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California Sheriffs Appropriate Rehabilitation Funds for Security Needs

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Jail Misconduct, Trust Accounts

California Sheriffs Appropriate Rehabilitation Funds for Security Needs by Michael Brodheim As California’s budget crisis deepens, local law enforcement agencies are looking for creative ways to cover shortfalls in their budgets. Increasingly, county sheriffs are raiding funds intended by the Legislature to be expended “primarily for the benefit, education and …

Nebraska Prison Officials Must Pay Attorney’s Fees in Kosher Diet Case; Found in Contempt After Excrement Discovered in Prisoner’s Food

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Sanctions

Nebraska Prison Officials Must Pay Attorney’s Fees in Kosher Diet Case; Found in Contempt After Excrement Discovered in Prisoner’s Food by Brandon Sample Nebraska prison officials cannot delay paying $204,856.28 in attorney’s fees and costs awarded in a lawsuit where they were found to have violated the First Amendment and …

Sacramento County Jail Settles Excessive Force Suit For $260,000

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Injury -- Misc., Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Grenades

Sacramento County Jail Settles Excessive Force Suit For $260,000 by Sacramento County Jail Settles Excessive Force Suit for $260,000 On April 20, 2009, Sacramento County agreed to settle an excessive force suit brought by a former prisoner at the Sacramento Main Jail (SMJ) for $260,000. On December 1, 2005, Donald …

PLN Files Public Records Suit Against San Francisco County, Sheriff’s Office

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Disclosure of Records, PLN Litigation

PLN Files Public Records Suit Against San Francisco County, Sheriff’s Office by On August 20, 2009, Prison Legal News filed suit in Superior Court against the City and County of San Francisco, the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff Michael Hennessey and City Attorney Dennis Herrera. The lawsuit alleges that the …

Columbia Jail Journal: The Compelling, Exclusive Inside Story of the Columbia Three, by James Monaghan, Brandon Press, 277 pages

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Commentary/Reviews, Reviews, Prisoners-International, Political Prisoners (International)

Columbia Jail Journal: The Compelling, Exclusive Inside Story of the Columbia Three, by James Monaghan, Brandon Press, 277 pages by David Preston Reviewed by David Preston Of the many and varied detours a man can take off the road to happiness, a trip to prison would have to be about …

Florida DOC and Keefe Gouge Prisoners on Commissary Sales

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Food/Commissary (Private Prisons), Conditions of Confinement, Food

Florida DOC and Keefe Gouge Prisoners on Commissary Sales by David Reutter by David M. Reutter While the economic downturn has caused the price of goods and commodities to decrease in the free world, the cost of items in Florida’s prison canteens has skyrocketed under a new contract. Florida law …

$1.8 Million Settlement in Beating of Florida Jail Prisoner

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Threats by Staff, Jail Misconduct, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

$1.8 Million Settlement in Beating of Florida Jail Prisoner by by David M. Reutter Florida’s Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BCSC) agreed to pay $1.8 million to settle a civil rights action, in mid-trial, brought by a former prisoner who was left brain damaged after a beating from other prisoners, who …

Pennsylvania Jail Mired in Scandal ... Again

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Sexual Harassment, Staff-Prisoner Harassment, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Escapes

Pennsylvania Jail Mired in Scandal ... Again by by David M. Reutter With the suspension of two top officials at the Monroe County Correctional Facility (MCCF) in Snydersville, Pennsylvania, efforts to turn the jail around have hit yet another stumbling block. The February 27, 2009 suspensions – and later resignations …

Montana, Michigan Towns Vie to Fill Prisons with Guantanamo Detainees

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Staffing, Military Prisons

Montana, Michigan Towns Vie to Fill Prisons with Guantanamo Detainees by by David M. Reutter Despite winning a lawsuit which held that officials in Hardin, Montana could contract to receive out-of-state prisoners, the town’s Two Rivers Detention Facility sits empty and the bonds issued to finance the prison are in …

Michigan Changes Overtime Rules; $4 Million Savings on Prison Budget

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Staffing, Guards/Staff, Guard Unions

