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 …
First Circuit Holds $177,729.96 Award for Attorney Fees and Expenses Not Excessive by On April 24, 2008, five Massachusetts jail guards were awarded more than $17,000 in compensatory damages and over $175,000 in attorney's fees and expenses to be paid by Bristol County, Massa¬chusetts Sheriff Thomas Hodgson. Hodgson had accused …
Restriction On Rated R and NC-17 Rated Movies Constitutional by On January 16, 2008, U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris upheld the Massachusetts Department of Correction’s prohibition on the showing of R and NC-17 rated movies to prisoners. Anthony Gaskins, a prisoner at MCI-cedar Junction, sued the Massachusetts DOC alleging …
Massachusetts Federal Jury Awards Ex-Police Chief $770,000 for Military Employment Discrimination by On June 18, 2008, a federal jury awarded former Winohendon, Massachusetts Police Chief Robert N. Harrington, Jr. $770,000 in a federal lawsuit that alleged the town and Town Manager James M. Kreidler, Jr. discriminated against him because he …
Prison Legal News v. MADOC, MA, Settlement Agreement, censorship, 2009 05/12/2003 PAGE LEGAL 5177277403 15:14 SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT This SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT is entered into by and bet.'een PRISON LEGAL NEWS ("PLN") and the MF.SSACHUSETTS DEP7IRTMENT OF CORRECTION (" DEPARTMENT"), on behalf of itself and HAROLD OLARKE, JAMES BENDER, JOHN ~lARSHALL, WHEREAS, …
Institutionalized Policy to Deprive Appeal of Confiscated Mail Violates Constitution by A Massachusetts federal district court denied summary judgment to prison officials who confiscated a prisoner’s mail and took actions that deprived him of his right to appeal that confiscation. The civil actions complaint was filed by MCI-Walpole prisoner Michael …
Massachusetts Suicide Prevention Procedures Found Lacking by David Reutter Massachusetts Suicide Prevention Procedures Found Lacking by David M. Reutter An independent study of suicide prevention practices within the Massachusetts Department of Corrections (MDOC) has found serious deficiencies in the care of prisoners at risk of suicide. Since 2000, there have …
