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Denial of Habeas Corpus Ad Testificandum Not Reviewable on Immediate Appeal

Article • September 15, 2011

Filed under: Court Access, Appeals, Habeas Corpus

Denial of Habeas Corpus Ad Testificandum Not Reviewable on Immediate Appeal by By David M. Reutter The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed for want of appellate jurisdiction a prisoner’s appeal of the denial of a petition for writ of habeas ad testificandum. Before he was sentenced to prison …

Hirschfield v. Vernon Co, WI, Plf Brief Support, attorney fees, 2011

Brief • August 24, 2011

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, Attorney Fees (PLRA)

Hirschfield v. Vernon Co, WI, Plf Brief Support, attorney fees, 2011 Case: 3:11-cv-00030-wmc Document #: 36 Filed: 08/24/11 Page 1 of 13 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN ________________________________________________________________________ JOE HIRSCHFIELD, Plaintiff, v. Case No.: 11-cv-30-wmc VERNON COUNTY, and EX-DEPUTY RHONDA NAGEL, VERNON COUNTY …

Court Strikes Down Ban on Care for Transgendered Prisoners

Article • August 15, 2011

Filed under: Transgender, Transgender Medical Procedures

Court Strikes Down Ban on Care for Transgendered Prisoners by Brandon Sample By Brandon Sample On March 31, 2010, Chief U.S. District Judge C.N. Clevert, Jr. struck down Wis. Stat. § 302.386(5m) as unconstitutional. The law, Clevert held, denied transgendered prisoners the right to individualized treatment for Gender Identity Disorder …

Wisconsin Pretrial Detainees Subject To Same Conditions As Prisoners

Article • August 15, 2011

Filed under: Jail Specific, Mental Health, Sex Offender Treatment

Wisconsin Pretrial Detainees Subject To Same Conditions As Prisoners by Wisconsin State pro se detainee patient at the Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center (Center), Eric Hendrickson, brought federal action and alleged state law violations against the State and the Center. He claimed violation for being a pretrial detainee but being …

Prison Officials’ Determination of Gang Symbols in Outgoing Mail Accorded Deference

Article • July 15, 2011

Filed under: Discrimination, Gang Policies, Mail Regulations, Due Process, Prisoner Media, Censorship

Prison Officials’ Determination of Gang Symbols in Outgoing Mail Accorded Deference by The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has applied the “substantial deference” doctrine to a prisoner’s claim challenging censorship of his outgoing mail. After the district court granted summary judgment to prison officials, Wisconsin prisoner Joseph Koutnik appealed that …

No Due Process Right In Avoiding Temporary Lock-Up; Unsanitary Bedding Actionable

Article • July 15, 2011

Filed under: Sanitation, Lockdowns, Bedding, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

No Due Process Right In Avoiding Temporary Lock-Up; Unsanitary Bedding Actionable by Brandon Sample By Brandon Sample On April 10, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part the dismissal of a suit challenging a prisoner’s placement in Temporary Lock-Up (TLU) …

Seventh Circuit Finds Appeal is Timely Despite E-Filing Error

Article • July 15, 2011 • from PLN July, 2011

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Appeals, Limitations, Informants (Failure to Protect)

Seventh Circuit Finds Appeal is Timely Despite E-Filing Error by On May 3, 2010, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a Wisconsin prisoner’s appeal was timely even though it was filed past the deadline due to an electronic filing error. Scot Vince, a longtime informant for Rock County, …

Seventh Circuit: No Public Interest Requirement in Prisoner's First Amendment Retaliation Suit

Article • July 15, 2011

Filed under: Retaliation, Retaliation for Litigating, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Retaliatory Discipline

Seventh Circuit: No Public Interest Requirement in Prisoner's First Amendment Retaliation Suit by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On March 4, 2009, the Seventh Circuit court of appeals held that a prisoner who alleges retaliation for free speech was not required to show that the speech engaged in concerned a …

Wisconsin County Jail Administrator Charged with Stealing Jail Funds

Article • June 15, 2011 • from PLN June, 2011

Filed under: Jail Misconduct, Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution

Wisconsin County Jail Administrator Charged with Stealing Jail Funds by The administrator of the jail in Washburn County, Wisconsin was charged in November 2010 in connection with a scheme to defraud public funds. Bruk L. Sweeney, 37, was arrested on four counts of misconduct in office and two counts of …

Sweeping Settlement Covers Medical and Mental Health Care at Wisconsin Women’s Prison

Article • May 15, 2011 • from PLN May, 2011

Filed under: Disabled Prisoners, Systemic Medical Neglect, Dental Care, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

Sweeping Settlement Covers Medical and Mental Health Care at Wisconsin Women’s Prison by On August 23, 2010, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and ACLU of Wisconsin filed a settlement agreement in U.S. District Court that will improve medical and mental health care and conditions of confinement for disabled prisoners …

