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Contract Physician Not Acting Under Color Of State Law

Article • December 15, 2003

Filed under: Private Contractors, Immunity/Liability, Contractor Liability

Contract Physician Not Acting Under Color Of State Law by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that a part-time contract physician was not acting under color of state law for purposes of § 1983 when treating a prisoner. Plaintiff Quincy West, a North Carolina state prisoner, …

Federal Restitution Order Upheld

Article • December 15, 2003

Filed under: Money/Property, Restitution

Federal Restitution Order Upheld by In 1993, a federal district court in North Carolina ordered Lauletto, Love to pay $50,000 in restitution following her conviction for credit card fraud. Several convictions later, a federal district court in Louisiana, as a parole condition, ordered her to pay the restitution in North …

Survivors of North Carolina Jail Fire Settle for $1.94 Million

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

Filed under: Fire Hazards, Damages, Municipal Liability, Wrongful Death, Accidents

Survivors of North Carolina Jail Fire Settle for $1.94 Million by On January 9, 2003, Mitchell County (NC) Superior Court Judge Marlene Hyatt approved a settlement in which the families of the eight fatalities and the nine survivors of the May 3, 2002, Mitchell County Jail fire will split $1.94 …

North Carolina Juvenile Prisons Plagued by Physical, Sexual Abuse, and Medical Neglect

Article • August 15, 2003 • from PLN August, 2003

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Racial Discrimination, Medical, Medication, Respiratory, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Employee Litigation

North Carolina Juvenile Prisons Plagued by Physical, Sexual Abuse, and Medical Neglect by Lonnie Burton North Carolina Juvenile Prisons Plagued by Physical, Sexual Abuse, and Medical Neglect by Lonnie Burton After four separate lawsuits were filed by prisoners serving sentences at two North Carolina juvenile facilities alleging a wide range …

North Carolina DOC Supervisor Implicated in Scandal

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

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, DOC/BOP misconduct

North Carolina DOC Supervisor Implicated in Scandal by The Chief of Security for the North Carolina Department of Corrections, Charles K. Stewart, allowed his friend, Oscar "Pappy" Adkins,to bilk the state out of tens of thousands of dollars for training services, alleges an internal audit report completed in June 2002. …

North Carolina Jail Fire Kills Eight Prisoners

Article • January 15, 2003 • from PLN January, 2003

Filed under: Jail Misconduct, Fire Hazards, Wrongful Death, Accidents

North Carolina Jail Fire Kills Eight Prisoners by A fire in the Mitchell county jail at Bakersville, North Carolina killed eight prisoners on May 3rd. Joey Grindstaff, 23; Mark Thomas, 20; Edmond Banks, 46; Danny Johnson, 42; Jesse Davis, 27; Jeremiah Presnell, 20; Jason Boston, 27; and Tywain Neal, 28 …

Ill Treatment on Our Shores

Article • August 15, 2002 • from PLN August, 2002

Filed under: Discrimination, Political Prisoners, Racial Discrimination, Religious Discrimination, Cardiovascular, Failure to Protect (General), Exposure to Cold, Jail Specific, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Immigration, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Ill Treatment on Our Shores by Anne-Marie Cusac ( On October 24, 2001, Muhammed Butt died of a heart attack at the Hudson County Correctional Center in Kearny, New Jersey. Butt, a Pakistani national, was detained on September 19 by the FBI as a suspect connected with the September 11 …

Deputy Causing Loss of Fingertip States Federal and State Claims

Article • July 15, 2002 • from PLN July, 2002

Filed under: Medication, Amputations, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Civil Procedure, Damages, State Law Claims, Venue, Eleventh Amendment Immunity, Municipal Liability

Deputy Causing Loss of Fingertip States Federal and State Claims by by Matthew T. Clarke A federal district court in North Carolina has ruled that a prisoner who lost his fingertip when a deputy slammed a cell door window cover on his finger has stated a proper claim under state …

Tide Turns Against Prison Privatization

Article • February 15, 2001 • from PLN February, 2001

Filed under: Private Prisons, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Financing, Cornell Corrections, Contractor Misconduct, State Legislation

Tide Turns Against Prison Privatization by North Carolina, Georgia, Utah and Louisiana are among states that experimented with private prisons and because of problems encountered have eliminated them altogether or scaled back plans for future privatization. North Carolina officials converted both of the state's private prisons to public operation, and …

FTCA Claims May Be Brought Only Against U.S.

