Placing Pre-Trial Detainees in Segregation Requires Due Process by The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, reversing in part the decision of a district court in Indiana, held that a pre-trial detainee cannot be placed in segregation without due process, except for management purposes. James Higgs, a pre-trial detainee in …
IFP Complaint Not Dismissible Sua Sponte for Failure to State a Claim by The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision that a complaint filed in forma pauperis is not automatically rendered frivolous because it fails to state a claim. Litigation by an Indiana prisoner alleged …
Seventh Circuit Reverses Habeas Corpus Filed on Habitual Rules Violation by The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated and remanded the dismissal of a prisoner's habeas corpus petition, 28 U.S.C. § 2254, demanding relief from the judgment of the Indiana Department of Corrections (DOC) decision that Montgomery was …
Prison Disciplinary Issues Must Be Raised in Administrative Appeal by Jon Michael Withrow The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a decision in a prison disciplinary proceeding, finding "some evidence" to support the disciplinary board's decision of guilty and that prisoner's due process claim on the board's boilerplate reason for …
No Liability for Jail Bunk Assignment Policy by The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that prison officials cannot be liable for an unfortunate random act of violence. This action was filed by a pre-trial detainee at Indiana's LaPorte County jail, alleging jail policy resulted in his being attacked by …
Limits Imposed on Court Conversion of Actions; BOP Law Enforcement Notification Implicitly Approved by Limits Imposed on Court Conversion of Actions; BOP Law Enforcement Notification Implicitly Approved The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a district court's re-characterization of a prisoner's action was improper. This action was filed …
Habeas Granted for Failing to Present Witness Testimony at Disciplinary Hearing by Habeas Granted for Failing to Present Witness Testimony at Disciplinary Hearing The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a prisoner is entitled to have live testimony presented at a prison disciplinary hearing, and prison officials' refusal …
No Brady Violation in Prison Disciplinary Hearing; Videotape Inconclusive by The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, affirming the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, denied habeas corpus relief to a state prisoner challenging a disciplinary hearing that revoked his good-time credits, where the prisoner alleged that prison officials …
Seventh Circuit: Administration of Delousing Shampoo in Indiana Jail Constitutional by Seventh Circuit: Administration of Delousing Shampoo in Indiana Jail Constitutional On September 16, 2004, the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that Indiana jail officials did not violate prisoners' constitutional rights by telling them to wash their hair …
Genuine Issues of Material Fact Preclude Summary Judgment by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that summary judgment against a prisoner's §1983 claim was precluded by genuine issues of material fact. An Indiana state prisoner who was raped by other prisoners filed a §1983 action against …
Indiana Prisoner's CAB Conviction for Tobacco Trafficking Supported by Evidence by The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in denying habeas corpus relief to an Indiana prisoner convicted of tobacco trafficking in a prison disciplinary hearing. Tim Godby, an …
$4,000 Award to IN Jail Prisoner Placed on Suicide Watch by The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana denied a motion by the Allen County, Indiana sheriff and two sheriff's deputies, defendants, for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) or a new trial. A former county jail prisoner …
Indiana Prisoner's First Amendment Religion Claim Dismissed as Frivolous by The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld dismissal as frivolous of a state prisoner's First Amendment religion claim by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. Patrick O'Banion, a prisoner at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility …
Indiana Prisoner's Tobacco Trafficking Conviction Upheld; Habeas Corpus Denied by The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, affirming the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, denied habeas corpus relief to an Indiana state prisoner convicted of trafficking in tobacco. James Hupson is a prisoner at the Miami …
Indiana's Habitual Offender Rule Questioned by Seventh Circuit by In an unpublished order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, a district court's denial of an Indiana prisoner's §2254 motion was vacated and court-appointed counsel was allowed to withdraw. Jerry Montgomery, an Indiana prisoner who had incurred …
Indiana Arrestee Strip Searches Unconstitutional by The Supreme Court of Indiana held that routine warrantless strip searches of misdemeanor arrestees, even when incident to lawful arrests, are violative of the Indiana Constitution and the Fourth Amendment. This criminal case was before the court on a motion to suppress cocaine found …
Prisoner Conviction Upheld For Constructive Possession Of Weapon In Cell by The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld Fulton County prisoner Kristopher Abney's conviction for possessing material capable of causing bodily injury and affirmed his seven-year DOC sentence. Abney was found guilty at a jury trial and he appealed the conviction …
Final Settlement Approved In Indiana Strip Search Suit by On December 4, 2002, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana granted final approval of a settlement agreement involving plaintiffs who were illegally strip-searched upon their imprisonment in the Floyd County Jail. The settlement included individual compensation, costs, …
Indiana Law Prevents Prisoners From Direct Access to Personal Medical Records by An Indiana Appellate Court has held that Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) policy that restricts a prisoner's personal access to personal medical records does not violate state law or due process. This class action suit brought by prisoner …
Indiana Publication Ban Struck Down by The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a District Court's order that found the Indiana Department of Corrections' regulations that censored literature prisoners could receive was overbroad and violated the First Amendment. Under the regulations, prison officials excluded, inter alia, Dosteovsky's The Gambler, …
