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Prison Guard Sentenced in Escape Plot

Article • December 15, 2001 • from PLN December, 2001

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Crime/Demographics, Informants, Escapes, Witnesses

Prison Guard Sentenced in Escape Plot by Willie Wisely Erik Jacobs, 31, a former guard at Ely State Prison in Nevada was sentenced to one year in jail and fined $2,000 for helping a prisoner plan an escape. Jacobs was sentenced in March, 2001, by White Pine District Judge Dan …

PLN Wins Nevada Censorship Suit

Article • October 15, 2001 • from PLN October, 2001

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's, Mail, Publications/Books, Mail Regulations, Due Process, PLN Litigation

PLN Wins Nevada Censorship Suit by Beginning in January 2000, the Nevada Division of Prisons (DOP) began censoring Prison Legal News in all of its prisons, affecting 21 Nevada prisoners who subscribed to PLN .Prison Legal News was never afforded any notice of the censorship nor given an opportunity to …

Attorney Fees Awarded in Challenge to Nevada Shooting Policy

Article • December 15, 2000 • from PLN December, 2000

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, Excessive Force, Shootings, Costs, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

Attorney Fees Awarded in Challenge to Nevada Shooting Policy by A federal district court in Nevada warded prisoners attorneys' fees and costs totaling $374,370.17 in an action challenging prison practices concerning the use of force and mental health services. Following the decisions, the Nevada Attorney General's office negotiated the award …

Prison Legal News v. Crawford, NV, Settlement and Memo, NV DOC Censorship, 2000

Brief • October 4, 2000

Filed under: PLN Litigation, Censorship, PLN related

Prison Legal News v. Crawford, NV, Settlement and Memo, NV DOC Censorship, 2000 NATIONAL PRISON PROJECT Elizabeth Alexander David C. Fathi su.eoun$tli (202) 234·4830 , 875 Connecticut Avenue. NW. Suite 410 Washington. DC 20009 Fax (202) 234-4890 BY FACSIMILE AND FIRST-CLASS MAIL October 4, 2000 Joe Ward, Jr., Esq. Senior …

Prison Legal News v. Crawford, NV, Settlement, NV DOC Censorship, 2000

Brief • September 27, 2000

Filed under: PLN Litigation, Censorship, PLN related

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PLN Sues Nevada DOP

Article • September 15, 2000 • from PLN September, 2000

Filed under: Mail, Mail Regulations

PLN Sues Nevada DOP by On June 11, 2000, PLN filed suit against the Nevada Department of Prisons for censoring PLN at all Nevada prisons. Beginning in September, 1999, Nevada prison officials have banned PLN from all Nevada prisons claiming that "inmate correspondence" and "inmate newsletters" are not allowed. Efforts …

Prison Legal News v. Crawford, NV, Preliminary Injunction, NV DOC Censorship, 2000

Brief • August 13, 2000

Filed under: PLN Litigation, Censorship, PLN related

Prison Legal News v. Crawford, NV, Preliminary Injunction, NV DOC Censorship, 2000 , No.l m P·2 , • • , • • •, t • • AQorncys For Plaintiff! -;;- -n- ~. " " " .." .... ...." UNITED STAYES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEVADA \ I ., " 0 …

Prison Legal News v. Crawford, NV, Amended Complaint, NV DOC Censorship, 2000

Brief • August 1, 2000

Filed under: PLN Litigation, Censorship, PLN related

Prison Legal News v. Crawford, NV, Amended Complaint, NV DOC Censorship, 2000 ,• , DONALD YORK EVANS, ESQ . Slate Bar No. 1070 P.O. Box 864 Ren o. :-..V 89504 (775) 348· 7400 • Coopcratin~ • ,• • • , 0 ~ < David C . Falhi National Prison Projcct …

Testing Testing: Sweat Patch Under Scrutiny

Article • May 15, 2000 • from PLN May, 2000

Filed under: Drug Testing, Court Access, Judiciary, Parole, Probation

Testing Testing: Sweat Patch Under Scrutiny by Lara A. Bazelon Sheryl Woodhall a California woman in her late 30s, first lost custody of her four children in 1995, when her youngest tested positive for methamphetamine at birth. The state's Child Protective Services intervened and sent her two older children to …

Nevada Religious Group Gets Federal Money to Help Prisoners, Delivers Nothing

Article • May 15, 2000 • from PLN May, 2000

Filed under: Work Release, Contractor Misconduct, Prisoner Privileges, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Parole, Clergy

Nevada Religious Group Gets Federal Money to Help Prisoners, Delivers Nothing by Nevada Religious Group Gets Federal Money to Help Prisoners, Delivers Nothing by Matthew T. Clarke Alliance Collegiums Association of Southern Nevada (ACASN), a faith-based organization led by black ministers with the stated mission of providing prisoners with support …

