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New York Appeals Court Upholds Prisoner's Disciplinary for 9-11 Comment

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation

New York Appeals Court Upholds Prisoner's Disciplinary for 9-11 Comment by On June 17, 2004, a New York court of appeals upheld disciplinary action taken against a state prisoner for a comment he allegedly made while watching TV coverage of the 9-11 attacks. Particio Linares, a New York state prisoner, …

Eighth Circuit Upholds Judgment Against CMS For Delayed Dental Care

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: CMS, Dental Care, Immunity/Liability, Contractor Liability

Eighth Circuit Upholds Judgment Against CMS For Delayed Dental Care by In an unpublished opinion filed on August 7, 2001, the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a judgment against Correctional Medical Services (CMS) for failing to provide adequate dental care to a Missouri prisoner. While imprisoned in the …

Colorado: City Pays $240,000 to Victims of Serial Rapist

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Crime, Victims, Sentencing, Wrongful Release

Colorado: City Pays $240,000 to Victims of Serial Rapist by On January 30, 2006, the city of Aurora, Colorado, announced it would pay $240,000 to four women raped by a man they claimed should have been arrested months earlier. In November 2004, Brent J. Brents admitted to molesting an 8 …

CO Prisoners Need Not Obtain Post-Conviction Relief Before Filing Malpractice Suit Against Trial Lawyers

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Attorneys, Malpractice (Attorneys)

CO Prisoners Need Not Obtain Post-Conviction Relief Before Filing Malpractice Suit Against Trial Lawyers by Geoffrey Rantz was convicted in a Colorado court of sexually assaulting two boys and sentenced to sixty-years in prison. While his case was on appeal, Rantz filed a malpractice suit against his trial lawyers. The …

Canadian Court Awards Female Prisoner $10,000 For Illegal Search

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Searches, Strip Searches, Body Cavity Searches

Canadian Court Awards Female Prisoner $10,000 For Illegal Search by In the week of January 23, 2006, the Federal Court of Canada awarded $10,000 to a female prisoner who was subjected to an illegal body cavity search at the Grand Valley women's prison. Upon returning to Grand Valley after spending …

$100,000 Settlement Recommended For County's Contract Breach

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Drug Testing, Sentencing, Probation, Contractor Liability

$100,000 Settlement Recommended For County's Contract Breach by On December 14, 2005, the Los Angeles County Claims Board recommended paying $100,000 to a drug testing firm to settle its breach of contract suit against the county. In September 1995 Los Angeles County entered a 5-year contract with PharmChem to provide …

$201,000 Settlement in Death of California Prisoner with Hepatitis C

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Medical, Hepatitis, Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

$201,000 Settlement in Death of California Prisoner with Hepatitis C by In June 2002, the California Department of Corrections (CDOC) settled for $201,000 a wrongful death suit alleging denial of appropriate medical care for hepatitis C. The lawsuit, brought by the family of Rosemary Willeby, claimed her October 1999 death …

Former PHS Employee Awarded $200,000 for Retaliation, Age Discrimination

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Prison Health Services, Misconduct/Corruption, Contractor Misconduct, Medical Misconduct, Retaliation against Staff, Whistleblowing, Employee Litigation, Age Discrimination

Former PHS Employee Awarded $200,000 for Retaliation, Age Discrimination by On August 16, 2001, a Maine jury awarded $200,000 to a registered nurse who claimed she was fired by Prison Health Services (PHS) for voicing concerns about the quality of care being provided to juvenile prisoners and because of her …

Massachusetts: City Potentially Liable For Officer's Negligence

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Escapes, Municipal Liability, Assaults on Staff

Massachusetts: City Potentially Liable For Officer's Negligence by In this case involving a university police officer who was injured by an escaped prisoner, the Superior Court of Massachusetts denied summary judgment to the City of Worcester. The Court held that a jury could find the City's officer was grossly negligent …

WA Early Release Credits No Substitute for Good Time Lost for Disciplinary Reasons

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Good Time

WA Early Release Credits No Substitute for Good Time Lost for Disciplinary Reasons by WA Early Release Credits No Substitute for Good Time Lost for Disciplinary Reasons The Washington State Court of Appeals for Division 1 has denied a prisoner's Personal Restraint Petition (PRP), claiming that the state Department of …

