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Misdemeanor Conviction Can Be Treated as Felony Under USSG

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines

Misdemeanor Conviction Can Be Treated as Felony Under USSG by The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that, under certain circumstances, a prior misdemeanor conviction can be treated as a felony conviction under the United States Sentencing Guidelines (USSG). Joe Couch was convicted in the U.S. District Court …

NJ Parole Class Action Settled

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Prompt Hearings, Settlements, Class Certification, Parole

NJ Parole Class Action Settled by A U.S. District Court for New Jersey held that a group of New Jersey state prisoners, who were seeking injunctive relief from the state's Parole Board for its consistent failure to conduct timely parole hearings, warranted certification as a class action for the purpose …

No Parole Violation for Working with Ex-Prisoners

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Prison Labor, Sentencing, Parole, Habeas Corpus, Parole Conditions

No Parole Violation for Working with Ex-Prisoners by The U.S. Supreme Court held that a parolee's work at a business that employed other ex-convicts did not provide "satisfactory evidence" of a parole violation. After his parole was revoked, a federal prisoner filed a writ of habeas corpus which was denied …

Colorado DOC Miscalculates Parole Eligibility Date

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Parole

Colorado DOC Miscalculates Parole Eligibility Date by The Colorado Court of Appeals has found that the Department of Corrections (DOC) miscalculated a prisoner's sentence reduction credits for crimes committed before the 1979 change in law. Ronald Vashone-Caruso, in his fourth decade of a 94 years-to¬-life sentence, sought a declaratory judgment …

Ohio Affords Right To Be Represented In Parole Hearings

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Presence at Hearing, Sentencing, Parole

Ohio Affords Right To Be Represented In Parole Hearings by The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio held, among other things, that issues of fact--whether the Ohio Parole Authority's failure to notify a state prisoner or his attorney of the date of a parole hearing violated …

Supreme Court Sets Standard for Stay of Injunctions

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Discrimination, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Habeas Corpus

Supreme Court Sets Standard for Stay of Injunctions by The United States Supreme Court held that a federal court should follow the general standards for staying a civil judgment when determining if a successful habeas corpus petitioner should be released pending appeal. The respondent, a New Jersey prisoner convicted of …

County Prosecutors Acting Outside Their Authority Lose Absolute Immunity

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Wrongful Imprisonment, Immunity/Liability, Prosecutorial Immunity, False Arrest

County Prosecutors Acting Outside Their Authority Lose Absolute Immunity by In this somewhat confusing opinion, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that county prosecutors, defendants in a civil, rights lawsuit brought by two men who were falsely arrested, were not entitled to absolute immunity on numerous claims, including …

Florida Statute Decreasing Gain-Time Award Unconstitutional

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Good Time, Habeas Corpus

Florida Statute Decreasing Gain-Time Award Unconstitutional by The Supreme Court of Florida held that a revised gain-time statute was Constitutional as to increased gain-time award, but violated ex post facto as to decreased gain time award. Donald Waldrup, a Florida state prisoner sentenced to 15 years for 1980 and 1982 …

New Jersey Supreme Court Orders Parole, Halfway House Placement

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Parole, Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty

New Jersey Supreme Court Orders Parole, Halfway House Placement by The Supreme Court of New Jersey ordered a prisoner to be released on parole after satisfactory completion of 12 months in a halfway house. Thomas Trantino, a New Jersey state prisoner, was convicted of murdering a police officer in 1963. …

COA Denied; No Due Process Violation in Repeal of Credits

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Liberty Interests, Overcrowding, Ex Post Facto, Habeas Corpus

COA Denied; No Due Process Violation in Repeal of Credits by The U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a state prisoner a certificate of appealability (COA) on a federal district court's denial of habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. §2241, holding that the prisoner's due process rights were not …

Brother Sentenced in Attempted Escape of Federal Prisoner

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Criminal Prosecution, Escapes, Sentencing, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines

