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Ninth Circuit: "Chilling Effect" Not Required To Establish First Amendment Violation

Article • February 15, 2005 • from PLN February, 2005

Filed under: Retaliation, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Writing Implements, Prisoner Property, Qualified Immunity

Ninth Circuit: "Chilling Effect" Not Required To Establish First Amendment Violation by Marvin Mentor Ninth Circuit: "Chilling Effect" Not Required To Establish First Amendment Violation by Marvin Mentor The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dealt with the following conundrum: does a prisoner who exhaustively fights purported violations of his …

Ohio Prisoners Not Entitled to Memory Typewriters

Article • November 15, 2004 • from PLN November, 2004

Filed under: Court Access, Writing Implements, Mandamus, Prisoner Property

Ohio Prisoners Not Entitled to Memory Typewriters by The Ohio Supreme Court, affirming an appeals court decision, held that Ohio prisoners have no right to typewriters with more than one line of memory and that prison officials were justified in confiscating a prisoner's typewriter that had a five-page memory capacity, …

Acrimonious Michigan Prisoners' Rights Suit Settled After 15 Years

Article • March 15, 2003 • from PLN October, 2004

Filed under: Clothing, Judiciary, Prisoner Legal Assistance, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Writing Implements, Photocopies, Administrative Exhaustion, Prisoner Property, Telephones, Telephone Access, Attorney Calls, Legal Mail, Attorney Visits

Acrimonious Michigan Prisoners' Rights Suit Settled After 15 Years by John E Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg A class-action lawsuit launched by Michigan state prisoners in 1988 which ultimately cost taxpayers $7.5 million in litigation costs was settled on November 4, 2003, resulting in prisoners gaining appropriate classification and psychiatric …

Guard's Intentional Destruction of Typewriter States §1983 and Texas Tort Claims

Article • August 15, 2000 • from PLN August, 2000

Filed under: Court Access, Writing Implements, Administrative Exhaustion, Prisoner Property

Guard's Intentional Destruction of Typewriter States §1983 and Texas Tort Claims by A Texas state court of appeals has held that a guard's intentional destruction of a prisoner's typewriter states a claim under 42 U.S.C. §1983 and Texas tort law. Robert Gordon, a Texas state prisoner, filed suit under 42 …

$59,177 in Damages and Fees Awarded in Georgia Braille Suit

Article • June 15, 2000 • from PLN June, 2000

Filed under: Blind Prisoners, Conditions of Confinement, Reading Materials, Attorney Fee Awards, Writing Implements, Damages, Americans with Disabilities Act

$59,177 in Damages and Fees Awarded in Georgia Braille Suit by On April 15, 1999, a federal district court in Georgia issued a directed verdict awarding a blind Georgia state prisoner $2,000 in damages. Eddy Stephens, a blind prisoner, was denied access to braile books and writing instruments. He was …

West Virginia Supreme Court Upholds Computer Ban

Article • November 15, 1999 • from PLN November, 1999

Filed under: Retaliation for Litigating, Computers, Court Access, Writing Implements, Prisoner Property

West Virginia Supreme Court Upholds Computer Ban by In the February, 1998, issue of PLN we reported that the West Virginia Department of Corrections (DOC) had prohibited its prisoners from having personal computers in their cells. In the previous decade West Virginia, New Jersey, Wyoming, Alaska and a prison in …

Alaska Computer Printer Ban Questioned

Article • April 15, 1998 • from PLN April, 1998

Filed under: Computers, Court Access, Writing Implements

Alaska Computer Printer Ban Questioned by The supreme court of Alaska held that a state superior court wrongly granted summary judgment to prison officials in a lawsuit challenging a ban on computer printers in the prisoners' cells. Geoffrey Mathis is an Alaska state prisoner. In 1993 prison officials issued a …

Beating and Strip Cell Require Trial

Article • April 15, 1997 • from PLN April, 1997

Filed under: Judicial Misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Eyeglasses, Conditions of Confinement, Ventilation, Exercise, Exposure to Cold, Clothing, Water, Strip Cells, Bedding, Hygiene Supplies, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Writing Implements, Complaints

Beating and Strip Cell Require Trial by The court of appeals for the tenth circuit held that beating a naked, handcuffed, non-resisting prisoner violates the eighth amendment; that placing a prisoner in a strip cell without blankets or heating violates the eighth amendment as well. The court also discussed when …

Litigants Must Be Given Writing Materials

Article • May 15, 1996 • from PLN May, 1996

Filed under: Court Access, Writing Implements, Estoppell, Supervisory Liability

Litigants Must Be Given Writing Materials by The court of appeals for the seventh circuit has held that prisoners must be provided with writing materials in order to ensure their right of court access. Such claims are not dependent upon a showing that the underlying claim would have succeeded, only …

Pen, Photocopies and Exercise Must Be Provided

Article • June 15, 1995 • from PLN June, 1995

Filed under: Exercise, Court Access, Writing Implements, Photocopies, Qualified Immunity

Pen, Photocopies and Exercise Must Be Provided by Prisoners held in segregation and control units have a clearly defined right to court access, which includes proper writing materials and adequate writing materials. They also have a well defined right to outdoor exercise. John Allen and Terry Smith are Hawaii state …

Shortened Pens States Claim

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Court Access, Writing Implements

Shortened Pens States Claim by Two prisoners in the segregation unit of the Waupun Correctional Institution at Waupun, Wisconsin, filed suit challenging the prison's practice of issuing segregation prisoners only the ink tube portion of a ball-point pen with which to write. Prisoners who modify the ink tube in anyway …

Idaho Cons Entitled to Pen and Paper

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Court Access, Writing Implements, Probation

Idaho Cons Entitled to Pen and Paper by This is an Idaho criminal case which addresses prisoner's right of access to the courts in the habeas context, we address only that part of the case dealing with prison conditions. In 1989 James Free was convicted and sentenced to a term …

OH Prisoners Seek Court Access

Article • March 15, 1994 • from PLN March, 1994

Filed under: Court Access, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Writing Implements

OH Prisoners Seek Court Access by Ohio prisoners have filed a class action suit alleging that the Ohio DOC has promulgated conditions which prevent the exercise of prisoners right of access to the courts. The claims include depriving prisoners in segregation and protective custody of law library access and access …

New Ruling May Impact Prison Law Library Policies

Article • July 15, 1992 • from PLN July, 1992

Filed under: Hygiene Supplies, Attorney Fee Awards, Court Access, Prisoner Legal Assistance, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Writing Implements, Photocopies, Injunctions, Legal Mail

New Ruling May Impact Prison Law Library Policies by Ed Mead By Ed Mead Arecent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit could have broad implications on policies governing the operation of inmate law libraries. The case addressed the common problems of proper training for …

Typewriters for Prisoners

Article • February 15, 1992 • from PLN February, 1992

Filed under: Resources, Court Access, Writing Implements

Typewriters for Prisoners by Typewriters For Prisoners The Typewriters for Prisoners Project (funded by a grant from Resist) has a few more typewriters to donate to prisoners. Preferences are: 1. inside groups that are involved with education or organizing; 2. prisoners who are using typewriters to help a number of …

Notary Update

Article • October 15, 1991 • from PLN October, 1991

Filed under: Court Access, Writing Implements

Notary Update by I'm writing in response to the letter from Lucasville, Ohio, about notarization. I'm copying this as I have it written down in my legal file: Prison Law Monitor, 3PLM, February 1981 - Expense of notarizing statement can be avoided. Also includes ideas that are easily seen as …