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Couch v. Jabe, VA, Judgment, Censorship Prisoner Library, 2010

Brief • September 1, 2010

Filed under: Law Library Access/Adequacy, Censorship

Couch v. Jabe, VA, Judgment, Censorship Prisoner Library, 2010 Case 7:09-cv-00434-jct-mfu Document 43 Filed 09/01/10 Page 1 of 21 'CLERK'S OFFlee U,S, DI8T. coURT AT ROANOKE, VA FILED SEP 0 1 2010 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA ROANOKE DIVISION WILLIAM R. COUCH, Plaintiff, …

Incomplete DNA Databases Result in Tragic Consequences

Article • August 15, 2010 • from PLN August, 2010

Filed under: DNA Testing/Samples, Crime/Demographics, Crime, Databases

Incomplete DNA Databases Result in Tragic Consequences by Justin Miller A review by the Associated Press has found that state crime lab databanks are missing thousands of DNA samples. The missing samples and backlogs in processing those that have been collected raise questions concerning serious crimes that otherwise might have …

Virginia Sheriff’s Office, PHS Settle Wrongful Death Suit for $1.6 Million

Article • July 15, 2010 • from PLN July, 2010

Filed under: Prison Health Services, Private Contractors, Civil Procedure, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

Virginia Sheriff’s Office, PHS Settle Wrongful Death Suit for $1.6 Million by Prison Health Services (PHS), a private for-profit company that provides medical care to prisoners, has agreed to pay $1.5 million to the family of a man who died at a Virginia jail, with the sheriff’s office paying another …

Dach v. City of Richmond, VA, Expert Letter, Police Taser Wrongful Death, 2010

Brief • July 5, 2010

Filed under: Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Police--Excessive Force, Excessive Force (Police)

Dach v. City of Richmond, VA, Expert Letter, Police Taser Wrongful Death, 2010 MICHAEL M. BADEN, M.D. Telephone: (212) 397-‐2732 rd 15 West 53 Street, Suite 18 New York, New York 10019 Facsimile: (212) 397-‐2754 5 July 2010 Via email: haddad.sherwin@sbcglobal.net Julie Sherwin, Esq. Haddad & Sherwin 505 Seventeenth Street …

Virginia Sheriff Sentenced to 19 Months on Corruption Charges

Article • June 15, 2010 • from PLN June, 2010

Filed under: Supervisor-Staff Harassment, Misconduct/Corruption, Police Misconduct, Prison Labor, Conspiracy

Virginia Sheriff Sentenced to 19 Months on Corruption Charges by In December 2009, the former sheriff of Page County, Virginia was sentenced to 19 months in federal prison on corruption charges. The sentence was imposed following a guilty plea to an indictment that originally included 22 counts. The story behind …

Virginia Jail Prisoner Awarded $7,500 after Being Beaten By Guards

Article • May 15, 2010 • from PLN May, 2010

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, Attorney Fees (PLRA), Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Damages

Virginia Jail Prisoner Awarded $7,500 after Being Beaten By Guards by On September 3, 2009, U.S. District Judge Richard L. Williams entered judgment in favor of a Virginia prisoner who was beaten by guards. In all, the prisoner was awarded $7,500. On September 20, 2005, there was a disturbance at …

Summary Judgment Denied in Virginia Strip Cell Suit

Article • May 15, 2010

Filed under: Gang Policies, Strip Cells, Excessive Force, Restraints, RLUIPA, Religious Diet, Religious Property

Summary Judgment Denied in Virginia Strip Cell Suit by A Virginia Federal District Court denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment in a prisoner’s lawsuit alleging use of excessive force and cruel and unusual conditions. Ray L. Holley, a prisoner at Red Onion State Prison in Virginia, on September 29, 2007, …

Virginia DOC K-9 “Training” Results in Animal Cruelty Charges

Article • April 15, 2010 • from PLN April, 2010

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Staff-Staff Assault, Guard Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution, Crime

Virginia DOC K-9 “Training” Results in Animal Cruelty Charges by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The training of a dog as a law enforcement K-9 unit requires hours of dedication and bonding between the animal and its handler. It appears that guards with the Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) …

Burnette v. Fahey, VA, Plf Opp Def Motion, Class Action Parole Denial Eligibility, 2010

Brief • March 30, 2010

Filed under: Parole Board Misconduct, Parole

Burnette v. Fahey, VA, Plf Opp Def Motion, Class Action Parole Denial Eligibility, 2010 Case 3:10-cv-00070-REP Document 10 Filed 03/30/10 Page 1 of 10 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA RICHMOND DIVISION SHARON BURNETTE, et aI., Plaintiffs, v. HELEN F. FAHEY, in her capacity …

Burnette v. Fahey, VA, Plf Memo, parole denial based on original offense, 2010

Brief • March 30, 2010

Filed under: Parole Board Misconduct, Parole

Burnette v. Fahey, VA, Plf Memo, parole denial based on original offense, 2010 Case 3: 10-cv-00070-REP Document 10 Filed 03/30/10 Page 1 of 10 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA RICHMOND DIVISION SHARON BURNETTE, et aI., Plaintiffs, v. HELEN F. FAHEY, in her capacity …

