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Willful and Malicious Act Required for Minnesota fficial Immunity Precludes Summary Judgment

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Failure to Protect (General), State Law Claims, Parties, Immunity/Liability, Sovereign Immunity

Willful and Malicious Act Required for Minnesota fficial Immunity Precludes Summary Judgment by Minnesota state prisoner Brooks Fisher was assaulted during his imprisonment between 1998 and 2003. He sued the State of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Corrections plus several employees under § 1983 and the state constitution for …

Op-Ed: TYC Facilities Need Independent Oversight

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Totality of Conditions

Op-Ed: TYC Facilities Need Independent Oversight by Michele Deitch Op-Ed: TYC Facilities Need Independent Oversight? Michele Deitch?3-22-07 The scandal engulfing the Texas Youth Commission has thus far provoked governmental responses that involve temporary investigative measures. We have heard calls for the appointment of a conservator, a new TYC board, a …

1983 Action Deemed Successive Habeas Petition; Reversed by Supreme Court

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Habeas Corpus, Death Penalty

1983 Action Deemed Successive Habeas Petition; Reversed by Supreme Court by The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action, alleging that death by lethal injection causes pain and unnecessary suffering that constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, is the "functional equivalent" of a habeas claim. …

Bail Enhancement Not Excessive When Fulfilling Particular Purpose; Hearing Must Be Held

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, Civil Procedure, Costs, Bail, Municipal Liability

Bail Enhancement Not Excessive When Fulfilling Particular Purpose; Hearing Must Be Held by California attorney Jeffrey Galen's 2001 release from jail after being arrested for domestic violence surprised authorities, as he made an enhanced bail of $1 million. His fiancee dropped the charges when he was released. In 2002 Galen …

Chinese Citizen's Misdemeanor Assault Does Not Justify Removal Under Crime of Violence; Entitled to Fees Under EAJA

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, International, Immigration

Chinese Citizen's Misdemeanor Assault Does Not Justify Removal Under Crime of Violence; Entitled to Fees Under EAJA by China native and permanent U.S. resident Hua Fang's misdemeanor assault in Montana led a U.S. Immigration Judge (IJ) to order his deportation. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirmed the order without …

NY Sex Offender's Risk Level Three Classification Affirmed

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Discrimination, Sex Offenders (Discrimination)

NY Sex Offender's Risk Level Three Classification Affirmed by John Laraby, a New York state parolee, was denied a risk level reduction by a New York state trial court at a rehearing in accordance with a ruling in another case. Laraby believed that, based on his exemplary parole record, his …

Sovereign Immunity Not Waived by Federal Extradition Act

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Transportation, Costs, Federal Extradition Act, Immunity/Liability, Eleventh Amendment Immunity, Sovereign Immunity

Sovereign Immunity Not Waived by Federal Extradition Act by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that the Federal Extradition Act does not waive a state's sovereign immunity. This action was filed by St. Charles County, Missouri (County), seeking $5,421.86 from the State of Wisconsin for costs incurred for …

TN Chancery Court Must Award Reasonable, Rather Than All, Costs and Fees to Winner in Public Records Act Cases

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, Civil Procedure, Settlements, Costs, Disclosure of Records

TN Chancery Court Must Award Reasonable, Rather Than All, Costs and Fees to Winner in Public Records Act Cases by The Pollow family settled a civil rights action against police in Memphis, Tennessee after officers killed Adam Pollow while "restraining" him. The Settlement Agreement (Agreement) netted the Pollows $475,000. Contemporary …

Total Exhaustion Rule Should Apply Separately to Each Plaintiff

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Complaints, Parties, Money/Property, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Sexually Explicit Materials

Total Exhaustion Rule Should Apply Separately to Each Plaintiff by The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that when multiple prisoners join in a civil rights complaint, but only one of those prisoners has exhausted administrative remedies on all of the claims asserted, it is error to dismiss the …

$4.9 Million Settlement in Louisiana Jail Prisoner-On-Prisoner Beating

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Mental Health

$4.9 Million Settlement in Louisiana Jail Prisoner-On-Prisoner Beating by The City of Shreveport, Louisiana settled with the family of a prisoner that was severely beaten by another prisoner in the City's jail. The $4.9 million settlement is for damages incurred by Carl Edwin Janski in March 2002. Janski had several …

