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Resisting Arrest Doesn't Bar Excessive Force Suit against Police

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Police, Excessive Force (Police)

Resisting Arrest Doesn't Bar Excessive Force Suit against Police by It is clearly established that using substantial force without any prior inquiry against an already subdued unarmed and unresisting individual violates the Fourth Amendment. The plaintiff's conviction for resisting arrest does not foreclose the possibility of a finding of excessive …

Suit Over Seizure of IRA Refund Check Dismissed

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Physical Injury Rule, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Tax Law, Federal Statutory Law, Federal Tort Claims Act, Sovereign Immunity

Suit Over Seizure of IRA Refund Check Dismissed by The plaintiff received a $617.15 refund check from the IRS, about 50% of which reflected an earned income credit, but prison officials sent the check back per an agreement to return prisoners' tax refunds to IRS for review. The plaintiff is …

Nevada Smoking Suit Dismissed

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Smoking

Nevada Smoking Suit Dismissed by Placing the non-smoking plaintiff in a cell for 42 days with a heavy smoker did not violate the Eighth Amendment, since he suffered only discomfort, irritation, and coughing, and 42 days doesn't pose an unreasonable risk to future health (based on what evidence, the court …

New Jersey Parole Suit Dismissed

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Liberty Interests, Sentencing, Parole

New Jersey Parole Suit Dismissed by At 640: There is no federal constitutional right to parole. . . . Nevertheless, the Third Circuit has held that "once a state institutes a parole system, all prisoners have a liberty interest flowing directly from the due process clause in not being denied …

Legal Mail Suit Dismissed, Administrative Exhaustion is Affirmative Defense

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Administrative Exhaustion, Legal Mail

Legal Mail Suit Dismissed, Administrative Exhaustion is Affirmative Defense by Once again, a SDNY judge applies the New York State grievance regulations to a claim that arose in the NYC jails. At 625: In the instant action, plaintiff filed at least two complaints to the IGRC in 1998. When he …

Oklahoma DOC Grievance System Passes Muster

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: PLRA, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA)

Oklahoma DOC Grievance System Passes Muster by At 1032: "We review de novo the district court's finding of failure to exhaust administrative remedies." Id.: An inmate who begins the grievance process but does not complete it is barred from pursuing a § 1983 claim under PLRA for failure to exhaust …

Jury Verdicts Explained

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Juries

Jury Verdicts Explained by Questions to the jury are not special verdicts when the jury is asked to make determinations not just of fact but of ultimate liability. They are not special interrogatories either if they address liability rather than facts. What they are, in this case, are general verdicts …

Suit Dismissed for Failing to Pay Initial Filing Fee

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: PLRA, Filing Fees (PLRA)

Suit Dismissed for Failing to Pay Initial Filing Fee by Plaintiff was assessed an initial fee, didn't pay, and now says that because he didn't pay, prison officials have no authority to take installment payments from him. Wrong. At 952: "The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) makes prisoners responsible for …

Private Medical Transport Company Not Liable for Police Actions

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Transport Companies, Medical, Drug Overdose, Ambulance Service

Private Medical Transport Company Not Liable for Police Actions by At police direction, a private corporation transported the plaintiff to a police station, where he collapsed from a medication overdose. He had taken 114 pills after arrest while the officers stood around talking. When asked about the empty bottle, he …

No Summary Judgment in Strip Search Suit While Discovery Underway

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Searches, Strip Searches

No Summary Judgment in Strip Search Suit While Discovery Underway by Plaintiffs challenged a jail policy of strip searching prisoners who returned to jail to await release, and the court denied a motion to dismiss citing a similar case from Illinois. Now the defendants move for summary judgment based on …

Class of Over Detained, Strip Searched DC Prisoners Certified

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Searches, Strip Searches, Class Certification, Wrongful Imprisonment

Class of Over Detained, Strip Searched DC Prisoners Certified by The plaintiffs alleged that they were kept past their release dates by the D.C. Department of Correction; a subclass alleged that they were subjected to strip searches upon return to jail after judicial determinations that there was no basis for …

Product Liability Suit by Prisoner Welder Dismissed

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Work Conditions/Safety, Conditions of Confinement, Toxic Fumes/Chemicals

Product Liability Suit by Prisoner Welder Dismissed by The plaintiff alleged that he was forced to weld with thoriated tungsten electrodes, which contain a radioactive substance, as part of his prison work assignment. He also smoked two packs a day for 45 years. The court performs a Daubert analysis and …

Parole Retaliation Suit Dismissed

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Parole Board Misconduct, Retaliation for Litigating, Liberty Interests, Parole, Habeas Corpus

Parole Retaliation Suit Dismissed by The plaintiff alleged that prosecutors reneged on a plea bargain by failing to submit favorable letters to the parole board and instead submitting unfavorable letters, and that the parole board retaliated against him for having filed federal court litigation. The plaintiff's claim for breach of …

No Termination of Rikers Island Conditions Injunction

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Totality of Conditions, Injunctions (PLRA), Civil Procedure, Injunctions, Special Masters

No Termination of Rikers Island Conditions Injunction by The court rules on cross-appeals from a decision on a termination motion focusing on environmental health and physical conditions issues. PLRA--Special Masters (43-49): The court monitor, the Office of Compliance Consultants (OCC), is not subject to the PLRA special master provisions because …

Grievance Must Name All Parties to Be Sued

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: CMS, Civil Procedure, Parties

Grievance Must Name All Parties to Be Sued by Here the Sixth Circuit's "exhaust per defendant" rule is turned into a heightened pleading requirement. At 943: In his fifth objection, Plaintiff argues that Defendant Correctional Medical Services was named throughout all stages of the grievance process. However, the court finds …

No Jurisdiction for Claim of Rape in Indian Jail

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Federal Tort Claims Act, Immunity/Liability, Sovereign Immunity

No Jurisdiction for Claim of Rape in Indian Jail by The plaintiff alleged that while she was in a detention center operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs she was sexually assaulted and battered by a guard. The court lacked jurisdiction over her claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress …

Disciplinary Charges Immaterial to Criminal Trial for Same Incident

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Prompt Hearings, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Ad-Seg Hearings

Disciplinary Charges Immaterial to Criminal Trial for Same Incident by The criminal defendant was placed in administrative segregation after he was discovered to have ingested 25 balloons of marijuana. Five months later, he was indicted. He alleged that he was not given a copy of his incident report or adequate …

Court Refuses to Drug Defendant for Trial

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Criminal Prosecution, Court Appearances, Mental Health, Involuntary Treatment/Drugging

Court Refuses to Drug Defendant for Trial by The criminal defendant was found incompetent to stand trial. The government did not show sufficient need to involuntarily medicate him to render him competent to stand trial. The government's report does not address whether such medication is medically appropriate; there is inadequate …

Guard's Sentence Enhanced for Beating Disabled Prisoner

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Conspiracy, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Guard's Sentence Enhanced for Beating Disabled Prisoner by The criminal defendant pled guilty to conspiracy to violate the civil rights of detainees under his supervision, conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice, and four counts of deprivation of rights under color of law. He received a sentence of 46 months …

Okay to Deprive Arrestees of Food and Water for Short Time

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Food, Water, Jail Specific

Okay to Deprive Arrestees of Food and Water for Short Time by Okay to Deprive Arrestees of Food and Water for Short Time Plaintiffs who were arrested and spent "a short time" (unspecified, but the characterization is undisputed) in a police lockup were not subjected to punishment by the failure …