Search | Prison Legal News

Double Jeopardy

Article • November 19, 2014

Filed under: Sentencing, Death Penalty, Criminal Procedure

Double Jeopardy by Paige Williams Double Jeopardy In Alabama, a judge can override a jury that spares a murderer from the death penalty. By Paige Williams On an April night in 1997, when Shonelle Jackson was eighteen, he went out to a local club in Montgomery, Alabama. As he and …

Quainoo v Watkins, 11th Cir, Plf Brief, police excessive force pepper spray, 2014

Brief • November 10, 2014

Filed under: Pepper Spray/Tear Gas

Quainoo v Watkins, 11th Cir, Plf Brief, police excessive force pepper spray, 2014 Case: 14-12690 Date Filed: 11/10/2014 Page: 1 of 88 14-12690,14-12935(XAP) IN THE United States Court of Appeals FOR THE Eleventh Circuit SILVADNIE QUAINOO, Plaintiff–Appellee–Cross-Appellant, – v.– JENNIFER DENISE WATKINS and HUNTER J. ALDRIDGE, Defendants–Appellants–Cross-Appellees, CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, …

SORNA Does Not Violate Ex Post Facto Clause, 11th Circuit Rules

Article • October 5, 2014

Filed under: Sex Offender Residence, Ex Post Facto, Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act

SORNA Does Not Violate Ex Post Facto Clause, 11th Circuit Rules by SORNA Does Not Violate Ex Post Facto Clause, 11th Circuit Rules   The federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) is a civil and non-punitive regulatory scheme that does not violate the Ex Post Facto Clause, the …

Alabama PUC

Brief • September 30, 2014

Alabama PUC STATE OF ALABAMA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION P.O. BOX 304260 MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36130 TWINKLE ANDRESS CAVANAUGH, PRESIDENT JOHN A. GARNER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JEREMY H. ODEN, ASSOCIATE COMMISSIONER TERRY DUNN, ASSOCIATE COMMISSIONER September 30, 2014 Chairman Tom Wheeler Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, SW Washington, DC 20554 Commissioner Mignon …

Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Inc. v. Alabama Utility Services, Inc., AL, Settlement, Prison Sewage, 2014

Brief • September 26, 2014

Filed under: Environmental Law, Sewage

Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Inc. v. Alabama Utility Services, Inc., AL, Settlement, Prison Sewage, 2014 FILED Case 2:13-cv-00410-AKK Document 34 Filed 09/26/14 Page 1 of 22 2014 Sep-26 PM 05:01 U.S. DISTRICT COURT N.D. OF ALABAMA UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA SOUTHERN DIVISION BLACK WARRIOR RIVERKEEPER, INC., ) …

Alabama DOC Short Hair Policy Does Not Violate RLUIPA

Article • September 20, 2014 • from PLN September, 2014

Filed under: Grooming Rules, RLUIPA, Religious Grooming

Alabama DOC Short Hair Policy Does Not Violate RLUIPA by David Reutter Alabama DOC Short Hair Policy Does Not Violate RLUIPA by David M. Reutter The Eleventh Circuit held in July 2013 that an Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) policy requiring prisoners to maintain short hair does not violate their …

Alabama Work Release Transportation, Medical and Drug Screen Costs Not “Incidental to Confinement”

Article • September 18, 2014 • from PLN September, 2014

Filed under: Work Release, Medical Expenses, Drug Testing, Transportation

Alabama Work Release Transportation, Medical and Drug Screen Costs Not “Incidental to Confinement” by David Reutter Alabama Work Release Transportation, Medical and Drug Screen Costs Not “Incidental to Confinement” by David M. Reutter Alabama’s Supreme Court has held that the plain language of § 14-8-6, Ala. Code 1975 does not …

Cabbil v. McKenzie, AL, Brief of Appellants, Home Search, 2014

Brief • August 14, 2014

Filed under: Police Searches

Cabbil v. McKenzie, AL, Brief of Appellants, Home Search, 2014 No. 14-12661-A UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ____________________________________________________________ Chalanda Cabbil, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants v. Kevin McKenzie, et al., Defendants-Appellees ___________________________________________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court Northern District of Alabama Honorable L. Scott Coogler, United …

Alabama Order

Kickback publication • July 18, 2014

Alabama Order Table of Contents Subject Paragraph BACKGROUND ICS SERVICES CenturyLink Trial JURISDICTIONAL ISSUES Applicability of Communications Reform Act Distinction between ICS and Prepaid Phone Card Service SITE COMMISSIONS FCC Order does not Preclude Site Commissions Inflated Site Commissions Relationships to Ancillary Charges Prepaid Inmate Calling Cards Equivalent to Commissions …

Visitors Fingerprinted at Alabama Prisons

Article • July 9, 2014 • from PLN July, 2014

Filed under: Visitor Searches, Visiting

Visitors Fingerprinted at Alabama Prisons by Visitors Fingerprinted at Alabama Prisons Alabama’s prison system is the first – and currently only – in the nation to require visitors to be fingerprinted. In late 2012, the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) implemented the new policy due to what officials claimed was …