Brother Sentenced in Attempted Escape of Federal Prisoner by The United States District Court of New Mexico sentenced Adalberto Nava-Sotelo, alias Robert Montoya and El Guero, in the attempted escape of his older brother Oswaldo Nava-Sotelo, a prisoner in federal custody. On May 8, 2001, Adalberto Nava-Sotelo drove from his …

Abstract Advocacy of Violence Protected Speech; Gang Conviction Reversed

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Gang Policies, Habeas Corpus, Media, Censorship

Abstract Advocacy of Violence Protected Speech; Gang Conviction Reversed by The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed an Arizona District Court's grant of habeas corpus invalidating a conviction for participating in street gang activity. Jerry Dean McCoy is a former California gang member that was convicted by an Arizona state …

Florida Good Time Statute Ruled Ex Post Facto

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Ex Post Facto, Good Time

Florida Good Time Statute Ruled Ex Post Facto by The Supreme Court ruled that a retroactively applied Florida good time statute was unconstitutional. The ruling came in response to Florida's decision to repeal and replace a previous good time statute with one that substantially reduced the amount of good time …

$3,500 Paid in Obstruction to Resolve Detainer and Denial of Notary By WA DOC

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Notary Services, Sentencing, Detainers

$3,500 Paid in Obstruction to Resolve Detainer and Denial of Notary By WA DOC by Douglas Krohne, a prisoner at Walla Walla,( Washington, filed a 42 U.S.C. §1983 action in the Western District of Washington federal court. He brought claims for the failure of prison officials failing to advise him …

Short-Term Sentence Extension Without Final Parole Revocation Hearing Unconstitutional

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Parole

Short-Term Sentence Extension Without Final Parole Revocation Hearing Unconstitutional by Short-Term Sentence Extension Without Final Parole Revocation Hearing Unconstitutional The Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that extending a parolee's sentence as the result of a charged parole violation without according a final due process hearing on that violation when …

$5,000 Paid in Wrongful WA Probation Warrant and Arrest

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment, Probation, False Arrest

$5,000 Paid in Wrongful WA Probation Warrant and Arrest by Rosalie Hanstad was pulled over by a Washington State trooper for speeding and was subsequently arrested on a probation warrant. She filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in state court and a tort complaint for intentional and emotional distress …

$3,500 Paid in Obstruction to Resolve Detainer and Denial of Notary By WA DOC

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Notary Services, Sentencing, Detainers

$3,500 Paid in Obstruction to Resolve Detainer and Denial of Notary By WA DOC by $3,500 Paid in Obstruction to Resolve Detainer and Denial of Notary By WA DOC Douglas Krohne, a prisoner at Walla Walla, Washington, filed a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action in the Western District of Washington …

$27,000 For Washington Prisoner's 2 1/2 Years Of Unlawful Imprisonment

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

$27,000 For Washington Prisoner's 2 1/2 Years Of Unlawful Imprisonment by Raymond Stokes' early release date was calculated as July 28, 1998. However, due to his status as a disabled person, DOC officials at the Clallam Bay Corrections Center, in Clallam Bay, Washington, refused to credit Mr. Stokes with the …

$35,000 For 14 Months Of Unlawful Imprisonment

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

$35,000 For 14 Months Of Unlawful Imprisonment by In February 1993, Jaramie Womack committed a burglary in Wyoming. In July of that same year, Mr. Womack committed a robbery in Washington. He was sentenced to 3 to 6 years for the Wyoming offense and was extradited to Washington, where he …

$2,000 For Erroneous Washington Parole Drug Test Result

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Searches, Drug Testing, Wrongful Imprisonment, Parole Conditions

$2,000 For Erroneous Washington Parole Drug Test Result by On May 1, 1995, John Lizee was arrested for a community supervision violation by his community corrections officer and confined at the Airway Heights Corrections Center, in Spokane, Washington, until May 4, 1995. Mr. Lizee's arrest and confinement was based on …