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Iowa Office of Ombudsman Annual Report FY2022

Publication • 2022

Filed under: Invesitgative Findings

Iowa Office of Ombudsman Annual Report FY2022 IOWA OFFICE OF OMBUDSMAN FY2022 ANNUAL REPORT - - IOWA OFFICE OF OMBUDSMAN FY2022 ANNUAL REPORT IOWA OFFICE OF OMBUDSMAN FY2022 ANNUAL REPORT Message from the Ombudsman -– IOWA OFFICE OF OMBUDSMAN FY2022 ANNUAL REPORT – – - IOWA OFFICE OF OMBUDSMAN FY2022 …

Eighth Circuit Rules Pretrial Detainees and Prisoners Have Right to Visit Family Members

Article • May 1, 2022 • from PLN May, 2022

Filed under: Visiting, Pretrial Detention and Detainees

Eighth Circuit Rules Pretrial Detainees and Prisoners Have Right to Visit Family Members by Eighth Circuit Rules Pretrial Detainees and Prisoners Have Right to Visit Family Members In a precedential ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has held that “prisoners and pretrial detainees have a right …

Estate of Christianson v. Cerro Gordo County, IA, Order Approving Settlement, Wrongful Death, 2022

Brief • March 14, 2022

Filed under: Wrongful Death

Estate of Christianson v. Cerro Gordo County, IA, Order Approving Settlement, Wrongful Death, 2022 E-FILED ESPR031353 - 2022 MAR 14 03:33 PM CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT CERRO GORDO Page 1 of 2 IN THE IOWA DISTRICT COURT IN AND FOR CERRO GORDO COUNTY Case No.: ESPR031353 IN THE MATTER OF …

News in Brief

Article • February 1, 2022 • from PLN February, 2022

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: According to Birmingham Real-Time News, a kidnapper was recaptured after being erroneously released from jail in Jefferson County, Alabama, on December 17, 2021. The prisoner, Matthew Burke, 35, was apprehended during a traffic stop after being released from the Jefferson County Jail on Dec. 11 …

Estate of Christianson v. Cerro Gordo County, IA, Complaint, Wrongful Death, 2021

Brief • December 7, 2021

Filed under: Wrongful Death

Estate of Christianson v. Cerro Gordo County, IA, Complaint, Wrongful Death, 2021 E-FILED 2021 DEC 07 10:54 AM CERRO GORDO - CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT IN THE IOWA DISTRICT COURT FOR CERRO GORDO COUNTY SAMANTHA CHRISTIANSON BASHIR, individually and as Administrator of the Estate of RICKY ALLEN CHRISTIANSON, ZACHARIAH HALVORSON, …

Iowa County Wants to Use COVID-19 Relief Money to Build New Jail

Article • October 1, 2021 • from PLN October, 2021

Filed under: COVID-19, Cost of Prison Systems

Iowa County Wants to Use COVID-19 Relief Money to Build New Jail by Keith Sanders by Keith Sanders On June 8, officials in Woodbury County, Iowa, voted unanimously to approve the use of money from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to help fund the construction of a new $65 …

Absent Expert Medical Testimony, Deliberate Indifference Tough to Prove in Medical Cases

Article • October 1, 2021 • from PLN October, 2021

Filed under: Medical Misconduct, Expert Witnesses, Deliberate Indifference

Absent Expert Medical Testimony, Deliberate Indifference Tough to Prove in Medical Cases by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the grant of summary judgment for the defendants in a civil rights lawsuit alleging they were deliberately indifferent to a prisoner’s serious medical needs. …

Lindgren v. State of Iowa, IA, Order, Censorship of Magazines, 2021

Brief • September 30, 2021

Filed under: Tattoos, Censorship, Magazines

Lindgren v. State of Iowa, IA, Order, Censorship of Magazines, 2021 Case 4:18-cv-00404-RP-SHL Document 41 Filed 09/30/21 Page 1 of 18 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA CENTRAL DIVISION MICHAEL LINDGREN, v. Plaintiff, STATE OF IOWA and THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, Defendants. 4:18-cv-00404-RP-SHL …

Iowa Jails Lower Phone Rates But Not Far Enough

Article • July 1, 2021 • from PLN July, 2021

Filed under: Telephone Rates

Iowa Jails Lower Phone Rates But Not Far Enough by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Iowa Utilities Board ordered phone vendors that provide services to jails to lower their rates from as high as $1 per minute. The order comes after a two year review in which the …

News in Brief

Article • June 1, 2021 • from PLN June, 2021

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Australia: A February 2021 ruling by the Supreme Court in the Australian province of Victoria presented “a rare win” for a prisoner contesting prison procedures, according to a report by The Conversation. The convict, 56-year-old Craig Minogue, argued that Barwon Prison’s random drug testing and strip-searching …