California: "Mailbox Rule" Extended to Civil Complaints Against Public Entity

Article • May 15, 2007

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

California: "Mailbox Rule" Extended to Civil Complaints Against Public Entity by John E Dannenberg California: "Mailbox Rule" Extended to Civil Complaints Against Public Entity By John E. Dannenberg The Third District California Court of Appeal held that the "mailbox rule" [prisoner legal mail delivered to prison authorities for mailing to …

Incarceration Term alone Insufficient to Terminate Florida Prisoner's Parental Rights

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Family, Family Law, Fathers in Prison

Incarceration Term alone Insufficient to Terminate Florida Prisoner's Parental Rights by Incarceration Term alone Insufficient to Terminate Florida Prisoner's Parental Rights The Florida Supreme Court has held that a trial court, when assessing a petition to terminate a prisoner's parental rights, must apply a forward-looking view when determining if the …

New Wrongful Death Trial Prompts $600,000 Settlement; Judge Gave Faulty Jury Instructions, Finds Excessive Force

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Shootings, Restraints, Jury Instructions, Police--Excessive Force, Police, Excessive Force (Police)

New Wrongful Death Trial Prompts $600,000 Settlement; Judge Gave Faulty Jury Instructions, Finds Excessive Force by On December 5, 1999, 29-year-old Damon Lowery's life came to a tragic end while in police custody. More than five years later, with a new trial looming, Portland, Oregon officials paid Lowery's estate $600,000 …

No Summary Judgment on NY Failure to Protect Claim

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General)

No Summary Judgment on NY Failure to Protect Claim by The New York Supreme Court upheld a lower court's denial of summary judgment to jail officials on a prisoner's failure to protect claim. On January 17, 2001, James Nelson, a member of the "Bloods" gang, and Walter Lindsay fought in …

$276,163 Award of Costs and Fees in Iowa Juvenile Detention Case

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, Juveniles, Juvenile Prisons

$276,163 Award of Costs and Fees in Iowa Juvenile Detention Case by An Iowa federal District Court, in a pre-PLRA case, awarded $276,163.09 in attorney fees and costs in an action challenging juvenile detention and jailing practices in Webster County, Iowa. The litigation's history can be found at: Hendrickson v. …

Denial of Injunction Against Federal Guard's Sexual Harassment/Retaliation Reversed

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sexual Harassment, Staff-Prisoner Harassment, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's

Denial of Injunction Against Federal Guard's Sexual Harassment/Retaliation Reversed by Denial of Injunction Against Federal Guard's Sexual Harassment/Retaliation Reversed The Fifth Circuit court of appeals has reversed the denial of a Texas federal prisoner's motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) seeking relief from sexual harassment and retaliation by a …

NE Prisoner May Intervene in Child's Name Change Proceeding

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Family, Family Law, Fathers in Prison

NE Prisoner May Intervene in Child's Name Change Proceeding by The Nebraska Supreme Court held that a Nebraska state prisoner whose parental rights were not terminated may intervene in his biological child's proceeding seeking to change the child's surname. The father was paying child support, wrote his son, talked to …

NY DOC Website Posting Not Defamatory

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Media, Internet

NY DOC Website Posting Not Defamatory by In an unpublished opinion, the court of appeals for the Second circuit upheld dismissal of a prisoner's lawsuit claiming that he was defamed when the New York Department of Correctional Services posted information stating he had been convicted of robbery on its website …

Disagreement on Medical Treatment Fails to State Constitutional Violation; Summary Judgment Granted Defendants

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Medical, Medical Records, Gastrointestinal, Failure to Treat

Disagreement on Medical Treatment Fails to State Constitutional Violation; Summary Judgment Granted Defendants by Disagreement on Medical Treatment Fails to State Constitutional Violation; Summary Judgment Granted Defendants An Illinois federal district court granted summary judgment to doctors at Joliet and Stateville Correctional Center in a 42 U.S.C §1983 action alleging …

$500 Award in Failure to Protect NY Prisoner from Assault

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Failure to Protect (General), Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

$500 Award in Failure to Protect NY Prisoner from Assault by William Blake, Jr., a prisoner at the Sullivan Correctional Facility (SCF), filed a pro se law suit against SCF, for failing to prevent another prisoner from assaulting him, in SCF's Special Housing Unit (SHU). In November 1998, a prisoner …