on a former prisoner's suit for failing to exhaust administrative remedies. Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) prisoner George Simmons was brutally beaten by another prisoner on April 14, 1997. He sustained …
Nevadas Son of Sam Statute of Violates First Amendment by Mark Wilson Nevadas Son of Sam Statute of Violates First Amendment by Mark Wilson The Nevada Supreme Court held that the States Son of Sam law violates the First Amendment. In 1977, New York enacted the nations first Son of …
Pre-Trial Defendant Released on Recognizance Is Not Subject to Warrantless Search Without Probable C by Pre-Trial Defendant Released on Recognizance Is Not Subject to Warrantless Search Without Probable Cause by John E. Dannenberg In a case of national first impression, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that when …
Nevada Supreme Court Clarifies Personal Injury Exhaustion Requirements by The Nevada Supreme Court held that state prisoners seeking compensation for personal injuries are not required to allege exhaustion of their administrative remedies, nor does the failure to exhaust administrative remedies deprive the trial court of subject matter jurisdiction. Thomas Cotton, …
What's Wrong With the ACA? by Elizabeth Alexander The American Correctional Association (ACA) is the largest and best-known organization of prison and jail staff in the country. It offers higher education programs designed to train prison industry professionals and, like a traditional professional association, it certifies persons as members in …
Nevada Prisoner Killed in Rec Yard Riot by Nevada Prisoner Killed In Rec Yard Riot On July 13, 2004, racial tension at the High Desert State Prison in southern Nevada erupted into a deadly riot. The fighting, reportedly between Blacks and Hispanics on the rock-strewn recreation yard, left one prisoner …
Nevada Trust Account Interest, Less Accounting Costs, Belongs To Prisoners by In two separate decisions, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals determined whether the Nevada Department of Prisons (NDOP) procedure of reallocating interest earned on prisoner trust accounts constituted an unconstitutional "taking" in violation of the Fifth Amendment or …
Doe v. Balaam, NV, Strip Search Suit Complaint, 2004 Case 3:04-cv-00214-RAM Document 14-2435075 Filed 07/27/2004 Page 1 of 19 Case 3:04-cv-00214-RAM Document 14-2435075 Filed 07/27/2004 Page 2 of 19 Case 3:04-cv-00214-RAM Document 14-2435075 Filed 07/27/2004 Page 3 of 19 Case 3:04-cv-00214-RAM Document 14-2435075 Filed 07/27/2004 Page 4 of 19 Case …
County Public Defender Liable for Wrongful Conviction by The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Ap-peals, sitting en banc, reinstated a former Nevada Death Row prisoner's 42 U.S.C. § 1983 suit against Clark County, Nevada, and the County's Chief Public Defender. Roberto Miranda was convicted of a 1981 murder and sentenced …
Nevada DOC Using Transport Vans Subject To Rollover by The Nevada Department of Corrections (DOC) continues to use 15-passenger vans to transport prisoners despite being prone to rollover accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has banned the sale of such vans to schools because more than half of …
Incarceration Not Grounds for Termination of Parental Rights in Nevada by In two separate parental rights cases, the Nevada Supreme Court held that imprisonment alone is not sufficient grounds for termination of parental rights. In 1997, the minor child Q.L.R. was born to Roger R. and his wife, Dina M. …
CSC: More Misery and Misfortune by C.C. Simmons Page 1 of the August 2002 issue of Prison Legal News carried a story about Correctional Services Corporation (CSC), the scandal-ridden private prison outfit beset with self-inflicted troubles. Since that story appeared, CSC's troubles have multiplied. Consider the following: Ø In August …
Trial Required in Death of Mentally Ilil Nevada Detainee, 9th Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment by The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that summary judgment was improperly granted on the question of whether a County was deliberately indifferent to a pretrial detainee's mental illness while he was in custody at …
PLRA Requires More Than De Minimus Physical Injury by The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that 42 U.S.C. §1997e(e) requires a prisoner demonstrate more than de minimus physical injury to receive compensatory damages for mental and emotional claims. Pre-trial detainee Eric Oliver filed a civil rights action alleging …
