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Unsupported Penile Plethysmograph Testing as Condition of Release Rises to Due Process Violation, Creates Liberty Interest

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Disciplinary Hearings, Liberty Interests, Parole, Sex Offender Treatment

Unsupported Penile Plethysmograph Testing as Condition of Release Rises to Due Process Violation, Creates Liberty Interest by The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that arbitrarily imposing a penile plethysmograph [electromechanical gauge of male sexual stimulation] testing requirement as a condition of supervised release for a sex offender violates …

Texas Allows Actual Innocence Claim in Non-Capital Habeas Actions

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Conviction, Habeas Corpus

Texas Allows Actual Innocence Claim in Non-Capital Habeas Actions by The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has held that a habeas corpus applicant may raise a free-standing claim of actual innocence in a state habeas corpus proceeding. Randolph Roy Sparks, a Texas state prisoner, filed a post-conviction petition for a …

Mere Possibility of Parole Insufficient to Prevent Texas Prisoners’ Parental Rights Termination

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Juveniles, Family Law, Fathers in Prison, Mothers in Prison

Mere Possibility of Parole Insufficient to Prevent Texas Prisoners’ Parental Rights Termination by Matthew Clarke The Texas Supreme Court held that the mere possibility of parole within the two-year imprisonment requirement of § 161.001(1)(Q), Texas Family Code, was insufficient to prevent termination of a prisoner's parental rights. William Keith M. …

Many Chinese Prisoners Retain Right to Vote

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Voting, International, Prisoners-International

Many Chinese Prisoners Retain Right to Vote by The Constitution of China guarantees every citizen the right to vote unless that right has been removed by law. In China?s 2,700-man Qingpu Prison, 723 prisoners retained the right to vote in the December 2006, election for the people?s congress of Qinpu …

Ohio Juvenile Wards Entitled to Attorneys to Pursue 1983 Actions

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, Attorney Client, Civil Procedure, Standing, Mootness

Ohio Juvenile Wards Entitled to Attorneys to Pursue 1983 Actions by by John E. Dannenberg In an important denial-of-access-to-the-courts ruling, a U.S. District Court (S.D. Ohio) held that a juvenile ward who was denied access to the courts after suffering injury from an Ohio Department of Youth Services (ODYS) guard …

On Appeal Texas Prisoner Acquitted of Damaging Jail Furnishing

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution

On Appeal Texas Prisoner Acquitted of Damaging Jail Furnishing by A Texas court of appeals acquitted a Texas jail prisoner of criminal mischief charges for allegedly damaging jail furnishings because the state failed to provide any evidence of the value of the furnishings. Jaccob Aaron Merwin, a prisoner in the …

Fifth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Mississippi Retaliation For Letters to a Newspaper Claim

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Retaliation for Media Contact, Disciplinary Hearings, Retaliatory Discipline, Complaints, Suicides, Access to Media

Fifth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Mississippi Retaliation For Letters to a Newspaper Claim by In an unpublished opinion the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court's dismissal, for failure to state a claim, of a prisoner's retaliation suit against one prison official, but upheld the dismissal of claims …

Texas Pays $250,000 for Lingering Death of Teen Prisoner

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Contractor Misconduct, ENT, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Texas Pays $250,000 for Lingering Death of Teen Prisoner by Michael Rigby In November 2006 the State of Texas paid $250,000 to settle with the family of Charles Billops, Jr., a teenager who died from an undiagnosed brain abscess caused by a sinus infection while imprisoned in 2003. The settlement …

Massachusetts Guard Accused of Throwing Feces Entitled to Workman’s Compensation

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Guards/Staff, Employee Litigation

Massachusetts Guard Accused of Throwing Feces Entitled to Workman’s Compensation by Massachusetts Guard Accused of Throwing Feces Entitled to Workman's Compensation A former Massachusetts prison guard accused of putting feces in a prisoner's cell is entitled to workman's compensation for emotional distress, the state Department of Industrial Accidents Reviewing Board …

$1.6 Million Settlements by PHS and Hillsborough County in Death of Baby Born in Florida Jail

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Prison Health Services, OB/GYN, Immunity/Liability, Municipal Liability, Contractor Liability

