Eighth Circuit Reinstates $80,000 Damage Award in Rape Case by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held that an Arkansas state prisoner was entitled to damages for both the state tort of "outrage", and for a constitutional violation. The court reinstated the full $80,000 damage award against the …
ADA Applied to AR Jail by In the first ruling out of the eighth circuit on this issue, a federal district court in Arkansas held that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12132 and the Rehabilitation Act (RA), 29 U.S.C. § 794, apply to state correctional facilities. …
Eighth Circuit Issues PLRA IFP Procedures by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit has issued a ruling describing the procedures it and all district courts in that circuit will use to assess and collect filing fees from prisoners who file with In Forma Pauperis (IFP) status. The court …
Jury Verdict Affirmed in Arkansas Prisoner Attack by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit affirmed a jury verdict that found a prison guard liable for failing to protect two prisoners from attack by another prisoner. Arkansas state prisoners Lonell Newman and Hoseia Chestnut were both attacked by a …
$9,500 Award for Involuntary Psychotropic Drugging Affirmed by $9,500 Award for Involuntary Psychotropic Drugging Affirmed The court of appeals for the eighth circuit affirmed an award of $9,500 in damages to an Arkansas state prisoner who was forcibly drugged with anti-psychotic medications without due process. The court also held that …
PLRA Codifies Injunction Standards in Conditions Case by In the December, 1995, issue of PLN we reported Smith v. Arkansas DOC, 877 F. Supp. 1296 (ED AR 1995) in which the district court ordered increased staffing levels in open bay barracks prisons in Arkansas. The defendants appealed and the eighth …
Impregnated Arkansas Prisoner Wins Suit by An Arkansas state prisoner was awarded $120,000 after a jury heard her claim that she was impregnated by one guard and sexually harassed by another. The federal court jury found that Laura Berry's constitutional rights were violated by former guard Randall Reed and former …
Muslim Can't Be Punished for Refusal to Handle Pork by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held that a district court erred when it granted prison officials qualified immunity for punishing a Muslim prisoner who refused to handle pork. Roosevelt Hayes is an Arkansas state prisoner and a …
No Right to Wages Under Interstate Compact by No Right to Wages under Interstate Compact The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held that neither the Interstate Corrections Compact nor Missouri state law required that Missouri prisoners held out of state be paid for their labor. Kenneth Jennings was …
Open Prison Barracks Unsafe by In the past fifteen years of massive prison expansion many prison systems have opted to build open dormitory type prison barracks because they are substantially cheaper to build than conventional cell blocks. There are inherent shortcomings in this type of prison design. The Connecticut DOC …
Hearing No Substitute for Trial by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit has held that a district court evidentiary hearing cannot serve as a substitute for a full trial, doing so violates a prisoner's seventh amendment right to a jury trial. Harold Hobbs, an Arkansas state prisoner, was …
Unconstitutional Jail Conditions Don't Need to be Relitigated by Chris Hall was a pretrial detainee in the Little Rock, Arkansas, city jail. He filed suit under 42 U.S.A. § 1983 claiming that jail conditions had violated his constitutional rights. Arrested for shoplifting, Hall spent 40 days in the jail, confined …
Federal Courts Must Rule on State Law Claims in Beating by Michael McLaurin is an Arkansas state prisoner. A prison guard accused McLaurin of stealing cigarettes from another prisoner despite assurances from both prisoners that McLaurin was only holding the cigarettes as a favor to the owner. The guard struck …
Attorney Fee Awards Analyzed by Larry Jones is an Arkansas state prisoner. He filed suit against various state prison officials claiming deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs, use of excessive force by guards and inadequate staff supervision. The case went to trial and a jury found in favor of …
Detainees Can't Be Forced to Work by Dickie Cokeley is an Arkansas state prisoner. While confined in the Arkansas DOC his criminal conviction was reversed by a federal court. Upon reversal of his conviction Cokeley asked prison officials to place him on an unassigned work status. They refused to do …
Stun Gun Use Violates Constitution by J.B. Hickey was an Arkansas state prisoner in the Pulaski County jail awaiting transfer to the penitentiary. Jail officials ordered him to clean his cell and he refused. Jail deputies told Hickey they would shoot him with a stun gun unless he cleaned his …
Evidentiary Hearing Cannot Replace Trial in Beating Suit by Clifton Johnson is an Arkansas state prisoner. He filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that prison guards had beat, kicked and stomped him without provocation when he requested his property in the prison segregation unit. A magistrate held an …
Witnesses May Be Subpoenaed at Government Expense by Larry Williams was a prisoner in the Poinsett County, AR, jail. He filed suit challenging various conditions at the jail as being unconstitutional and that the sheriff threatened him in an attempt to prevent him from pursuing the suit. After an evidentiary …
Ad Seg as Punishment Unlawful by Ad Seg As Punishment Unlawful Greg Stevens is an HIV+ Arkansas state prisoner, he is also missing a finger. Due to his medical condition he received a medical limitations slip which prohibited him from working in the prison fields. He reported to work in …
