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Article • August 15, 2008
Holding Prisoner 57 Days Without Judicial Appearance Unconstitutional by The plaintiff turned himself in at the county jail after he learned that a warrant had been issued because he missed a court appearance concerning child support arrearages. The sheriff's office misfiled his records and kept him for 57 days despite …
Deported Plaintiff Can Be Deposed Telephonically, Dismissal Denied by The plaintiff sued under the Federal Tort Claims Act alleging that INS agents beat him up. He was subsequently deported and forbidden to return to the United States. The government moved to dismiss on the ground that he didn't show up …
Article • August 15, 2008
Forcing WV Prisoner to Wear Jail Garb At Sentencing Violates Due Process Clauses by Jeffrey Finley, a West Virginia state prisoner, was convicted of murdering his neighbor. The trial court, believing it had unfettered discretion to make him wear jail clothes at sentencing, denied his request to wear street clothing …
New York Prisoner Awarded $500 for 20 Days’ Wrongful Isolation by On June 21, 2006, a New York Court of Claims awarded $500 to a prisoner who claimed he was kept in “almost total isolation” for 20 days while housed at the Elmira Correctional Facility in order to attend two …
Article • May 15, 2008
Habeas Granted for Defendant Shackled at Trial by A criminal court determined that it would order a criminal defendant shackled during his trial, without establishing a compelling need for the shackling. At 636: "Because visible shackling during trial is so likely to cause a defendant prejudice, it is permitted only …
County Immune for Holding Federal Detainee Without Court Hearing by The plaintiff, a federal detainee held in a county jail, was detained for 12 days before being taken before a judicial officer. The Feds settled. The County could not be held liable because its actions did not cause the deprivation: …
Article • April 15, 2008 • from PLN April, 2008
$1,825,000 Settlement in Alabama Prisoner’s Death from Flesh-Eating Bacteria by $1,825,000 Settlement in Alabama Prisoner's Death from Flesh-Eating Bacteria The settlement in a prisoner's death from flesh-eating bacteria at Alabama's Mobile Metro Jail now totals $1,825,000. In September 2007, the City of Mobile agreed to pay $375,000 to settle its …
Warrantless Arrest Warrants Prompt Probable Cause Hearing, Abused Innocent Detainee Prevails by Mistakenly accused Chicago resident Joseph Lopez was arrested with probable cause after a witness identified him in a shooting that killed a 12 year old boy. After the actual murderer confessed, Lopez filed suit for constitutional violations. The …
Article • December 15, 2007
Alabama Prisoners Must Be Afforded Access To The Courts by The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals ruled a lower court abused its discretion when it dismissed a prisoner's civil action for failure to prosecute, despite pending motions moving for three alternatives for the prisoner to access the court. Alabama state …
Michigan Prisoner Boycotts Rape Trial, Still Acquitted by Facing a sexual assault trial of a fellow prisoner is a pretty serious felony, making one think they would want to be present during the trial. Feeling he could not get a fair trial, Charlie Lee Floyd, 46, boycotted that trial. Despite …
Prisoner's Failure to Appear Not Grounds for Civil Suit Dismissal by California jail prisoner Mike Hernandez filed a 42 U.S.C. §1983 suit in federal district court claiming that jail staff at the San. Luis Obispo County Jail physically assaulted him and deprived him of clothing and water. A pre-trial conference …
Article • May 15, 2007
COA Denied; Stun Belt Claim Barred by Teague v. Lane by The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a certificate of appealability (COA) from a Texas state prisoner's denial of habeas corpus relief, 28 U.S.C. § 2254, on grounds that the prisoner was not denied a fair trial and …
Court Grants New Trial to Uneducated Pro Se Litigant by A federal district court has granted a new trial to a pro se litigant, who quit school in the tenth grade and displayed during trial a lack of legal knowledge and limited skills, after the jury entered judgment for the …
Article • May 15, 2007
Trial Court Must Make Fact Findings Before Ordering Stun Belt by The application of a stun belt to a criminal defendant is governed by the same considerations and body of law as restraint devices. Such a decision "must be subjected to close judicial scrutiny to determine if there was an …
Article • May 15, 2007
Court Authorizes Use of Stun Belt on Criminal Defendant by The requirement that the criminal defendant wear a stun belt during his trial is upheld given the defendant's "rare combination of skill, ingenuity, cunning, and fearlessness" and his love of attempting to escape (extensively described), not to mention his violent …
Article • May 15, 2007
No Prejudice in 45 Uniformed Guards Presence at Murder Trial of Guard by The Florida Supreme Court has held that the presence of forty-five uniformed prison guards at a prisoner's trial for the murder of a guard was not a prejudicial influence on the jury. The Court's ruling came in …
Article • May 15, 2007
Court Orders Leg Shackled for Criminal Defendant by The court makes findings of fact memorializing its decision to require the plaintiff to be leg- shackled during his jury trial. He had a history of one escape, significant mental disability, and numerous disciplinary charges. The court relied in part on the …
Article • May 15, 2007
Prejudice Required for Courtroom Shackling Claim by The plaintiff's claim of courtroom shackling amounts only to harmless error, since only one juror saw the plaintiff in handcuffs and none saw his leg restraints. At 691: ". . . [A] jury's brief or inadvertent glimpse of a defendant in physical restraints …
Article • May 15, 2007
12 Day Delay Between Arrest, First Court Appearance Illegal by The law is clearly established that a pre-trial detainee cannot be held for 12 days before being brought before a judge or allowed to pay bail. This is another case where the plaintiff was picked up on a warrant, there …
Article • May 15, 2007
Trial In Jail Clothes Unconstitutional Only if Objection Raised by The U.S. Supreme Court held that although states are prohibited by the Fourteenth Amendment from compelling an accused person to stand trial before a jury attired in clearly identifiable jail issue clothes, an objection to the attire must be raised …
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