BOP Warden Does Not Have Authority to Reduce Prisoner’s Sentence Under Rule 35(b) by Brandon Sample A federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) warden does not have authority to reward a prisoner’s cooperation with prison officials with a reduced sentence under Fed.R.Crim.P. Rule 35(b), the First Circuit held on May 23, …
First Circuit Upholds $3.1 Million FTCA Award Against FBI for Revealing Informant by On October 16, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld a $3.1 million award under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) to the family of an informant whose identity was released by an …
Waters v Town of Ayer, MA, Memo and Order, overdetention, 2009 Case 1:04-cv-10521-GAO Document 248 Filed 09/17/2009 Page 1 of 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS CIVIL ACTION NO. 04-10521-GAO BETTY ANNE WATERS, as Administratrix of the Estate of KENNETH WATERS, Plaintiff, v. TOWN OF AYER, NANCY TAYLOR-HARRIS, …
Title IX Does not Preclude § 1983 Action for Gender Discrimination by Title IX Does not Preclude § 1983 Action for Gender Discrimination The U.S. Supreme Court has held that Title IX does not preclude a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging unconstitutional gender discrimination in schools. The action stems …
Massachusetts Federal Court Dismisses DOC from Prisoner's Rape Suit; Amendment Allowed by On October 24, 2008, a Massachusetts federal court dismissed the claims against prison official defendants (defendants) by a former Massachusetts Department of Corrections (DOC) prisoner who allegedly had between 50 and 100 sexual encounters with a former guard. …
Guard-Former Prisoner Relationships not Protected Association by The First Circuit Court of Appeal has affirmed a federal district court’s order dismissing the civil rights action filed by a Massachusetts Department of Corrections (MDOC) guard who was fired for conducting a romantic relationship with a former prisoner, in violation of Department …
First Circuit Upholds BOP’s Discretion to Limit Halfway House Placement by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld the authority of the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to limit halfway house placements. In 2005, the BOP promulgated formal rules categorically limiting halfway house placement to the last …
$100,000 Settlement in Illegal Imprisonment Caused by Massachusetts’ Failure to Implement Court Order by David Reutter by David M. Reutter A former Massachusetts prisoner has received $100,000 to settle a claim of wrongful and illegal confinement. PLN previously reported on this incident, which stems from the failure of the Massachusetts …
Judge Not: Judges Benched for Personal Misconduct by by Gary Hunter & Alex Friedmann They decide hot-button topics ranging from abortion and racial discrimination to religious freedoms and contested elections. They can put you in prison or vindicate your civil rights. They can even sentence you to death. Who am …
FBI Arrests Former Prisoner Indicted for Hacking Massachusetts Jail Computer by On November 5, 2008, the FBI arrested Francis G. Janosko, 42, for hacking into a computer at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility (PCCF) while he was incarcerated at the Massachusetts jail. A previously-sealed indictment was handed down a week …
Massachusetts Prisoner Awarded $550,307 in Attorney Fees and Costs in Unsanitary Conditions Case by On December 30, 2008, a Massachusetts state court awarded a former prisoner $547,566 in attorney fees and $2,741 in costs and litigation expenses in a civil rights action in which the plaintiffs were awarded only nominal …
No Fourth Amendment Violation for Monitoring Attorney-Client Conversations by When a prisoner consents to the monitoring of calls over a jailhouse telephone, no Fourth Amendment violation exists if the government records calls made to an attorney, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit decided June 30, 2008. Scott …
Massachusetts Agrees to Improves Conditions for Protective Custody Prisoners by The Commonwealth of Massachusetts agreed to improve the living conditions of prisoners in protective custody in response to a class action suit filed in the 1970s. The agreement was finalized in June 1980. The agreement requires the Commonwealth to give …
DNA Collection from Probationers Does Not Violate Fourth Amendment by The collection of DNA from probationers does not run afoul of the Fourth Amendment, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit decided July 7, 2008. The court’s decision comes in an appeal by the government from a lower …
Ashman v. Marshall, MA, Brief Attorney Fee, Successful Conditions of Confinement Suit, 2010 Issue Presented Did the superior court abuse its discretion by awarding attorney fees to Plaintiff-Appellee Doherty after the jury found that the DefendantAppellants had caused him and ten other prisoners to live under conditions of extreme squalor …
Adams v. FBOP, MA, 1st Amended Complaint - Gender Identity Disorder (2009) Case 1:09-cv-10272-JLT Document 16 Filed 07/10/09 Page 1 of 18 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS VANESSA ADAMS, legal name Nicholas Adams Plaintiff, v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS; FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS DIRECTOR HARLEY G. LAPPIN, in …
Massachusetts DOC Settles PLN Censorship Suit by Effective May 12, 2009, the Massachusetts Dept. of Correction (MDOC) agreed to settle a First Amendment censorship lawsuit filed by PLN. PLN brought suit in U.S. District Court on April 23, 2008 following repeated efforts over a 5-year period to be added to …
$875,001 Verdict in Beating of Massachusetts Prisoner by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Finding that a guard at Massachusetts’ Suffolk County House of Correction (SCHC) had violated a prisoner’s Eighth Amendment rights and committed assault and battery, a federal jury awarded the prisoner $875,001 in damages. The 121-page complaint …
Amendment to MA Trial Ct. Policy on Restraints in Juvenile Ct. 2009 AMENDMENT TO TRIAL COURT OF THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OFFICER POLICY AND PROCEDURES MANUAL The Trial Comt of the Commonwealth Cow:t Officer Policy and Procedures Manual, Chapter 4, Courtroom Procedures, Section VI; Juvenile Court Sessions is hereby amended by …
Sexual Abuse by Prison and Jail Staff Proves Persistent, Pandemic by Gary Hunter Sexual assault, rape, indecency, deviance. These terms represent reprehensible behavior in our society. They also represent recurring themes in our nation’s prisons – not only by prisoners, but also by guards and other staff members. PLN’s August …