Wisconsin DOC Settles Transgender Prisoner’s Lawsuit

Article • May 15, 2011 • from PLN May, 2011

Filed under: Transgender, Transgender Medical Procedures

Wisconsin DOC Settles Transgender Prisoner’s Lawsuit by The Wisconsin Department of Corrections (WDOC) has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by a transgender prisoner who sought treatment for her gender identity disorder. The settlement ended seven years of litigation. The suit was filed in federal court in 2003 by Scott …

Offense of Conviction Need Not Be Sexual to Receive Sex Offender Restrictions

Article • April 15, 2011

Filed under: Discrimination, Sex Offender Registration, Sex Offenders (Discrimination)

Offense of Conviction Need Not Be Sexual to Receive Sex Offender Restrictions by by Brandon Sample Sex offender restrictions may be imposed on offenders whose offense of conviction did not involve sexual misconduct, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit decided December 18, 2008. The Court of Appeals …

Wisconsin Prisoner Pleads No Contest to Helping Cellmate Commit Suicide

Article • April 15, 2011 • from PLN April, 2011

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Suicides

Wisconsin Prisoner Pleads No Contest to Helping Cellmate Commit Suicide by On June 1, 2010, a Wisconsin prisoner entered a no-contest plea to charges that he helped his cellmate hang himself. Adam Peterson, 20, and Joshua Walters, 21, were unlikely acquaintances. Peterson, never in trouble with the law before, was …

Wisconsin Civil Commitment Patients Denied Minimum Wage

Article • March 15, 2011 • from PLN March, 2011

Filed under: Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Prison Labor, Fair Labor Standards Act, Mental Health, Civil Commitment

Wisconsin Civil Commitment Patients Denied Minimum Wage by The Wisconsin Court of Appeals held on March 31, 2010 that civilly committed patients are not entitled to minimum wage for the work they perform. Hung Nam Tran and Eric L. Fankhauser are civilly committed patients confined at the Wisconsin Resource Center …

Seventh Circuit Holds No Public Interest Requirement in Prisoner’s First Amendment Retaliation Suit for Providing Affidavit to Help Dead Prisoner’s Family

Article • January 15, 2011 • from PLN January, 2011

Filed under: Retaliation, Retaliation for Litigating, Retaliation for Filing Grievances

Seventh Circuit Holds No Public Interest Requirement in Prisoner’s First Amendment Retaliation Suit for Providing Affidavit to Help Dead Prisoner’s Family by The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a prisoner who alleges retaliation for free speech is not required to show that the speech engaged in concerned a …

Fields v. Smith, 7th Cir, Plf Reply Brief, WI transgender hormone medical class certification, 2011

Brief • January 10, 2011

Filed under: Failure to Treat, Class Certification, Discrimination (Transgender)

Fields v. Smith, 7th Cir, Plf Reply Brief, WI transgender hormone medical class certification, 2011 Case: 10-2339 Document: 28 Filed: 01/10/2011 Pages: 17 Nos. 10-2339 and 10-2466 In the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ANDREA FIELDS, et al. Plaintiffs-Appellees, Cross-Appellants, v. JUDY P. SMITH, et al. …

Wisconsin Law Prohibiting Hormone Treatment for Prisoners with Gender Identity Disorder Found Unconstitutional

Article • December 15, 2010 • from PLN December, 2010

Filed under: Transgender, Transgender Medical Procedures

Wisconsin Law Prohibiting Hormone Treatment for Prisoners with Gender Identity Disorder Found Unconstitutional by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On May 13, 2010, a Wisconsin federal court issued a 68-page decision holding that a Wisconsin state law prohibiting hormone therapy for prisoners with gender identity disorder (GID) was an unconstitutional …

Seventh Circuit Upholds Ban on Dungeons & Dragons

Article • October 15, 2010 • from PLN October, 2010

Filed under: Discrimination, Gang Policies, Prisoner Privileges

Seventh Circuit Upholds Ban on Dungeons & Dragons by Brandon Sample Seventh Circuit Upholds Ban on Dungeons & Dragons by Brandon Sample The Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) may prohibit the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) role-playing game and D&D-related publications without violating the First Amendment, the U.S. Court of Appeals …

Wisconsin Doctor Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Prisoner Patients

Article • September 15, 2010 • from PLN September, 2010

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

Wisconsin Doctor Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Prisoner Patients by In March 2010, a former doctor employed at the Stanley Correctional Institution in Wisconsin pleaded no contest to seven misdemeanors related to abusing or mistreating prisoners at that facility. In exchange for entering into a plea agreement, prosecutors reduced the charges …

Incomplete DNA Databases Result in Tragic Consequences

Article • August 15, 2010 • from PLN August, 2010

Filed under: DNA Testing/Samples, Crime/Demographics, Crime, Databases

Incomplete DNA Databases Result in Tragic Consequences by Justin Miller A review by the Associated Press has found that state crime lab databanks are missing thousands of DNA samples. The missing samples and backlogs in processing those that have been collected raise questions concerning serious crimes that otherwise might have …