$35,000 Settlement in Indiana Jail Failure to Protect and Medical Care Suit by David Reutter by David M. Reutter & Mark Wilson Indiana’s Marion County Jail (MCJ) has paid $35,000 to settle a federal civil rights complaint that alleged deliberate indifference to a prisoner’s safety and serious medical needs. The …
SORNA Challenges Produce Mixed Results; Supreme Court Weighs In by Brandon Sample Over the past several years a split has developed between the federal courts of appeal over the scope and constitutionality of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), a component of the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection …
Benkahla v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, IN, Order Dismissed, Wrongful CMU Confinement, 2010 Case 2:09-cv-00025-WTL-DML Document 67 Filed 07/29/10 Page 1 of 2 PageID #: 452 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA TERRE HAUTE DIVISION SABRI BENKAHLA, ) Plaintiff, v. ) FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS, Defendant. ) ) …
Erroneously Released Texas Prisoner Entitled to Credit on Sentence by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On February 4, 2009, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals held that a state prisoner who had been erroneously released through no fault of his own, and who had not violated any of the conditions …
Indiana Sex Offender Registration Law Can Not Be Retroactively Applied by The Indiana Sex Offender Registration Act (ISRA) can not be applied to offenders who committed their crimes before the statute’s enactment, the Indiana Supreme Court decided on January 6, 2010. Gary M. Hevner was convicted in 2008 of possessing …
Kress et al v. CCA, IN, Order, PLRA Administrative Exhaustion, 2010 Case 1:08-cv-00431-LJM-DML Document 85 Filed 07/02/10 Page 1 of 14 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA INDIANAPOLIS DIVISION ALAN KRESS, BILLY FORD, ERIC STAGGS, TIMOTHY-PATRICK TREACY, RANDY CARR, on their own behalf and on behalf of a …
Being in Unauthorized Jail Area Without Escape Intent Not a Crime in Indiana by The Indiana Court of Appeals held that when prisoners “have no intent or plan to flee from detention in the penal facility in which they are confined, they cannot be guilty of the crime of escape …
Are Debtors’ Prisons Making a Comeback in Indiana? by Justin Miller Concerns are growing that small claims courts in Indiana may be taking actions that amount to the return of debtors’ prisons, sparking national debate on the issue. This has occurred despite objections from the state’s Court of Appeals as …
Indiana Indemnification Statute Not Retroactive; Prisoner’s Estate Unable to Collect $56.5 Million Judgment by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a 2003 Indiana statute that requires indemnification of government employees under certain circumstances has prospective application only. Before the Court was …
Indiana DOC Changes Sexually Explicit Publication Policy Due to Class-Action Suit by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The ACLU of Indiana has reached a private settlement agreement with the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) in a class-action lawsuit that challenged a policy prohibiting prisoners from receiving sexually explicit materials …
Death Row Prisoner Loses Suit Challenging BOP’s Ban on Face-to-Face Media Interviews by On January 15, 2008, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a jury could conclude the Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) ban on face-to-face media interviews with death row prisoners was based not on legitimate security threats, …
Indiana DOC Directive Limiting Educational Credit to Only One Associate’s Degree Violates Ex Post Facto Clause by Brandon Sample A directive issued by the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) that limits the award of educational sentence credit to only one Associate’s Degree cannot be applied retroactively without running afoul of …
Reversal of Summary Judgment to BOP Doctor Accused of Deliberate Indifference by Brandon Sample The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has reversed a grant of summary judgment to a Bureau of Prisons (BOP) doctor accused of denying a death row prisoner needed eye surgery. Arboleda Ortiz, a …
The Crisis of Juvenile Prison Rape: A New Report by by David Kaiser and Lovisa Stannow When Troy Erik Isaac was first imprisoned in California, his cellmate made the introductions for both of them. “He said to me, ‘Your name is gonna be Baby Romeo, and I’m Big Romeo.’ He …
Indiana Supreme Court Holds Sex Offender Registration Act Unconstitutional When Applied Retroactively by In a courageous and controversial ruling, a unanimous Indiana Supreme Court held on April 30, 2009 that state statutes collectively referred to as the Indiana Sex Offender Registration Act, when applied to Richard Wallace, a child molester …
Indiana DOC Directive Limiting Educational Credit to Only One Associate’s Degree Violates Ex Post Facto Clause by Brandon Sample A directive issued by the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) that limits the award of educational sentence credit to only one Associate’s Degree cannot be applied retroactively without running afoul of …
Indiana Sex Offender Residency Restriction Violates Ex Post Facto Clause by Indiana’s “residency restriction statute,” which prohibits sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school, youth center or public park, violates the ex post facto clause of the state constitution as applied to sex offenders convicted before the …
Indiana Lifelong Violent Offender Registration Preliminary Injunction Upheld in Part by On December 29, 2008, an Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a superior court’s preliminary injunction against lifelong registration for violent offenders. A July 1, 2007 Indiana statute added people who had been convicted of certain violent crimes to the …
$3,200 Awarded to Indiana Jail Prisoner for Negligent Medical Care by On December 2, 2008, a federal jury awarded Richard Petrig, a former prisoner, $3,200 for negligent medical care. Petrig was attacked by his cellmate while incarcerated at the Posey County Jail in Indiana. After the attack, Petrig told jail …
Benkahla v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, IN, Proposed Amended Complaint, Wrongful CMU Confinement, 2009 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA TERRE HAUTE DIVISION ) ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ) Federal Bureau of Prisons; ) Eric H. Holder, Attorney General of the ) United States; Harley …