Comments of Prison Policy Initiative Before the Iowa Utilities Board 03-18-2021

Brief • March 18, 2021

Filed under: Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

Comments of Prison Policy Initiative Before the Iowa Utilities Board 03-18-2021 Filed with the Iowa Utilities Board on March 18, 2021, NOI-2019-0001 STATE OF IOWA DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE BEFORE THE IOWA UTILITIES BOARD IN RE INQUIRY INTO REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS FOR ALTERNATIVE OPERATOR SERVICES COMPANIES DOCKET NO. NOI-2019-0001 IN RE RELIANCE …

Former BOP Director Norman Carlson, Who Developed Supermax Model, Dies at 86

Article • February 1, 2021 • from PLN February, 2021

Filed under: Supermax prisons

Former BOP Director Norman Carlson, Who Developed Supermax Model, Dies at 86 by Kevin Bliss by Kevin Bliss The fourth director of the federal Bureau of Prisons and the man who developed the super maximum-security prison model, Norman Carlson, died August 9, 2020, in a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. He …

Eighth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Iowa Prisoner’s ADA Claim

Article • December 1, 2020 • from PLN December, 2020

Filed under: Pension/Social Security/Disability Benefits, Dismissal

Eighth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Iowa Prisoner’s ADA Claim by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed the dismissal of an Iowa prisoner’s lawsuit alleging violations of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). Newton Correctional Facility (NCF) former prisoner Michael T. …

Prison Postcards: Official Accounts Differ from Prisoner Accounts as the Pandemic Spreads

Article • June 1, 2020 • from PLN June, 2020

Filed under: COVID-19, Conditions of Confinement

Prison Postcards: Official Accounts Differ from Prisoner Accounts as the Pandemic Spreads by Ken Silverstein by Ken Silverstein Ever since the coronavirus epidemic exploded in the United States earlier this year, government officials have reassured the public that they had things tightly under control. On February 26, before anyone in …

Comment to Iowa Utilities Board re phone regulations

Publication • September 19, 2019

Filed under: Telephone Access, Telephone Rates, HRDC Publications

Comment to Iowa Utilities Board re phone regulations Human Rights Defense Center DEDICATED TO PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS www.humanrightsdefensecenter.org www.prisonlegalnews.org September 19, 2019 Iowa Utilities Board 1375 E. Court Ave. Des Moines, IA 50319 Re: Docket No. NOI-2019-0001 To the Iowa Utilities Board: The Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC) is the …

No Error When Judge Ignored Iowa Prisoner’s Request for Substitute Appointed Counsel

Article • September 9, 2019 • from PLN September, 2019

Filed under: Appointment of Counsel

No Error When Judge Ignored Iowa Prisoner’s Request for Substitute Appointed Counsel by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke  On May 3, 2019, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a district court did not err when it failed to consider a prisoner’s request for substitute appointed counsel after the …

Iowa Prisoners Say Law Banning Publications Containing Nudity Too Broad

Article • August 6, 2019 • from PLN August, 2019

Filed under: Publications/Books, Censorship

Iowa Prisoners Say Law Banning Publications Containing Nudity Too Broad by Kevin W. Bliss by Kevin W. Bliss In February 2019, Polk County, Iowa District Court Judge Scott Rosenberg denied the state’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by prisoners at the Anamosa State Penitentiary (ASP) challenging the Iowa Department …

IA Muscatine County - Turnkey contract 2017-2021

Kickback publication • July 17, 2019

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates, Telephone Monitoring

IA Muscatine County - Turnkey contract 2017-2021 _j Muscatine County Iowa JAIL SERVICE AGREEMENT THIS AGREEMENT, by and between Muscatine County, Iowa, a political subdivision of the State of Iowa, hereinafter referred to as the "Facility" and T.W. Vending Inc, d/b/a TurnKey Corrections, hereinafter referred to as "Provider" (each a …

IA Scott County - GTL contract 2014-2019

Kickback publication • July 17, 2019

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates, Attorney Calls, Telephone Monitoring

IA Scott County - GTL contract 2014-2019 CONFIDENTIAL Global Tel*Link Corporation GLOBAL TEL*LINK CORPORATION 12021 Sunset Hills Road. Ste 100 Reston. Virginia 20190 Tel. 703-955-3915 Fax 703-435-0980 Web http://www.globaltellink.com INMATE TELEPHONE SERVICE AGREEMENT This Inmate Telephone Service Agreement ("Agreement") is made by and between Global Tel'Link Corporation, having its principal …

IA Scott County - GTL contract Amendment #2 2016

Kickback publication • July 17, 2019

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates, Telephone Monitoring

IA Scott County - GTL contract Amendment #2 2016 AMENDMENT# 2 TO INMATE TELEPHONE SERVICE AGREEMENT This Amendment # 2 ("Amendment"), takes effect as of the date signed by all the parties listed in this preamble ("Effective Date"), amends and revises that certain [nmate Telephone Service Agreement, dated March 27, …