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ADA Roundup

Article • September 15, 1998 • from PLN September, 1998

Filed under: Discrimination, Disabled Prisoners, Americans with Disabilities Act

ADA Roundup by After the U.S. Supreme Court granted review in Yeskey v. Pennsylvania DOC to decide whether the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applied to state prisoners we stopped running articles on the ADA until the supreme court resolved this important question. Below are cases that were decided before …

Failure to Remove Sutures States Claim

Article • September 15, 1997 • from PLN September, 1997

Filed under: CMS, Medical, Surgery, Hernias, Eighth Amendment

Failure to Remove Sutures States Claim by A federal district court in Maryland held that a prisoner raised a genuine issue of material fact, requiring a trial, because prison doctors did not remove wire sutures from his abdomen. Nicholas Jones, a Maryland state prisoner, underwent hernia surgery. Afterwards, suture wires …

PLRA 'Strike' Removed

Article • March 15, 1997 • from PLN March, 1997

Filed under: PLRA, Frivolous Litigation (PLRA), Frivolous Litigation

PLRA 'Strike' Removed by A federal district court in Maryland issued an order removing a PLRA "strike" against a prisoner litigant. The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) added section (g) to 28 U.S.C. § 1915. The new section states that whenever a prisoner has had three suits dismissed as frivolous …

Prison Visitor Allowed to Refuse Search

Article • August 15, 1996 • from PLN August, 1996

Filed under: Visitor Searches, Vehicle Searches, Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution

Prison Visitor Allowed to Refuse Search by The court of appeals for the state of Maryland held that prison visitors cannot be searched once they agree to turn back from a guard booth; detention of a prison visitor requires probable cause based on a reasonable, articulable suspicion that the visitor …

Maryland Lifers Denied Parole

Article • June 15, 1996 • from PLN June, 1996

Filed under: Sentencing, Parole

Maryland Lifers Denied Parole by Rocky Hines In 1993, the Maryland DOC instituted a policy which denied all lifers a security status below medium. Those lifers who were then in minimum security facilities, pre-release, and work release were checked in and transferred to maximum and medium security prisons. This was …

Parole Change Violates Ex Post Facto Clause

Article • April 15, 1996 • from PLN April, 1996

Filed under: Sentencing, Ex Post Facto, Parole

Parole Change Violates Ex Post Facto Clause by In the July, 1995, issue of PLN we reported the supreme court's ruling in Morales v. California Department of Correction, 115 S.Ct. 1597 (1995) which held that legislatively extending the time in which a prisoner can appear before a parole board does …

Fourth Circuit Rules on IFP Statute, Again

Article • April 15, 1996 • from PLN April, 1996

Filed under: Asbestos, Civil Procedure, Frivolous Litigation, Filing Fees

Fourth Circuit Rules on IFP Statute, Again by In the July, 1995, issue of PLN we reported Nasim v. Warden, Maryland House of Correction, 42 F.3d 1472 (4th Cir. 1995) in which the fourth circuit court of appeals reversed a district court's dismissal of a prisoners' § 1983 suit as …

Maryland Medical Co-Pay Policy Upheld

Article • January 15, 1996 • from PLN January, 1996

Filed under: Medical, Respiratory, Medical Expenses

Maryland Medical Co-Pay Policy Upheld by In the November, 1995, issue of PLN we discussed case law and litigation strategy on challenging state laws requiring prisoners to pay for medical services. As more states pass such laws we foresee more litigation on the issue. A federal district court in Maryland …

4th Cir. Clarifies IFP Dismissal Standard

Article • July 15, 1995 • from PLN July, 1995

Filed under: Asbestos, Civil Procedure, Frivolous Litigation, Limitations

4th Cir. Clarifies IFP Dismissal Standard by The court of appeals for the fourth circuit has limited the discretion of district courts to dismiss suits filed in forma pauperis (IFP) on grounds of frivolousness where the court believes the complaint is untimely. The court also discussed when a cause of …

Court Declines to Define "Frivolous" Suits

Article • January 15, 1994 • from PLN January, 1994

Filed under: Medical, Medication, Tuberculosis, Frivolous Litigation

Court Declines to Define "Frivolous" Suits by Anthony Brown is a Maryland state prisoner. After telling prison medical staff he had already been vaccinated, he was given another tuberculosis inoculation and broke out in a rash. Brown filed suit under §<%0> 1983 claiming that the vaccination violated his eighth amendment …