Fourth Circuit: Heck Bar Inapplicable to § 1983 False Imprisonment Suit

Article • March 15, 2010 • from PLN March, 2010

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Limitations, Wrongful Imprisonment

Fourth Circuit: Heck Bar Inapplicable to § 1983 False Imprisonment Suit by Fourth Circuit: Heck Bar Inapplicable to § 1983 False Imprisonment Suit The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has joined five other circuits in holding that a former prisoner’s § 1983 false imprisonment claim is not barred by the …

Burnette v. Fahey, VA, Complaint, Class Action Parole Denial Eligibility, 2010

Brief • March 3, 2010

Filed under: Parole Board Misconduct, Parole

Burnette v. Fahey, VA, Complaint, Class Action Parole Denial Eligibility, 2010 ~ IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA RICHMOND DIVISION SHARON BURNETTE, PAMELA K. BURROUGHS, FRANK CARTER, JR., EDWARD CONQUEST, DONALDW. HOFFMAN, MONTY KING, LARRY MACON, MARVIN MCCLAIN, BENJAMIN PERDUE, JR., HENRY STUMP and …

Shortcomings Cited at Virginia’s Civil Commitment Facility

Article • January 15, 2010 • from PLN January, 2010

Filed under: Discrimination, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Staffing, Civil Commitment

Shortcomings Cited at Virginia’s Civil Commitment Facility by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The almost two-year-old, $62-million maximum-security Virginia Center for Behavioral Rehabilitation (VCBR) is still having start-up problems. Located in rural Nottoway County on 28 acres and opened in February 2008, VCBR is unable to retain staff and offers …

Fourth Circuit Remands Gift Publication Challenge

Article • January 15, 2010

Filed under: Publications/Books, Mail Regulations, Media, Censorship

Fourth Circuit Remands Gift Publication Challenge by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has reversed a grant of summary judgment in a lawsuit challenging a gift publication ban at a Virginia prison. The district court had granted summary judgment for prison officials on the prisoner’s challenge to …

Abu Ghraib Abuses Not Covered by Insurance Policy

Article • December 15, 2009

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Food, Clothing, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Dogs, Prisoners-International, Terrorism, Contractor Liability, Military Prisons

Abu Ghraib Abuses Not Covered by Insurance Policy by The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a Virginia federal district court’s order that held an insurance policy obtained by a company who was sued for detainee torture in Iraq has no duty to defend the company because the events …

PLN Sues Virginia DOC Over Censorship, Due Process Violations

Article • November 15, 2009 • from PLN November, 2009

Filed under: Publications/Books, Mail Regulations, Due Process, Media, PLN Litigation, Censorship

PLN Sues Virginia DOC Over Censorship, Due Process Violations by On October 8, 2009, Prison Legal News filed suit in U.S. District Court against Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) Director Gene M. Johnson and other prison officials, claiming that the VDOC had violated PLN’s rights under the First and Fourteenth …

Fourth Circuit Upholds Prisoner Exclusion in Virginia FOIA

Article • August 15, 2009 • from PLN August, 2009

Filed under: Medical, Medical Records, Disclosure of Records

Fourth Circuit Upholds Prisoner Exclusion in Virginia FOIA by The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of excluding prisoners from the right to obtain public records under Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Va. Code Ann. §§ 2.2-3700 to 3704 (2005). Joseph M. Giarratano, a Virginia state prisoner, …

$10,000 Verdict in Sexual Assault by Virginia Guard

Article • July 15, 2009 • from PLN July, 2009

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Staff-Prisoner Assault

$10,000 Verdict in Sexual Assault by Virginia Guard by On October 20, 2008, a Virginia federal jury awarded a former Pittsylvania County Jail prisoner $10,000 in a lawsuit that claimed a guard had “sexually molested, harassed, and assaulted” her. The suit alleged that jail guard Hank Hazelwood violated Sheril Ann …

Fourth Circuit Vacates Dismissal of Challenge to Virginia's Gift Publication Ban

Article • June 15, 2009

Filed under: Summary Judgment, Appeals, Mail, Publications/Books, Mail Regulations

Fourth Circuit Vacates Dismissal of Challenge to Virginia's Gift Publication Ban by On June 27, 2008, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a district court's dismissal of a prisoner's challenge to the ban on gift publications in a Virginia prison. Robb M. Harksen, a Virginia prisoner, filed a pro …

Pro Se Muslim Prisoner Reaches Religious Rights Settlement Agreement with Virginia Prison Officials

Article • June 15, 2009 • from PLN June, 2009

Filed under: Federal Statutory Law, RLUIPA, Religious Diet, Denial of Religious Services

Pro Se Muslim Prisoner Reaches Religious Rights Settlement Agreement with Virginia Prison Officials by David Reutter Pro Se Muslim Prisoner Reaches Religious Rights Settlement Agreement with Virginia Prison Officials by David M. Reutter A pro se Virginia prisoner has entered into a settlement agreement with prison officials that provides him …