Jail Uprisings in Oklahoma and Arkansas by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke June 2007 saw three disturbances at two jails in Oklahoma and Arkansas. The Pittsburg County, Oklahoma jail was built in 1974 and designed to hold 64 prisoners. On June 26, 2007 almost 100 were packed into the facility. …
Oklahoma Discipline Vacated Following Ruling in Gamble; No Evidence Violates Due Process by The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an Oklahoma prisoner was denied due process of law when he was punished in the absence of evidence to support the disciplinary violation. Oklahoma prisoners "are required to keep …
Oklahoma Jail Dodges $700,000 in Fines by Gary Hunter On November 28, 2006, the Bryan County Jail in Oklahoma was fined $15,000 by a local judge for health inspection violations. Both the district attorney and jail officials were elated with the ruling. The reason they were happy was because the …
OK Prisoners' Argument, Raised for First Time on Appeal, Not Considered by On November 15, 2001, Leticia Smedley was arrested by police in Tulsa, Oklahoma on suspicion of being intoxicated. She was jailed at the David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center, a facility operated by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). …
Oklahoma Court Orders Sentenced Prisoners Transported to Prison by The District Court for Oklahoma County, Oklahoma has ordered the County's Sheriff to transfer all prisoners awaiting transportation to the Department of Corrections (DOC) within 30 days and any prisoners sentenced after the Court's order are to be so transferred within …
Oklahoma Escapee Who Fled With Warden’s Wife Sentenced to Maximum, Then Dies by Oklahoma Escapee Who Fled With Warden's Wife Sentenced to Maximum, Then Dies When Randolph F. Dial escaped from the Oklahoma State Reformatory in August 1994, he set off a search not only for himself, but also for …
Loss of Good Time Credits Without Notice Warrants Habeas Relief by The U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed an Oklahoma Federal District Court's denial of a state prisoner's 28 U.S.C. § 2241 petition for habeas corpus relief and granted a certificate of appealability (COA) to him. Rayford Mayberry …
Oklahoma Prisoner Has Right to File Civil Complaint to Enforce Property Rights by The Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma, Division 3, held that the Ottowa County District Court erred when it dismissed a prisoner's complaint citing a statute that suspends prisoners' civil rights. A prisoner serving a life sentence …
Limited Law Library Time, Postage, Not Denial of Access by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that an Oklahoma prisoner's constitutional rights were not violated by the cancellation of a bland diet, transfer to maximum custody, limited amount of time in law library or prison's indigent …
Former Jail Prisoner's §1983 Complaint Reversed to Add Damages by Former Jail Prisoner's §1983 Complaint Reversed to Add Damages The U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in a split decision partly reversed an Oklahoma federal district court's grant of summary judgment to a county sheriff, holding that the district court …
Oklahoma: Attacked Employee's Psychological Treatment Claim Compensable by The Supreme Court of Oklahoma held that an employee of a contract health care provider who was stabbed by a prisoner had a compensable psychological injury claim. Sandra Shivel, an employee of Wexford Health Sources (WHS), was attacked and physically injured by …
State Death Sentenced Prisoner Not Entitled to Federally Funded Counsel in State Clemency Proceeding by State Death Sentenced Prisoner Not Entitled to Federally Funded Counsel in State Clemency Proceeding The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held a state prisoner is not entitled to federally appointed and funded counsel in a …
Suit Against CCA Dismissed For Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies by In this civil rights action brought by two prisoners against Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and several CCA employees, the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held the prisoners had not exhausted their administrative remedies as required by the …
Oklahoma Court Establishes Procedure for Recouping Costs of Incarceration by The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has established a procedure for trial courts to follow in determining the amount a defendant must pay for the cost of his or her incarceration in a county of city jail. 22 O.S.Supp.1999, § …
Oklahoma Attorney General's Opinion Overrides Prison Officials; Court's Jurisdiction to Continue Until Assurance Violation Will Cease by The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held that when there is conflicting opinions between the Oklahoma Attorney General and Department of Corrections, the opinion of the Attorney General prevails; further, a district court …
Liability for Sheriff's Hiring Decisions by The United States Supreme Court held that a county is not liable for a sheriffs decision to hire a reserve deputy without adequate screening. While driving from Texas to their home in Bryan County, Okalahoma, Jill Brown (respondent) and her husband approached a police …
Tenth Circuit Reverses Disciplinary Convictions For Pursuing Post-conviction Relief by Tenth Circuit Reverses Disciplinary Convictions For Pursuing Post-conviction Relief The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed two Oklahoma State prisoners disciplinary convictions for violating a state statute. The prisoners were wrongly convicted and punished for a misinterpretation …
Oklahoma Prisoner's Federal Civil Rights Complaint For Alleged Rapes Denied by Oklahoma state prisoner Pamela Smith filed a Federal civil rights complaint against former Oklahoma Department of Public Safety ("ODPS") employee Don Cochran, claiming violations of her Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights for repeatedly being raped by Cochran …
City Liable when Informant Killed by City Liable When informant Killed A prisoner's wife sued the Muskogee, Oklahoma city/federal jail under § 1983 for failing to protect her husband, an informant killed by jail prisoners. Plaintiff's husband was convicted but not yet sentenced. Case went to trial and jury awarded …
No Right to Free Photocopies by The court of appeals for the Tenth circuit held that an Oklahoma BOP prisoner did not have a right to free photocopying for filing legal documents. In this case the BOP charged 10 cents per copy and would debit the prison trust accounts of …
