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Massachusetts Good Time Deducted From Parole Eligibility Date

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Good Time, Parole

Massachusetts Good Time Deducted From Parole Eligibility Date by The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that good conduct time for state prisoners must be deducted from their parole eligibility date (calculated as a fraction of the minimum sentence imposed by the judge) and deference was not to be given …

$277 Awarded for Costs in Washington Records Disclosure Suit

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Costs, Disclosure of Records

$277 Awarded for Costs in Washington Records Disclosure Suit by A Washington Superior Court judge, Thurston County, awarded Airway Heights Correctional Center prisoner Donald W. Miniken, $277.39 in costs in litigating a Public Disclosure Act lawsuit. In January 1998, Miniken requested the Washington Department of Corrections (WDOC) to provide him …

Municipalities and Local Officials "Persons" Under § 1983

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Damages, Immunity/Liability, Eleventh Amendment Immunity, Municipal Liability

Municipalities and Local Officials "Persons" Under § 1983 by Municipalities and Local Officials "Persons" Under § 1983 The U.S. Supreme Court held, inter alia, that both municipalities and local government officials being sued in their official capacity were "persons" for § 1983 purposes. Female employees of two New York City …

New York: Prison Failed To Follow Up Cancer Treatment, Prisoner Awarded $210,000

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Medical, Cancer, Surgery, Failure to Treat

New York: Prison Failed To Follow Up Cancer Treatment, Prisoner Awarded $210,000 by New York: Prison Failed To Follow Up Cancer Treatment, Prisoner Awarded $210,000 On July 7, 2002, a state court of claims in Syracuse, New York, awarded a prisoner $210,000 after concluding that prison medical personnel had negligently …

New York Prisoner Awarded $26,500 For Fall From Top Bunk

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Immunity/Liability, Premises Liability

New York Prisoner Awarded $26,500 For Fall From Top Bunk by On July 23, 2002, a judge awarded a New York prisoner $24,500 for injuries suffered when she fell from a top bunk she should not have been assigned to. New York state prisoner Carmen Cirino had an injured leg …

No Right To Notification Within 30 Days Of Disciplinary Appeal

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Appeals, Prompt Hearings

No Right To Notification Within 30 Days Of Disciplinary Appeal by Michael Loveland, a prisoner at the Newport Correctional Facility (NCF), appealed a disciplinary decision to the Orleans Superior Court after the superintendent, Kathleen Lanman, failed to respond to his disciplinary appeal within 30 days of the date the appeal …

Nominal Damages Upheld in Excessive Force Case

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Medical Records, Searches, Pat Searches, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Damages

Nominal Damages Upheld in Excessive Force Case by The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury award of only nominal damages in a case involving excessive force by New York State prison guards. Vincent Van Ness, a prisoner in custody of the New York Department of Correctional Services …

NV Jail Commissioners Liable For Raped Prisoner

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Supervisory Liability

NV Jail Commissioners Liable For Raped Prisoner by The U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada held that a triable issue existed when a prisoner was raped while in custody. Christopher Warner was in custody of the Washoe County Jail when he was assaulted and raped by fellow prisoners. …

Ohio Prisoners' Mail-Order Subscription Suit Held Not Frivolous

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Complaints, Publications/Books

Ohio Prisoners' Mail-Order Subscription Suit Held Not Frivolous by The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, vacating a federal district court's sua sponte dismissal, held that a suit brought by Ohio prisoners in custody of the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DORC) regarding DORC's withholding of certain mail-order magazines and …

Parkway Not Proper Place for Body Cavity Search

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Searches, Body Cavity Searches, Police Searches

Parkway Not Proper Place for Body Cavity Search by The Eastern District Court of Virginia determined that a body cavity search while on the George Washington Parkway violated the Fourth Amendment. Arrion Ford was traveling down the George Washington Parkway in his car when a police officer stopped him because …

