Arkansas Beating Suit Wrongly Dismissed When Court Won't Call Witnesses by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that a district court had erred in not considering a prisoner's request to call witnesses. A prisoner filed a civil rights suit against the Arkansas Department of Corrections, for …
Prisoner Appeals Damages Verdict in Failure to Protect Suit by Michael Darrell Sanders, an Arkansas prisoner, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas, in 1992 against the Arkansas Department of Corrections (DOC) and its officials (defendants), for allegedly failing to protect him from attacks by other …
Eighth Circuit rules that BOP has discretion to place prisoners in IFRP by The Eight Circuit Court of Appeals has held that the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has the discretion to place prisoners in the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program (IFRP) when the sentencing court orders immediate payment of court-imposed fines. …
Pulaski County Jail Ordered to Clean Up or Quit by The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas ordered the Pulaski County Jail to bring jail conditions up to federal constitutional standards or terminate the operation of the facility. The jail detainees sought declaratory judgment and preliminary …
Forcing Disabled Prisoner to Work Violates Eighth Amendment by The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit held that a district court properly dismissed an Arkansas prisoner's claim that he was not properly awarded good time credits under state law. The court held the prisoner had stated an Eighth amendment …
Rules Modeled on Ten Commandments Violate Establishment Clause; Sheriff Denied Qualified Immunity by A federal court in Arkansas held that jail rules modeled after the Ten Commandments violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. It also held that jail officials were not entitled to qualified immunity. Andy Lee was …
Release of Police Personnel Files Not Due Process Violation by Police officer Andre Dyer's federal civil rights judgment for due process violations against the City of Little Rock was reversed by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Dyer and another officer, Jerry Hart, alleged that the city had violated their …
Ill Fitting Jail Clothes Claim Dismissed; Beating Claim Remanded by The plaintiff alleged that he was given a jail jumpsuit that was too long and that caused him to trip and fall downstairs, and that medical personnel tried to move him while his foot was still caught between the stairs, …
Child Visitors Clothing Removal Upheld by The plaintiff, suing as next friend of her eight-year-old granddaughter, visited the plaintiff's son in an Arkansas state prison; the child set off the metal detector, and everyone agreed the reason was probably her metal overall buttons. She was told that to visit she …
Inability to Work Suit Dismissed by The plaintiff alleged that he was assigned to a job inappropriate to his medical condition. He filed repeated grievances, all denied. The district court said he didn't exhaust because his grievances were not considered on the merits because he didn't follow the rules, and …
Defendants Bear Burden of Proving Non Exhaustion by Defendants moved to dismiss for non-exhaustion supported by a conclusory affidavit stating that the plaintiff has not exhausted "without describing which claims plaintiff failed to exhaust. Inasmuch as exhaustion is an affirmative defense, defendants must raise and prove that plaintiff did not …
No Qualified Immunity for Suicide of Utah Prisoner by The police captain who arrested the decedent was told by several people that he was a suicide risk; he said he had contemplated suicide but decided against it; the captain said he concluded the decedent was not a suicide risk. However, …
Damages Awarded for Denial of Voting Rights by The Arkansas Plaintiffs were awarded $500 to $2,000 for deprivation of voting rights. The appeals court had previously said that they "should be entitled to more than nominal damages. Moreover, humiliation, embarrassment, and mental anguish are compensable." (1211) If there is an …
No Qualified Immunity for Arbitrarily Pepper Spraying Prisoner by The plaintiff alleged that he was sprayed in the face with Capstun without warning after declining to take his copy of a receipt for confiscated property, then slammed to the floor and handcuffed. He alleged that he did not intentionally disobey …
Service on Prisoner by Certified Mail Not Presumptively Adequate by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has held that the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) didn't presumptively provide adequate notice of pending forfeiture proceedings when it served a notice thereof by certified mail to the jail where …
Random Tear Gassing Claim Not Estopped; Rule Banning Discovery by Pro Se Litigants Voided by The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit reversed and remanded the grant of summary judgment in favor of Arkansas prison officials. The appeals court held that the prisoner plaintiffs' § 1983 action against officials …
Retaliation for Prisoner's Inability to Work Violates 8th Amendment by The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit held that a district court improperly granted summary judgment to Arkansas prison officials. The appeals court held that the plaintiff's claim that he was retaliated against for filing the instant lawsuit was …
Forcing Prisoner to Do Work He is Incapable of Performing Violates 8th Amendment by The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit held that a district court erred when it dismissed, for failing to state a claim, an Arkansas prisoner's lawsuit that alleged he was forced to do work he …
Prisoner Can't be Forced to Work Beyond Physical Means, Handle Items Forbidden by Faith by The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit held that a district court erred when it dismissed as frivolous an Arkansas prisoner's lawsuit that he was forced to do field work beyond his physical capacity. …
Transferred Prisoners Entitled to Sending States Good Time Credits and Benefits by The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit held that an Arkansas prisoner transferred to Florida under the Interstate Corrections Compact was entitled to all good time credits and other benefits he would have received had he remained …