Michigan Changes Overtime Rules; $4 Million Savings on Prison Budget by In order to cut operating costs, Michigan has changed the way state employees can receive overtime. Statewide, the change is expected to save $8 million annually, with half of the savings coming from prisons. The change, which became effective …

$4.7 Million Settlement for Brain Damage Caused by Washington Jail Negligence

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Disabled Prisoners, Attorneys, Attorney Fee Awards, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

$4.7 Million Settlement for Brain Damage Caused by Washington Jail Negligence by Washington State’s Kitsap County Jail paid $4.7 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged its failure to properly care for a developmentally disabled man left him brain damaged from dehydration. William E. Trask, 44, was born developmentally disabled. …

Glomar Response to Prisoner’s FOIA Request Insufficient

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Civil Procedure, Disclosure of Records, Freedom of Information Act

Glomar Response to Prisoner’s FOIA Request Insufficient by On February 28, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary M. Collyer denied a summary judgment motion filed by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit challenging the BOP’s refusal to confirm or deny the existence of …

Texas Parole Board’s Hearing on Imposition of Sex Offender Conditions Inadequate

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Sentencing, Parole Conditions

Texas Parole Board’s Hearing on Imposition of Sex Offender Conditions Inadequate by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On March 24, 2009, a U.S. District Court ruled that hearings held by the Texas parole board before imposing sex offender parole conditions on prisoners not convicted of sex offenses were constitutionally inadequate. …

PLN Prevails in Motion to Unseal Settlement in CCA Class Action FLSA Case

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Settlements, Disclosure of Records, Intervention, PLN Litigation, Guards/Staff, Employee Litigation

PLN Prevails in Motion to Unseal Settlement in CCA Class Action FLSA Case by On August 28, 2009, the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas unsealed a settlement agreement in a nationwide class-action lawsuit against Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the nation’s largest private prison firm. On July …

$6 Million Settlement in Beating Death of California Detainee

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints

$6 Million Settlement in Beating Death of California Detainee by California’s Kern County agreed to pay $6 million to settle a lawsuit in the beating death of a pre-trial detainee at the county’s jail. The August 15, 2005, incident involved “as many as 14 detention officers [who] … beat, hit, …

$500,000 Settlement for Fatal Beating of Phoenix Jail Prisoner

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Gang Policies, Crime/Demographics, Informants, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death)

$500,000 Settlement for Fatal Beating of Phoenix Jail Prisoner by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On June 3, 2009, the Maricopa County (Arizona) Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 to settle for $500,000 a lawsuit brought by survivors of a man beat to death in the Fourth Avenue Jail of the …

Los Angeles County Agrees to Pay $7,000,000 to Beaten Juvenile Prisoner

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Gang Policies, Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Damages

Los Angeles County Agrees to Pay $7,000,000 to Beaten Juvenile Prisoner by On March 27, 2009, Los Angeles County agreed to pay $7,000,000 to a youth that was severely beaten at the Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall (Nidorf) in Sylmar, California after the youth was pressured, but refused, to join …

Missouri DOC Permits Gift Books in Response to PLN Demand Letter

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Publications/Books, Due Process, Media, PLN Litigation

Missouri DOC Permits Gift Books in Response to PLN Demand Letter by On September 15, 2009, the Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC) agreed to revise its policy prohibiting prisoners from receiving books purchased for them by third parties or sent to them free of charge. The DOC also agreed to …

Hawaii to Remove Prisoners from CCA Facility Over Abuse Charges

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Contractor Misconduct, Guard Misconduct, Prison Rebellion

Hawaii to Remove Prisoners from CCA Facility Over Abuse Charges by Ian Urbina Hawaii prison officials said Tuesday that all of the state’s 168 female inmates at a privately run Kentucky prison will be removed by the end of September because of charges of sexual abuse by guards. Forty inmates …

Military Psychologist Implicated in Abusive Interrogations

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Medical Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Military, Military Prisons

Military Psychologist Implicated in Abusive Interrogations by David Reutter by David M. Reutter A lawsuit against the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists (LSBEP) accuses retired Army Col. Larry C. James of professional and ethical violations stemming from his former role as chief psychologist at the U.S. military prisons …