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Personal Relationship with Prisoner Merits Washington Guard’s Dismissal

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct

Personal Relationship with Prisoner Merits Washington Guard’s Dismissal by The Washington State Personnel Appeals Board (PAB) has held that dismissal of a prison guard is an appropriate sanction for the guard engaging in a personal relationship with a prisoner, gave prisoners gifts, food, and cigarettes, and engaged in conversations of …

PLRA Bars Damages for Jail Strip Search Suit

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Searches, Strip Searches, Arrestee Searches, Physical Injury Rule, Damages

PLRA Bars Damages for Jail Strip Search Suit by A New Mexico federal district court applied the injury requirement of the Prison Litigation Reform Act to hold that two female pretrial detainees cannot recover damages for a Fourth Amendment claim of unreasonable strip searches. The matter proceeded to a jury …

8th Circuit Upholds Dismissal of False Imprisonment Action

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Sentencing, Wrongful Conviction, Qualified Immunity, Municipal Liability, Prosecutorial Immunity, False Arrest

8th Circuit Upholds Dismissal of False Imprisonment Action by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s grant of summary judgment to Defendants on a false imprisonment claim. On January 2, 1983, James Buckley was murdered in St. Louis, Missouri. Ellen Maria Reasonover came forward as a witness …

New Jersey Appeals Court Upholds Disabled Guard’s $236,000 Award

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Damages, Disabled Employees

New Jersey Appeals Court Upholds Disabled Guard’s $236,000 Award by On June 30, 2006, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, upheld a jury’s award of $236,000 to a former Gloucester County jail guard who claimed he was forced to retire because of an eye disability. Plaintiff Michael Raspa, …

Bruise from Push by New York Prison Guard Nets $100

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Prison Rebellion, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Bruise from Push by New York Prison Guard Nets $100 by A New York prisoner who struck his face on a doorjamb when a guard pushed him through a doorway was awarded $100. New York prisoner Andrew Harvey was on the recreation yard at Watertown Correctional Facility when a riot …

Cell Extraction of Missouri Prisoner Resulting in Facial Injuries Nets $20,000

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Cell Extraction of Missouri Prisoner Resulting in Facial Injuries Nets $20,000 by A Missouri prisoner who sustained facial injuries during a cell extraction was awarded $20,000. A five-man movement team entered Mr. Davis-El’s cell to search it. Davis-El was placed facedown on the concrete floor and a guard punched him, …

Deaf California Man Awarded $100,000 for False Arrest/Detention

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Deaf Prisoners, Police, False Arrest

Deaf California Man Awarded $100,000 for False Arrest/Detention by A deaf California man who was detained for 22 hours because of his inability to understand and communicate with police officers was awarded $100,000. In January 1988, a deaf cabinetmaker, Mr. Jeno Koth, entered a Wells Fargo Bank to cash his …

Delaware Law Bars Prisoner Access to DOC Files

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Disclosure of Records

Delaware Law Bars Prisoner Access to DOC Files by The Delaware Supreme Court held that state law prohibits prisoners from accessing their Department of Corrections (DOC) files. On September 9, 1980, three Delaware prisoners were denied access to their DOC central files. Under the Delaware Freedom of Information Act (DFIA), …

Alabama DOC Settles Witchcraft Suit for $7,500

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Religious Freedom, Religious Practices

Alabama DOC Settles Witchcraft Suit for $7,500 by An Alabama prisoner who was denied the right to exercise his religious beliefs was paid $7,500 to settle the case. Alabama prisoner Timothy Hornsby sued in state court alleging that he suffered mental anguish when prison officials denied him the right to …

No Liberty Interest in Illinois Segregation

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Liberty Interests, PLRA, Physical Injury Rule, Damages, Complaints

No Liberty Interest in Illinois Segregation by The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of an Illinois prisoner’s due process and retaliation claims, finding that his allegations “effectively plead him out of court.” Illinois prisoner Christopher Lekas “cultivated a relationship on ‘friendly terms’ with Tyone Murray, a female …

