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Everything Revolves Around Overcrowding: The State of California’s Prisons by Donald Specter by Donald Specter, Director, Prison Law Office I. Introduction California has the nation’s largest and the world’s third-largest prison system.1 In two separate class action lawsuits, filed a decade apart, California prisoners sued the governor and corrections officials …
Illinois: Disabled Detainees’ Discrimination Claims May Proceed to Trial by In a lengthy and well-reasoned opinion and order, U.S. District Court Judge Elaine E. Bucklo, for the Northern District of Illinois, denied cross-motions for summary judgment in a class-action suit brought by paraplegics and partially-disabled pre-trial detainees currently and formerly …
Arkansas Prisoner Awarded $1 a Day Plus Costs for Unconstitutional Lockdown by On June 19, 2006, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas awarded $182 to a Benton County prisoner who spent 6 months in disciplinary segregation without a hearing or periodic reviews. Plaintiff Phetpinthong Senesackda claimed …
California Prison Officials Settle Deliberate Indifference Suit for $12,000 by Michael Brodheim Following mediation in July 2008, Peter Cockcroft, proceeding pro se, agreed to a $12,000 settlement of his § 1983 suit for damages alleging Eighth Amendment violations that transpired between March 2004 and January 2006, when he was a …
Exposure to Freezing Cold More than De Minimis in Texas Retaliation Case by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a district court had erred when it dismissed a prisoner’s retaliation-based civil rights suit as de minimis when the prisoner’s alleged injury was exposure to freezing cold for four-and-a-half …
Unprovoked Texas Cattle Prod Shocking More Than De Minimis Injury, Case Settles for $20,000 by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On September 5, 2007, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a guard who used a cattle prod to shock a prisoner without any provocation caused more than a …
Significant Injury Showing Not Required to Defeat Qualified Immunity in Excessive Force Case by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected a claim for qualified immunity by a Texas prison guard who used excessive force against a prisoner. Texas state prisoner Marcus Brown alleged that in 1998 …
Human Rights Watch Report Calls to Reform PLRA by David Reutter by David M. Reutter “The PLRA has had a devastating effect on the ability of incarcerated persons to protect their health and safety and vindicate other fundmanetal rights,” concludes a June 2009 report titled No Equal Justice: The Prison …
Why False Imprisonment Recoveries Should Not Be Taxable by Robert Wood by Robert W. Wood1 Claims for false imprisonment may be brought in various ways under federal or state law. An individual who has been wrongfully incarcerated may sue under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 for a violation of his constitutional …
Arizona DOC May Be Held Accountable for Not Protecting Prisoners from Asbestos by A federal magistrate judge in Arizona has recommended denying a motion for summary judgment filed by the State of Arizona in a lawsuit brought by a group of current and former prisoners. The suit was filed after …
Preserving the Rule of Law in America’s Jails and Prisons: The Case for Amending the Prison Litigation Reform Act by Margo Schlanger by Margo Schlanger and Giovanna Shay** Prisons and jails pose a significant challenge to the rule of law within American boundaries. As a nation, we are committed to …
No Damage Award for Emotional Injury Where Underlying Harm is De Minimis by The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona has granted in part and denied in part a summary judgment motion filed by the Durango Jail in a civil rights action challenging unsanitary conditions. Aaron Wittkamper sued …
Article • July 15, 2009
Denial of Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis Constitutes a “Strike” Under PLRA by A denial of leave to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) constitutes a “strike” under the Prison Litigation Reform Act’s (PLRA) IFP provisions, the Ninth Circuit held July 14, 2008. Louis O’Neal brought suit against a California …
Separate and Unequal Justice for Prisoners by David C Fathi By David C. Fathi S.Z., a resident in a juvenile detention facility, was raped and repeatedly beaten by other detainees over a period of months. Some staff encouraged the beatings and would arrange fights between detainees. But when S.Z. filed …
Article • February 15, 2009 • from PLN February, 2009
Fifth Circuit: § 1983 Nominal and Punitive Damages Allowed Absent Physical Injury by Fifth Circuit: § 1983 Nominal and Punitive Damages Allowed Absent Physical Injury For the first time in a published opinion, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has held that a prisoner pursuing a civil rights action …
§1915 "Three Strikes" Rule Precluding In Forma Pauperis Filing Not Unconstitutional by New York State pro se prisoner Wilfredo Polanco petitioned for leave to proceed in form pauperis (IFP) and for appointment of counsel to appeal the denial of IFP status in a lawsuit against the state's Department of Correctional …
Article • August 15, 2008
Grabbing Prisoner’s Buttocks Not Sexual Assault by Several civilian maintenance workers grabbed the plaintiff's buttocks briefly. This conduct did not violate the Eighth Amendment because there is no evidence that the plaintiff suffered anything more than a brief unwanted touch. The plaintiff submits no evidence except his own characterization to …
Protective Custody Injunction Available Remedy Absent Injury by The plaintiff alleged that he was in danger from a gang he had left and that, although he is currently in protective custody, he had been repeatedly placed in general population. He sought damages and an injunction against transfer to general population. …
Prosecutor Immune from Suit Where Charges Dropped on Appeal by The plaintiff was prosecuted and convicted of assault on a staff member and sentenced to an additional eight months in jail; on appeal the charges were dropped. The plaintiff sued the prosecutor and those who brought the charges. The prosecutor …
Claim Exhausted When Prison Rules in Favor of Prisoner by The plaintiff complained of improper discipline and retaliatory reclassification and transfer At 506: "The violation of a constitutionally protected right is a sufficient injury for purposes of standing." The defendants had argued that the plaintiff lacked standing because he didn't …
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