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 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 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 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 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 …
Nevada DOC Psychologist Moonlights as Pimp by In the July, 1994, issue of PLN we reported the saga of William Knapp, the chief psychologist of the Nevada DOC whose ambition was to open up a Western theme brothel. We mentioned the case, Knapp v. Miller, 843 F. Supp. 633 (DC …
Economic Reality Applied to FLSA Claims by Prisoners' struggle to be paid the minimum wage for their labor has met yet another setback. Nevada statute § 209.461(1)(b) requires all state prisoners, not in segregation or with a medical excuse, to work or go to school forty hours a week. Walter …
NV Phone Rate Scalping Examined by In response to complaints from prisoners, family members and prison activists, the Nevada Public Service Commission (PSC) began work in December on a plan to regulate phone systems at jails and prisons. PSC Commissioner, Galen Denio, said he has to review testimony and documents …
9th Cir. Upholds Attorney Fee Award by This is not a prison case per se. It involves the ninth circuit court of appeals upholding an award of attorney fees of $66,535 in a case where the plaintiff only recovered nominal damages of $1. Because prison litigation often involves small or …
Suit Filed Against "Shoot to Wound" Policy by Suit Filed Against "Shoot to Wound" Policy The American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project, based in Washington, D.C., and Reno attorney Donald Evans filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court on May 16th, 1994 against the governor of …
Prison Psychologist Opens Brothel by While this case has little bearing on prison litigation per se we thought our readers would find it informative and amusing. William Knapp is the Principal Psychologist for the Nevada Department of Prisons. He was fired from his job after initiating and pursuing a venture …
NV Disciplinary Seg Rules Create Liberty Interest by Andrew Walker was a federal prisoner housed in the Nevada state prison system. During a cell search guards found a knife in Walker's cell. After the knife was found, Walker was placed in segregation. Prison officials claimed it was administrative segregation (ad …
Hearing Required Before Denial of IFP by Khalid Alexander is a Nevada state prisoner. He tried to file suit and requested in forma pauperis status in order to proceed without paying the normally required filing fees. The Nevada district court has a policy of requiring prisoners to pay a partial …
Prisoners Pursue Prison Industries Litigation Despite Continued Retaliation by Ken Krause By Ken Krause Several prisoners at the Ely State Prison in Ely, Nevada are continuing to litigate despite repeated retaliation by Ely State Prison officials. Kenneth Krause, Edward Wills and David Bean began a federal RICO suit in 1991 …
9th Cir. Explains Review of Religious Claims by Jason Ward is the only Orthodox Jewish prisoner at the Ely State Prison in Nevada. He filed suit under § 1983 claiming that prison officials had violated his right to free exercise of his religion by not providing him with a kosher …
Court Cannot Dismiss Suit When Partial Filing Fee Paid by Robert Butler is a Nevada state prisoner. He filed suit under § 1983 alleging his defense attorney and trial judge at his state court trial had conspired together in order to deny him a fair trial. The district court granted …
Prisoner Entitled to Interest From Prison Account by Prisoner Entitled To Interest From Prison Account Lester Tellis is a Nevada state prisoner. He requested that prison officials credit his personal property account with the interest actually earned on those funds. The officials refused, claiming that Nevada Revised Statute 209.241 grants …
Exposure to Secondary Smoke Can State Claim by Donald McKinney was a Nevada state prisoner who filed a civil rights complaint against prison officials, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that his involuntary exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) from his cellmate's and other inmates' cigarettes posed an unreasonable …
Service Complete When Delivered to Prison Officials by Brian Faile is a Nevada state prisoner. He sued the Upjohn company claiming that their product Xanax, a prescription drug, caused him depression and violent outbursts which resulted in his being severely wounded by police and imprisoned. The district court dismissed Faile's …
Mere "Institutional Security" Claim Not Enough by Mere "Institutional Security" Claim Not Enough A former prisoner of the Nevada State Prison brought a federal civil rights complaint against guards claiming that his fourth, eighth and fourteenth amendment rights were violated. He contended the violation occurred when guards forced him to …