New York Prisoner Falls in Kitchen Netting $868,516

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Workplace Injury, Civil Procedure, Damages, Premises Liability

New York Prisoner Falls in Kitchen Netting $868,516 by A New York prisoner who was injured when he fell in the prison kitchen was awarded $868,516. In May 1991, 29-year-old prisoner, Mr. Lopez, slipped in liquid on the kitchen floor. He “suffered a fractured tibia, resulting in varus and rotation …

Retaliation Against Female Kentucky Prison Guard Nets $240,000

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Gender Discrimination -- Women, Retaliation, Retaliation against Staff, Employee Litigation

Retaliation Against Female Kentucky Prison Guard Nets $240,000 by A Kentucky jury awarded a female guard $240,000 for retaliation. Patricia McCullough was employed for 13 years as a guard at North Point Training Center in Boyle County, Kentucky. “Despite appropriate reviews and a clean record,” she was “passed over for …

Scuffle With Guards Earns New York Prisoner $250

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Scuffle With Guards Earns New York Prisoner $250 by A New York prisoner who was subjected to excessive force was awarded $250. Mr. McNeill, a 25-year-old New York prisoner being transferred within the prison, was tripped and kicked by guards. He suffered facial lacerations, a bloody nose, and abrasions on …

Sixth Circuit Reverses Denial of Complaint Amendment

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Medical Experiments/Exploitation, Complaints, Media, Prisoner Media, Censorship

Sixth Circuit Reverses Denial of Complaint Amendment by The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a lower court’s order denying a Tennessee prisoner leave to amend his complaint to substitute actual parties for Doe Defendants. In July 1996, Tennessee prisoner Alexander Friedmann (PLN’s Associate Editor) requested to have a notice …

Slip-Fall Injuries Net $3,250 for New York Prisoner

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Immunity/Liability, Premises Liability

Slip-Fall Injuries Net $3,250 for New York Prisoner by A New York prisoner who was injured when he slipped and fell on an electrical outlet box was awarded $3,250. Mr. Brito, a 38-year-old prisoner suffered low back pain, and developed ulcers from medication, when he slipped and fell on an …

Texas Warden Axed for Whistleblowing Awarded $300,150

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: DOC/BOP misconduct, Retaliation, Retaliation against Staff, Whistleblowing, Damages

Texas Warden Axed for Whistleblowing Awarded $300,150 by A Texas prison warden who was fired for reporting corruption was awarded $300,150. Terry Terrell was warden of the Beto I Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) in Tennessee Colony, Texas. In May 1991, he wrote the Chairman of …

Wrongful Arrest Leads to Rikers Island Rape and $206,900 Verdict

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, False Arrest

Wrongful Arrest Leads to Rikers Island Rape and $206,900 Verdict by A New York man who was wrongfully arrested, detained and raped by a prisoner was awarded $206,900. Mr. Wade, a 23-year-old cook was arrested while he was a store patron, because he fit the description of another person who …

Police Chief Only Responsible If He Knows Danger Of Jail Suicide; Jury Award Vacated

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Supervisory Liability, Mental Health, Suicides

Police Chief Only Responsible If He Knows Danger Of Jail Suicide; Jury Award Vacated by On March 10, 1989, the Appellate Court of Illinois held that a police chief could not be held responsible for a jail suicide even if the chief promulgated a policy of not giving intoxicated arrestees …

Police Only Responsible If They Know Danger Of Jail Suicide

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Mental Health, Suicides

Police Only Responsible If They Know Danger Of Jail Suicide by On July 27, 1982, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that city police officers could only be held responsible for the suicide of a jail prisoner if they knew or reasonably should have known he was suicidal. Joseph …

Washington Parolee Rapes Woman Who Wins over $200,000 in Lawsuit

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Sexual Assault by Parolees, Victims, Immunity/Liability, Parole Liability

Washington Parolee Rapes Woman Who Wins over $200,000 in Lawsuit by Martin Schandel, a paroled Washington state sex offender, raped Margaret Savage. She sued the state for negligent supervision because Schandel wasn't being tested for drug and alcohol use, and wasn't being required to participate in mental health treatment. At …