$1.6 Million Settlements by PHS and Hillsborough County in Death of Baby Born in Florida Jail by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Inadequate medical care by Prison Health Services (PHS) has resulted in yet another death and $1.6 million in settlements for the mother of a baby boy who …

New Jersey Supreme Court Orders DOC to Codify Prisoner Healthcare Responsibilities

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: CMS, Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Records, Hepatitis, Civil Procedure, Disclosure of Records

New Jersey Supreme Court Orders DOC to Codify Prisoner Healthcare Responsibilities by John Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The Supreme Court of New Jersey, incensed with the inhumane treatment of a state prisoner who was systematically denied Hepatitis-C treatment for four years, ordered the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) …

Eighth Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment Dismissal of Excessive Force Claims

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints

Eighth Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment Dismissal of Excessive Force Claims by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court?s grant of summary judgment to jail officials on a detainee?s excessive force claim. Patti Johnson and her sisters Laura Johnson, Stacey Hall and Karen Mitchell were all confined in …

Confidential Settlement for Alabama Prisoners Killed in Road Work Crew

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Work, Prison Labor, Workplace Injury, Work Conditions/Safety, Accidents

Confidential Settlement for Alabama Prisoners Killed in Road Work Crew by A confidential settlement has been reached in the death of one prisoner and injury to another. The prisoners, John Nicholas Shoultz and David McKee, were prisoners of the Alabama Department of Corrections. They were picking up trash in the …

New Law Bars Hawaii Prison Officials from Canceling Visits

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Out of State Transfers, Visiting, State Legislation

New Law Bars Hawaii Prison Officials from Canceling Visits by A new state law prohibits Hawaii prison officials from canceling prescheduled visits because of absenteeism or guard shortages, if the visitors have traveled from another island or the mainland. Retired prison guard Kam Tanaka, now a State Representative, sponsored the …

$100 Million In Restitution Fines Collected From California Prisoners Since 1992

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Money/Property, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Restitution

$100 Million In Restitution Fines Collected From California Prisoners Since 1992 by In an April 26, 2007 speech at the National Crime Victims? Rights Week in southern California, Governor Schwarzenegger announced that over $100 million had been collected from prisoners since 1992 in the form of court-ordered restitution fines. ?If …

Probation Condition Restricting Pets at Residence Held Overbroad

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Probation

Probation Condition Restricting Pets at Residence Held Overbroad by The California Court of Appeal, District 4, held that a probation condition requiring informing a probation officer of any pets in the probationer?s residence was invalid because it was overbroad. Reyes Quintero pled guilty to methamphetamine possession and was sentenced to …

Absence of Parole Revocation Administrative Appeal Process Entitles Prisoner to Trial Court Determination of Custody Credits

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Good Time, Parole

Absence of Parole Revocation Administrative Appeal Process Entitles Prisoner to Trial Court Determination of Custody Credits by John Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The California Court of Appeal, Sixth District, held that when a parolee both violated parole and committed a new offense, and disputed his parole revocation hearing findings …

News in Brief:

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: News, News in Brief

News in Brief: by Arizona: On September 17, 2007, Kollin Folsom, 24, and Roy Townsend, 37, Washington state prisoners imprisoned at the Corrections Corporation of America run Florence Correctional Center escaped from the prison by overpowering a guard, tying him up and using ladders to climb over fences surrounding the …

Notice of Appeal Deemed Filed When Presented to Prison Officials; Burden on State to Refute

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Appeals, Limitations, Mail Regulations, Legal Mail

Notice of Appeal Deemed Filed When Presented to Prison Officials; Burden on State to Refute by The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a prisoner's notice of appeal is considered filed on the date it is given to prison officials, and the state has the burden of proof …

Breathtaking Abuse of the Constitution - Sheriff Arpaio's assault on the First Amendment

Article • October 15, 2007

Filed under: Jail Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Retaliation, Criminal Prosecution, Attorneys General, Publications/Books, Police

Breathtaking Abuse of the Constitution - Sheriff Arpaio's assault on the First Amendment by Michael Lacey Breathtaking Abuse of the Constitution Joe Arpaio, Andy Thomas and Dennis Wilenchik hit New Times with grand jury subpoenas By Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin Published: October 18, 2007 This newspaper and its editorial …