Nevada Guards Party with Inmate Welfare Fund

Article • November 15, 1999 • from PLN November, 1999

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, DOC/BOP misconduct, Prisoner Privileges, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, State Legislation

Nevada Guards Party with Inmate Welfare Fund by The Nevada state legislature made a bold move to "end inmate welfare as we know it" when it passed a bill (AB289) in 1999 stating that revenue from state prisons' Inmate Welfare Fund (IWF) can be used for employee perks. But the …

Denial of Social Security Benefits to Prisoners Upheld

Article • December 15, 1998 • from PLN December, 1998

Filed under: Money/Property, Social Security

Denial of Social Security Benefits to Prisoners Upheld by The court of appeals for the Ninth circuit held that a statute denying Social Security benefits to prisoners is constitutional. Robert Butler is a 77 year old Nevada state prisoner. Butler was granted social security retirement benefits in 1983. He was …

Liberty Interest Created By Fine

Article • November 15, 1998 • from PLN November, 1998

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Liberty Interests, Witnesses (Disciplinary Hearings), Sanctions (Disciplinary Hearings), Notice of Hearing, Written Findings, Seizure of Prisoner Funds

Liberty Interest Created By Fine by A federal district court in Nevada held that a Nevada prisoner had no liberty interest in remaining free of one year of disciplinary segregation. The court also ruled that the prisoner had a property interest in money taken from his account for restitution and …

Refusal to Waive Interest States Claim

Article • April 15, 1998 • from PLN April, 1998

Filed under: Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Prison Labor, Money/Property, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Interest

Refusal to Waive Interest States Claim by The court of appeals for the ninth circuit held that a district court erred when it dismissed a prisoner's claim that he was fired from his prison job when he refused to waive his right to interest accruing to his prison trust fund …

Class Action Certification Clarified

Article • March 15, 1998 • from PLN March, 1998

Filed under: Transfers, Chain Gangs, Civil Procedure, Standing, Class Certification, Appeals, Mootness

Class Action Certification Clarified by The court of appeals for the ninth circuit held that a district court erred when it dismissed as moot a jail detainee's lawsuit challenging conditions on a jail chain gang, before ruling on the plaintiff's motion for class certification. Timothy Wade filed a lawsuit seeking …

No Service on US Required for Bivens Claim in Work Injury Suit

Article • March 15, 1997 • from PLN March, 1997

Filed under: Disabled Prisoners, Work, Inability to Work, Workplace Injury, Cardiovascular, Skeletal Injury, Service

No Service on US Required for Bivens Claim in Work Injury Suit by The court of appeals for the ninth circuit held that plaintiffs suing federal officials solely in their individual capacities do not need to serve the complaint on the United States. John Vaccaro is a federal prisoner with …

Litigant Entitled to Summary Judgment Notice

Article • March 15, 1997 • from PLN March, 1997

Filed under: Summary Judgment, Religious Freedom, Denial of Religious Services, Clergy

Litigant Entitled to Summary Judgment Notice by The court of appeals for the ninth circuit has reaffirmed that a district court which transforms a motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment by considering matters outside the pleadings must give the opposing party proper notice. Charles Anderson is a …

Nevada Prisoners Have Liberty Interest in Disciplinary Hearings

Article • November 15, 1996 • from PLN November, 1996

Filed under: Liberty Interests, Hearing Officers, Crime/Demographics, Prison/Jail Murders

Nevada Prisoners Have Liberty Interest in Disciplinary Hearings by A federal district court in Nevada held that Nevada state law creates a liberty interest for prisoners accused of disciplinary misconduct. After the US supreme court decided Sandin v. Connor, 115 S.Ct. 2293 (1995) the question of whether a prisoner retains …

Nevada Utilities Commission Caps Prison Phone Rates

Article • June 15, 1996 • from PLN June, 1996

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

Nevada Utilities Commission Caps Prison Phone Rates by In the July, 1995, issue of PLN we reported that the Nevada Public Service Commission (PSC) was considering putting an end to the extortionate phone rates paid by people who accepted collect calls from Nevada state prisoners. On September 12, 1995, the …

No Specific Intent Required for 8th Amendment Claim

Article • March 15, 1996 • from PLN March, 1996

Filed under: Eighth Amendment, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Shootings, Qualified Immunity, Death Row

No Specific Intent Required for 8th Amendment Claim by The ninth circuit has held that for prison guards to violate the eighth amendment's ban on excessive force they need only have an intent to cause harm and do not need an intent to harm a specific, individual prisoner. This right …