$4.9 Million Settlement in Louisiana Jail Prisoner-On-Prisoner Beating

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Mental Health

$4.9 Million Settlement in Louisiana Jail Prisoner-On-Prisoner Beating by The City of Shreveport, Louisiana settled with the family of a prisoner that was severely beaten by another prisoner in the City's jail. The $4.9 million settlement is for damages incurred by Carl Edwin Janski in March 2002. Janski had several …

Alabama Jail Dispatcher Awarded $250,157 for Sexual Harassment/Retaliation

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Staff-Staff Harassment, Retaliation, Retaliation against Staff

Alabama Jail Dispatcher Awarded $250,157 for Sexual Harassment/Retaliation by A female jail dispatcher who was sexually harassed and retaliated against was awarded $250,157. Melissa Hunter was a jail dispatcher for the Barbour County, Alabama, Sheriff. In 2002, her supervisor, George Parham, subjected her to sexual harassment. Beginning in November, 2002, …

Prisoner-Exclusion Clause in Virginia's Freedom-Of-Information-Act is Not Unconstitutional

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Medical Records, Hepatitis, Civil Procedure, Disclosure of Records

Prisoner-Exclusion Clause in Virginia's Freedom-Of-Information-Act is Not Unconstitutional by by John E. Dannenberg The U.S. District Court (W.D. Va.) held that the statutory exclusion of prisoners from utilizing the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (VFOIA) (Va. Code Ann. 2.2-3703(C)) was neither unconstitutional on its face nor as applied to the …

Texas: Late Affidavit of Indigence Satisfies Fee Payment Requirement; Case Dismissed on Remand

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Appeals, Limitations, Filing Fees

Texas: Late Affidavit of Indigence Satisfies Fee Payment Requirement; Case Dismissed on Remand by On May 26, 2006 the Supreme Court of Texas held that a state court of appeals erred when it dismissed a prisoner's appeal after he filed an affidavit of indigence in response to the court's instructing …

Months of Cold-Wet Conditions States Inadequate Shelter Claim

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Overcrowding, Exercise, Exposure to Cold, Bedding, Reading Materials, Shelter, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Mail, Legal Mail

Months of Cold-Wet Conditions States Inadequate Shelter Claim by The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a Michigan prisoner offered sufficient evidence to support his Eighth Amendment inadequate shelter claim. The Court's decision came in the appeal of William Spencer, who brought claims relating to his pre-trial detention …

Alabama Prisoners Must Be Afforded Access To The Courts

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Failure to Protect (General), Court Access, Court Appearances

Alabama Prisoners Must Be Afforded Access To The Courts by The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals ruled a lower court abused its discretion when it dismissed a prisoner's civil action for failure to prosecute, despite pending motions moving for three alternatives for the prisoner to access the court. Alabama state …

New York Prisoner Awarded $2,600 For Fractured Fibula, Improper Treatment

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Medical, Skeletal Injury, Injury -- Misc., Premises Liability

New York Prisoner Awarded $2,600 For Fractured Fibula, Improper Treatment by On March 28, 2001, a court of claims in Albany, New York, awarded $2,600 to a state prisoner who claimed he suffered a fractured fibula when he fell in a puddle of water leaked from a washing machine and …

Outside Spiritual Leaders Must be Allowed Access to Prisoners

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Federal Statutory Law, RLUIPA, Clergy

Outside Spiritual Leaders Must be Allowed Access to Prisoners by In 2004, prisoners at the Indiana State Penitentiary were denied Moorish Science services because spiritual leaders were suspended from entering the prison. The warden said the suspension was only temporary, but wasn?t clear about what had to be done to …

All Claims Must Be Exhausted Before Suit is Filed

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Civil Procedure, Parties

All Claims Must Be Exhausted Before Suit is Filed by Four plaintiffs filed prematurely before their grievances were decided. Some claims were exhausted by the time the district court dismissed for nonexhaustion, some were still in process. At 885: When multiple prison condition claims have been joined, as in this …

Juvenile Adjudication May Not Preclude Force Claim in Police Shooting

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Shootings, Civil Procedure, State Law Claims, Evidentiary Ruling, Excessive Force (Police)

Juvenile Adjudication May Not Preclude Force Claim in Police Shooting by The plaintiff was convicted of reckless endangerment for an incident in which he was accused of driving a vehicle at a police officer, who shot him. He conceded that that determination would ordinarily preclude a finding of excessive force …