Article • November 15, 2000 • from PLN November, 2000

Filed under: Medication, Blood, Venue, Federal Statutory Law, Federal Tort Claims Act, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

FTCA Claims May Be Brought Only Against U.S. by A federal district court in North Carolina held that Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) claims could be brought against the United States, but not against the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), a correctional institution, or the institution's medical staff. The court …

No Liberty Interest in Erroneous Parole Release

Article • March 15, 2000 • from PLN March, 2000

Filed under: Liberty Interests, Sentencing, Parole, Wrongful Release

No Liberty Interest in Erroneous Parole Release by Paul Wright The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, sitting en banc, held that a North Carolina prisoner had no liberty interest in remaining free when he was erroneously paroled, lived a law abiding life, and was then reimprisoned two years …

County Jail Political Shenanigans, Corruption Revealed

Article • September 15, 1999 • from PLN September, 1999

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Retaliation against Staff, Employee Litigation

County Jail Political Shenanigans, Corruption Revealed by Seven employees of the Rockingham County (North Carolina) Sheriff's Department were fired by the sheriff the day after his 1994 re-election. The seven filed suit alleging violation of their free speech and due process rights; the sheriff had fired them for not supporting …

Liberty Interest in Erroneous Parole Release

Article • September 15, 1999 • from PLN September, 1999

Filed under: Liberty Interests, Sentencing, Parole, Habeas Corpus, Wrongful Release

Liberty Interest in Erroneous Parole Release by Ronald Young The court of-appeals for the Fourth circuit held that a parolee's interest in his continued liberty crystallized during his two years of successful parole, even though he had been released in error, requiring strict scrutiny of the State's intentional infringement of …

NC AG Opinions Reversed in Consecutive Sentence Servitude

Article • November 15, 1998 • from PLN November, 1998

Filed under: Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Attorneys General, Sentencing, Parole

NC AG Opinions Reversed in Consecutive Sentence Servitude by Roger Grubb By Roger Grubb The North Carolina Court of Appeals handed North Carolina prisoners a long sought victory in how consecutive sentences are computed by the Department of Correction for purposes of determining parole eligibility. On August 5, 1997, the …

Pepper Spray too Dangerous for DOC Training?

Article • September 15, 1997 • from PLN September, 1997

Filed under: Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Immunity/Liability, Product Liability

Pepper Spray too Dangerous for DOC Training? by In September of 1996, Paul M. Sullivan, health compliance officer for the North Carolina Department of Labor sent a letter to Mr. Franklin Freeman of the North Carolina Department of Correction (DOC). An alert reader obtained a copy of this letter and …

North Carolina Population Limit Modification Affirmed

Article • August 15, 1997 • from PLN August, 1997

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Overcrowding, Consent Decrees

North Carolina Population Limit Modification Affirmed by The court of appeals for the fourth circuit affirmed modification of a consent decree that governed conditions in North Carolina state prisons. In the February, 1995, issue of PLN we reported Small v. Hunt, 858 F. Supp. 510 (ED NC 1994) which modified …

PLRA Not Enough for Fourth Circuit

Article • June 15, 1997 • from PLN June, 1997

Filed under: Frivolous Litigation (PLRA), Civil Procedure, Injunctions, Sanctions

PLRA Not Enough for Fourth Circuit by One of the PLRA's stated purposes was to cut down on "frivolous" prisoner litigation by requiring full payment of filing fees and imposing a "three strikes" limitation on prisoners who have had more than three suits dismissed for being frivolous or not stating …

Complaint Need Not List Capacity Defendants Sued In

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

Filed under: Medical, Medication, Complaints, Eleventh Amendment Immunity, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

Complaint Need Not List Capacity Defendants Sued In by The court of appeals for the fourth circuit has held that plaintiffs suing under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 need not specifically plead in their complaint that the state officials are being sued in the individual rather than their official capacities. Instead, …

NC Prisoners Riot in Tennessee

Article • February 15, 1996 • from PLN February, 1996

Filed under: Classification, Out of State Transfers, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Prison Rebellion

NC Prisoners Riot in Tennessee by On October 28, 1995, more than 100 North Carolina prisoners at the Corrections Corporation of America owned private prison in Mason, TN rioted, demanding to be returned to North Carolina. The prisoners smashed toilets and sinks and knocked a hole in a dormitory wall. …

NC DNA Testing Statute Upheld

Article • May 15, 1995 • from PLN May, 1995

Filed under: DNA Testing/Samples, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings

NC DNA Testing Statute Upheld by Past issues of PLN have reported on the legal and political issues involved in DNA testing. Several states and the federal government have passed laws in the last five years which mandate the taking of blood from prisoners in order to compile a DNA …