FL Prisoner Can Seek Belated Appeal of Administrative Appeal Denial

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Appeals, Civil Procedure, Mandamus

FL Prisoner Can Seek Belated Appeal of Administrative Appeal Denial by Florida's Second District Court of Appeal held a Florida prisoner may seek belated review of an appeal of disciplinary action where denial of the appeal was signed eight days before it was mailed. The Court found the Hardee Correctional …

Former Jail Prisoner's §1983 Complaint Reversed to Add Damages

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Sanitation, Damages, Complaints, Mail Regulations

Former Jail Prisoner's §1983 Complaint Reversed to Add Damages by Former Jail Prisoner's §1983 Complaint Reversed to Add Damages The U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in a split decision partly reversed an Oklahoma federal district court's grant of summary judgment to a county sheriff, holding that the district court …

Garnishment of Prisoner's Wages not Actionable in State Court

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Restitution, Federal Statutory Law, Administrative Procedures Act (Federal)

Garnishment of Prisoner's Wages not Actionable in State Court by The Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled that state prisoners may not seek relief under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) or C.R.C.P. Rule 106 to address claims of unlawful garnishment of wages by the Department of Corrections (CDOC). Adam Jones, …

Gender is not BFOQ for Georgia Deputy Sheriff Job

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Gender Discrimination -- Women, Federal Statutory Law, Title VII

Gender is not BFOQ for Georgia Deputy Sheriff Job by The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that gender is not a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) for the job of Deputy Sheriff I at Atlanta's Fulton County Jail. After the Sheriff posted advertisements for the deputy sheriff positions, a …

Housing Death Row Prisoner in Segregation Cell Constitutional

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Row

Housing Death Row Prisoner in Segregation Cell Constitutional by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that prison officials did not violate a prisoner's rights by housing him in a segregation cell rather than a death row cell. In response to being confined in a segregation cell …

Hunger Striking GA Prisoner Has Right to Privacy to Refuse Forced Feeding.

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Organizing, Hunger Strikes

Hunger Striking GA Prisoner Has Right to Privacy to Refuse Forced Feeding. by Anthony Prevatte, a prisoner at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Center in Butts, Georgia, began a hunger strike on October 29, 1981 and on November 21 refused to allows doctors to examine him. Prevatte's hunger strike was …

Hunger Striking NY Prisoner May Be Force Fed to Prevent Suicide

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Organizing, Hunger Strikes

Hunger Striking NY Prisoner May Be Force Fed to Prevent Suicide by Attica Correctional Facility prisoner Mark David Chapman, who is serving 20 years to life for murdering John Lennon, appealed an order allowing prison officials to take all steps necessary to force-feed Chapman in order to sustain his life. …

Illinois Prisoner Awarded $34,500 For Delayed Release

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Classification, Out of State Transfers, Parole, Wrongful Imprisonment, Parole Conditions

Illinois Prisoner Awarded $34,500 For Delayed Release by On July 20, 1994, a federal district court awarded a former Illinois state prisoner $34,500 in compensatory and punitive damages for the extra time he spent in prison after being granted parole. Plaintiff Timothy Wilson claimed that on January 21, 1990, he …

Imminent Danger Exception to PLRA Three Strikes

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Medical, Gastrointestinal, Failure to Treat, Frivolous Litigation (PLRA)

Imminent Danger Exception to PLRA Three Strikes by The U.S. Northern District Court of Illinois determined that a prisoner who failed to state a claim three times in three separate federal civil actions could still proceed without prepayment of fees under the imminent danger exception to the Prison Litigation Reform …

Iowa Ban on Racist Literature Enjoined

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, Injunctions, Mail, Publications/Books, Censorship, Religious Property

Iowa Ban on Racist Literature Enjoined by The U.S. Southern District of Iowa held that a state prison could not deny racist material to prisoners. Tracy Nichols, an Iowa state prisoner, sought to receive materials from several different churches, including the Church of Jesus Christ Christian (CJCC). The CJCC promotes …