SPLC - Cruel Confinement - Report on Medical and Mental Health Care in AL Prisons, 2014

Publication • June 1, 2014

Filed under: Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

SPLC - Cruel Confinement - Report on Medical and Mental Health Care in AL Prisons, 2014 Cruel Confinement Abuse, Discrimination and Death Within Alabama’s Prisons A Special Report from the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program Montgomery, Alabama June 2014 Cruel Confinement Abuse, Discrimination and Death …

Mason v. Hale, AL, Settlement, Jail Overcrowding, 2014

Brief • April 15, 2014

Filed under: Overcrowding, Jail Specific

Mason v. Hale, AL, Settlement, Jail Overcrowding, 2014 Case 2:11-cv-03155-TMP Document 71-1 Filed 04/15/14 Page 1 of 7 FILED 2014 Apr-15 PM 01:32 U.S. DISTRICT COURT N.D. OF ALABAMA Exhibit 1 Case 2:11-cv-03155-TMP Document 71-1 Filed 04/15/14 Page 2 of 7 SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT Plaintiffs, by and through counsel, and Defendants, …

Alabama Sheriff Made Party on Counterclaim Alleging Prisoners Subjected to Sexual Abuse

Article • March 15, 2014 • from PLN March, 2014

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Eighth Amendment, Parties, Immunity/Liability, Eleventh Amendment Immunity, Qualified Immunity, Sovereign Immunity, Failure to Train/Supervise

Alabama Sheriff Made Party on Counterclaim Alleging Prisoners Subjected to Sexual Abuse by The Alabama Supreme Court has held that a third party to a lawsuit may be made a party when a counterclaim is filed. The Court also held a sheriff named as a defendant was not entitled to …

DOJ Investigation of Sexual Abuse at AL Prison

Publication • January 17, 2014

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct

DOJ Investigation of Sexual Abuse at AL Prison .S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division The Honorable Robe1i Bentley Govemor State Capitol 600 Dexter Avenue Montgomery, AL 36130 Re: JAN 1 7 2014 Investigation of the Julia Tutwiler P1ison for Women and Notice of Expanded Investigation Dear Govemor Bentley: The …

Widespread Sexual Abuse Alleged at Alabama Women’s Prison

Article • October 15, 2013 • from PLN October, 2013

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct

Widespread Sexual Abuse Alleged at Alabama Women’s Prison by On March 4, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division launched a formal inquiry into widespread sexual abuse of female prisoners by male guards at the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka, Alabama. The investigation was opened following …

Bureaucracy Errors that Result in Overdetention Not Deliberate Indifference

Article • August 15, 2013

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

Bureaucracy Errors that Result in Overdetention Not Deliberate Indifference by The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that the overdetention of two prisoners was not due to deliberate indifference on the part of officials at Alabama’s Mobile County Jail. The Court’s ruling affirmed the grant of summary judgment to …

Federal Court Rules Against Alabama DOC in Class-action HIV Discrimination Suit

Article • August 15, 2013 • from PLN August, 2013

Filed under: Discrimination, Disabled Prisoners, HIV/AIDS

Federal Court Rules Against Alabama DOC in Class-action HIV Discrimination Suit by On December 21, 2012, an Alabama federal district court entered judgment in a class-action lawsuit against the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC), finding that the ADOC engaged in discrimination by segregating HIV+ prisoners in violation of the Americans …

Alabama Supreme Court Upholds Exemption for DOC Driver’s Liability

Article • May 15, 2013

Filed under: Immunity/Liability, Eleventh Amendment Immunity, Sovereign Immunity

Alabama Supreme Court Upholds Exemption for DOC Driver’s Liability by The Supreme Court of Alabama ruled in June 2006 for the state in a lawsuit that arose out of a state prisoner, Warren R. Robinson, on work-release and driving a Department of Corrections (DOC) van, backing into the vehicle of …

Anti-Immigrant Arizona Sheriff Outed by His Mexican Ex-Boyfriend

Article • April 15, 2013 • from PLN April, 2013

Filed under: Police Misconduct, International, Immigration

Anti-Immigrant Arizona Sheriff Outed by His Mexican Ex-Boyfriend by Paul Bebeu, Sheriff of Pinal County, Arizona and a former police officer, was a rising Republican star within the state in 2012 – crusading in support of the anti-immigrant legislation SB1070, co-chairing Arizona’s campaign for Mitt Romney’s presidential bid and espousing …

Alabama: District Court Certifies Class of HS Students Alleging Excessive Force by School Resource Officers

Article • April 15, 2013

Filed under: Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Police, Excessive Force (Police)

Alabama: District Court Certifies Class of HS Students Alleging Excessive Force by School Resource Officers by In August 2012, a U.S. District Court in Alabama granted a motion to certify a class of all current and future high school students in the Birmingham City Schools in a suit which alleges …