Search | Prison Legal News

Federal Death Penalty Held Unconstitutional

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty

Federal Death Penalty Held Unconstitutional by The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has held that the Federal Death Penalty Act (FDPA), 18 U.S.C. §§ 3591-3598, is unconstitutional. Alan Quinones and Diego Rodriguez were charged with drug offenses and murder under various federal statutes. The …

Prison Superintendents Not Dismissed from Female Prisoner's Sexual Assault Claim

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Civil Procedure, State Law Claims

Prison Superintendents Not Dismissed from Female Prisoner's Sexual Assault Claim by Prison Superintendents Not Dismissed From Female Prisoner's Sexual Assault Claim The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York denied a motion to dismiss the Superintendent and an Assistant Superintendent from a complaint filed by a …

Driver's License Examiner Denied Qualified Immunity in Prisoner's Sexual Assault

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Work, Prison Labor, Workplace Injury, Work Conditions/Safety, Qualified Immunity

Driver's License Examiner Denied Qualified Immunity in Prisoner's Sexual Assault by The United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma denied a former driver's license examiner summary judgment on grounds of qualified immunity in a case in which the examiner is charged with sexually assaulting a female work …

South Dakota Prisons' Conditions of Confinement Are Unconstitutional

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Totality of Conditions, Eighth Amendment, Civil Procedure, Injunctions

South Dakota Prisons' Conditions of Confinement Are Unconstitutional by The U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota, in a class action suit, found that the totality of conditions at the South Dakota State Penitentiary (SDSP) and in the Women's Correctional Facility (WCF) were so bad as to violate …

Eighth Circuit Reverses South Dakota Prison Conditions Decision on Double Celling

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Overcrowding

Eighth Circuit Reverses South Dakota Prison Conditions Decision on Double Celling by The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, reversed the U.S. District Court of South Dakota on the district court's order to end double celling at the South Dakota State Penitentiary (SDSP). Two classes of prisoners …

Permanent Injury Not Required to State Excessive Force Claim

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Permanent Injury Not Required to State Excessive Force Claim by The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated and remanded a Texas U.S. District Court's dismissal of a state prisoner's claim that prison guards used excessive force against him. Thomas Luciano was a prisoner in the Texas Department of Criminal …

Work Release Prisoners Are Employees Under Fair Labor Standards Act

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Work Release, Prison Labor, Federal Statutory Law, Fair Labor Standards Act

Work Release Prisoners Are Employees Under Fair Labor Standards Act by The United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, reversing a Louisiana U.S. District Court, held that in some situations a work release prisoner is an employee for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Kevin Watson and Raymond …

Prisoner Cannot Be Punished for Engaging in Permitted Conduct

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Notice of Rules, Notice of Charges, False Charges (Disciplinary Hearings), Ad-Seg Hearings

Prisoner Cannot Be Punished for Engaging in Permitted Conduct by The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a district court jury verdict in favor of a prison warden who punished a prisoner for engaging in conduct not prohibited by prison rules. Larry Coffman, a prisoner at Missouri …

Damages Denied, Surgery Ordered in Prisoner Medical Claim

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Medical, Surgery, Failure to Treat, Damages, Injunctions

Damages Denied, Surgery Ordered in Prisoner Medical Claim by The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a Missouri District Court's denial of damages in a prisoner's 42 U.S.C. §1983 medical claim but reversed the denial of equitable relief. Van Johnson was a prisoner at the Missouri State Penitentiary (MSP). …

Sixth Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment on Prison Rape Case

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Magistrates, Special Masters

Sixth Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment on Prison Rape Case by The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a district court's grant of summary judgment to Michigan prison officials in a suit brought by a prisoner claiming that officials were deliberately indifferent in allowing him to be raped …

Prison Mattress Manufacturer Denied PI

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Contractor Misconduct, Lanham Trademark Act

Prison Mattress Manufacturer Denied PI by The United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana has denied a preliminary injunction (PI) to a manufacturer of prison mattresses against a competitor. Derby Industries, Inc. manufactures mattresses for prisons. One of its competitors is Chestnut Ridge Foam, Inc. Chestnut Ridge …

Qualified Immunity Denial Upheld, Punishment Requires "Some Evidence"

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, False Charges (Disciplinary Hearings), Qualified Immunity

Qualified Immunity Denial Upheld, Punishment Requires "Some Evidence" by Qualified Immunity Denial Upheld, Punishment Requires "Some Evidence" The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld denial of summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds to prison officials who punished a prisoner without evidence of wrongdoing. David Engel, a prisoner at the …

Beating Damages Award Upheld, Case Remanded for Further Damages Consideration

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Retaliatory Discipline, False Charges (Disciplinary Hearings), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Damages

Beating Damages Award Upheld, Case Remanded for Further Damages Consideration by The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal district court's findings in favor of a prisoner beaten by jail guards and the court's award of damages, but remanded the case for consideration of further damages. Marty O'Shea …

Texas Sheriff's Use of Force Files Are Public Information

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorneys, Attorney Fee Awards, Attorneys General, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Disclosure of Records, Mandamus, Intervention, Excessive Force (Police)

Texas Sheriff's Use of Force Files Are Public Information by A Texas state court of appeals has held that the use of force records kept by the Harris County Sheriff's Department (the Department) are public information subject to the disclosure requirements of the Texas Public information Act (the Act), Tex.Gov't …

Sex Offender Registration Modified

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Discrimination, Sex Offender Registration

Sex Offender Registration Modified by The Michigan Department of State Police filed a motion to stay the judgment of the United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, Southern Division pending appeal to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Dept. of State Police had been enjoined from enforcing the Sexual Offender …

Nominal Damage Relief Does Not Warrant Attorney Fee Award

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Damages

Nominal Damage Relief Does Not Warrant Attorney Fee Award by The U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York held that even though a prisoner was the "prevailing party" in a civil rights action, a verdict awarding only nominal damages did not warrant an attorney fee award …

Attorney Fee Awards Determined on Case Facts

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorneys, Attorney Fee Awards

Attorney Fee Awards Determined on Case Facts by The United States Supreme Court held that the amount of an attorney fee award under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 must be determined on the facts specific for the case, that success on the various issues is a crucial factor, and that such …

Seventh Circuit Requires Notice of Summary Judgment

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Summary Judgment, Complaints

Seventh Circuit Requires Notice of Summary Judgment by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that prisoners who are not represented by counsel in federal civil rights litigation are entitled to receive notice of the consequences of failing to respond with affidavit to motions for summary judgment …

Prisoner Not Covered by Fair Labor Standards Act

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Work, Prison Labor, Fair Labor Standards Act

Prisoner Not Covered by Fair Labor Standards Act by The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that prisoners are not covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and they are not entitled to receive the minimum wage for work performed within a penal facility. …

Prisoners Have No Absolute Right to Visits

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Visiting

Prisoners Have No Absolute Right to Visits by The United State Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that a convicted prisoner has no absolute right to visitation. According to the court, family visits are a privilege that is subject to the discretion of the prison authorities, so long …