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Article • November 15, 2009 • from PLN November, 2009
California Death Row Court Monitoring Discontinued by Michael Brodheim Almost thirty years after it began, federal court supervision over conditions at San Quentin’s death row – the nation’s largest, now housing 685 condemned prisoners – came to an end in April 2009. A group of death-sentenced prisoners filed suit in …
Significant Injury Showing Not Required to Defeat Qualified Immunity in Excessive Force Case by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected a claim for qualified immunity by a Texas prison guard who used excessive force against a prisoner. Texas state prisoner Marcus Brown alleged that in 1998 …
Article • October 15, 2009
Administrative Remedies Exhausted When DOC Fails to Respond by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has determined that a prisoner’s administrative remedies are exhausted when prison officials fail to respond within the time frame set forth in the grievance regulations. Colorado state prisoner Michael Whitington filed a …
Article • October 15, 2009
Where Prisoner Prevailed on One of Four § 1983 Claims, Attorney Fees Reduced by 75% by Where Prisoner Prevailed on One of Four § 1983 Claims, Attorney Fees Reduced by 75% Where a state prisoner sued the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) in pro per under 42 U.S.C. …
Article • October 15, 2009
Fifth Circuit: PLRA Exhaustion Requirement an Affirmative Defense by On July 5, 2007, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that failure to meet the PLRA’s exhaustion requirement is an affirmative defense and prisoners are not required to plead exhaustion in their complaints, nor can a district court of its …
Human Rights Watch Report Calls to Reform PLRA by David Reutter by David M. Reutter “The PLRA has had a devastating effect on the ability of incarcerated persons to protect their health and safety and vindicate other fundmanetal rights,” concludes a June 2009 report titled No Equal Justice: The Prison …
Sixth Circuit: Dismissal of Due Process and Equal Protection Claims Upheld; Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies Issue Remanded by The Sixth Circuit of Appeals has affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a prisoner’s due process and equal protection claims, but reversed the dismissal of Eighth Amendment claims based on failure to …
CA Prison Medical Care Receiver: Three Top Officials Ousted, Controversial Building Plan Opposed by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On March 12, 2009, J. Clark Kelso, California’s federal court-appointed receiver over prison medical care, demanded the resignations of his chief of staff, John Hagar; Stephen Weston, Hagar’s assistant; and medical …
Article • October 15, 2009
PLRA’s Frivolous Litigator IFP Cap Trumped by “Imminent Danger” Claim by The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has held that a prisoner who alleged as one of his claims in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint that he was in “imminent danger of serious physical injury,” but who qualified …
Article • October 15, 2009
PLRA Three Strikes Applicable to Halfway House “Prisoner” by In a case of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has decided that detention in a halfway house, as a condition of mandatory supervision stemming from a criminal conviction, satisfies the definition of “prisoner” under the …
Anatomy of the Modern Prisoners’ Rights Suit: A Practitioner’s Guide to Successful Jury Trials on Behalf of Prisoner-Plaintiffs* by Alphonse A. Gerhardstein by Alphonse A. Gerhardstein+ Ed. Note: This article is written with the aim of assisting attorneys who are litigating prison-related lawsuits; however, it is also very helpful for …
Why False Imprisonment Recoveries Should Not Be Taxable by Robert Wood by Robert W. Wood1 Claims for false imprisonment may be brought in various ways under federal or state law. An individual who has been wrongfully incarcerated may sue under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 for a violation of his constitutional …
Article • September 15, 2009 • from PLN September, 2009
Third Circuit Upholds Pennsylvania DOC Policy Requiring Control Number for Legal Mail by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Finding that no legitimate penological interest existed to support a Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PDOC) policy that requires a PDOC-issued control number on correspondence for it to qualify as legal mail, …
Federal Three-Judge Panel Orders California To Reduce Prison Population By 44,000 Prisoners Within Two Years by Marvin Mentor In a landmark ruling, a federal three-judge panel ordered the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to cap the prison population of its 33 adult prisons to 137.5% of their 79,828 …
Article • September 15, 2009
Deliberate Indifference Suit Gets Mixed Ruling on Appeal by On November 24, 2008, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals delivered a mixed ruling in an appeal involving Washington state prisoner, Samuel D. Martin. The appeal arose following a district court's sua sponte dismissal of Martin's § 1983 claim against …
Arizona DOC May Be Held Accountable for Not Protecting Prisoners from Asbestos by A federal magistrate judge in Arizona has recommended denying a motion for summary judgment filed by the State of Arizona in a lawsuit brought by a group of current and former prisoners. The suit was filed after …
Article • September 15, 2009
Texas Department of Criminal Justice Denied Summary Judgment by Texas prisoner John Williams filed a civil action against the Texas Department of Criminal Judgment (TDCJ) alleging denial of anesthetic drugs following his leg amputa¬tion. In response, TDCJ filed a motion for summary judgment contending Williams failed to exhaust institutional remedies …
Eleventh Circuit Unpublished Decision on PLRA Administrative Exhaustion Requirements Trumped by Published Ruling by In an unpublished ruling, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that summary judgment, rather than a motion to dismiss, was the proper procedure to determine whether a prisoner had exhausted administrative remedies under the Prison …
Article • August 15, 2009 • from PLN August, 2009
Motions to Oust California Prison System’s Federal Healthcare Receiver Denied by John Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg On March 24, 2009, motions by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to terminate the Receivership now operating the state’s prison healthcare system under a longstanding federal lawsuit were denied by …
Absent Claim for Emotional Damages, Prisoner’s Psychotherapist-Patient Privilege Remains Intact by The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has entered a detailed opinion on the issue of psychotherapist-patient privilege when a district court is confronted with a request by prison officials to obtain a prisoner’s psychiatric records in discovery in …
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