Lack of Shower/Bathroom Curtains Violate Privacy

Article • November 15, 1993 • from PLN November, 1993

Filed under: Sexual Harassment, Staff-Prisoner Harassment, Gender Discrimination -- Men, Notice of Rules, Showers, Toilets, Qualified Immunity

Lack of Shower/Bathroom Curtains Violate Privacy by Douglas Arey is a Maryland State prisoner. While at a recently built pre release center he complained that the lack of shower curtains and bathroom partitions, which allowed female guards to observe his genitals, violated his right to privacy. Prison officials took no …

The Black Political Voice

Article • September 15, 1993 • from PLN September, 1993

Filed under: Racial Discrimination, Organizing, Voting

The Black Political Voice by Gerald D Fuller by Gerald D. Fuller Maryland's disenfranchisement statute has its roots in the federal constitution. The state would have its citizens believe that Maryland's election laws which govern disenfranchisement are fair and impartial and are not discriminatory where blacks are concerned. It is …

Informal Brief Acts as Notice of Appeal

Article • July 15, 1993 • from PLN July, 1993

Filed under: Discrimination, Disabled Prisoners, Appeals

Informal Brief Acts as Notice of Appeal by William Smith is a paraplegic Maryland state prisoner. He filed suit against various prison guards, doctors and officials claiming they were deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs by denying him use of a wheelchair. Before trial the district court dismissed several …

Jailhouse Lawyers Win One

Article • May 15, 1992 • from PLN May, 1992

Filed under: Discrimination, Disabled Prisoners, Appeals

Jailhouse Lawyers Win One by On January 14th the U.S. Supreme Court issued a modest victory for jailhouse lawyers and other poor litigants, ruling that a technical problem with filing a legal appeal does not necessarily void a court from considering the case. The court, in a unanimous ruling, said …

MD Phone Rates 2009

Kickback publication

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

MD Phone Rates 2009 Collect Prepaid $0.85 $0.50 IntraLATA 1st Min Add’l Min $2.25 See Table Below See Table Below $2.25 $0..27 $0.21 InterLATA Intrastate 1st Min Add’l Min $2.85 $0.30 $0.30 $0.30 InterLATA Interstate 1st Min Add’l Min $3.00 $0.30 $0.30 $0.30 Local Commissions Summary Local Collect 48% Prepaid …

Maryland Commission Data for Years 2009-2013

Kickback publication

Filed under: Telephones

Maryland Commission Data for Years 2009-2013 ---------- Forwarded message ---------From: Shields, Gerard <gshields@dpscs.state.md.us> Date: Thu, Jan 16, 2014 at 10:27 AM Subject: RE: Follow-up re DOC phone commissions To: "Alex F." <stein919@gmail.com> Alex, Here are the numbers on the phone commission you requested: FY09 – 5,022,056 FY10 – 5,148,620 FY11 …

MD Contract with T-Netix-Securus 2012

Kickback publication

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

MD Contract with T-Netix-Securus 2012 ',:- . -~'.~. STATE OF MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT DPSCS Q0012042 WITH T-NETIX Telecommunications Services, Inc. THIS CONTRACT is made this 1sT day of January 2012 by and between and the STATE OF MARYLAND, acting through the MARYLAND DEPARTMENT …

MD Contract RFP 2012

Kickback publication

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

MD Contract RFP 2012 R E QUE ST F OR PR OPOSA L S (R F P) I NM A T E PA Y PH ONE E QUI PM E NT A ND SE R V I C E S SOLICITATION NUMBER: DPSCS Q0013001 (including Addenda #1-3) Department of Public …

2012 Maryland-GTL Inmate Phone Proposal

Kickback publication

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

2012 Maryland-GTL Inmate Phone Proposal

MD Contract with T-Netix 2009

Kickback publication

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

MD Contract with T-Netix 2009 STATE OF MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT DPSCS Q000900S WITH T-NETIX TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES INC. THIS CONTRACT (the "Contract') is made as of the 1st day of January, 2009 by and between T-NETIX TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES INC., a Corporation Sole (the "Contractor") …