Unconfirmed NJ Parole Board Members Do Not Deny Due Process by Participation in parole decisions of temporary Parole Board members, appointed by the Governor without Senate confirmation allegedly in violation of state law, did not deny due process. At 325: "As Defendants have conceded, New Jersey prisoners have a state-created …
NJ Jail Held in Contempt by A federal district court in New Jersey held that the Essex county jail was in contempt for not complying with orders to limit overcrowding and give prisoners outdoor exercise. Court had previously found conditions were deplorable and ordered relief. Court sanctioned jail with $1,476,800.00 …
NJ Death Row Prisoners Entitled to Court Access by A federal district court in New Jersey issued a Preliminary Injunction to provide death row prisoners in that state with access to paralegals and legal materials to ensure their right of access to the courts. This probably does not survive Lewis …
New Jersey Ad-Seg Prisoners Have No Right to Education by The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey has held that prisoners in administrative segregation (ad-seg) do not have an equal protection right to education. Henry T. Little, a prisoner at the New Jersey State Prison (NJSP), …
New Jersey Statute Barring Prisoner Lawsuits Struck Down by The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey held that a New Jersey statute (N.J.S.A. 59:5-3) barring initiation of any court action, "by or on behalf of a prisoner against a public entity or public employee until such a …
Fine Only Sentence Not Custody for Habeas Purposes by The Third Circuit Court of Appeals refused to grant a Certificate of Appealability (COA) to a habeas petitioner who was not in custody. The petitioner sought habeas relief from his state sentence of 364 days imprisonment and 4 years probation. The …
Supreme Court Defines Religious Rights in Prison by The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that two policies instituted by a New Jersey prison did not violate the First Amendment. Muslim prisoners filed a U.S.C. § 1983 suit alleging a violation of their Constitutional right of free exercise of religion. Two policies …
NJ Court Upholds Ion Scanning of Visitors by The New Jersey court of appeals upheld the use of the Ion Scan drug detection device which is used to search selected prison visitors with no reasonable suspicion they have engaged in any wrongdoing. The ruling is unusual because a pro se …
NJ Prisoner Can Sue County for Rape by Guard; $258,000 Verdict Affirmed by The New Jersey Supreme Court reinstated a claim against the Union County Jail (UCJ) brought by a male prisoner who was raped by a guard. The prisoner was "called out" of his cell and taken to a …
NJ Prisoner's Child Support Suspension Motion Inactive Until Release by The Superior Court of New Jersey reversed a trial court's order refusing to suspend a prisoner obligor's weekly $110 child support until his release and requiring arrears to accumulate. The Superior Court held any action on the obligor's motion should …
Polygraph for Accused Required After Informant Passed by The New Jersey Superior Court appellate division ordered that a prisoner accused of escape in a disciplinary hearing must be afforded a polygraph test after a confidential informant (CI) passed such a test. The finding of guilt was based solely upon the …
Soverign Immunity Bars Prisoners ADA Damage Claim by The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a prisoner is not entitled to bring a claim for damages in a suit under Title II of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). This lawsuit was brought by New Jersey prisoner Oliver …
NM Jailers Entitled to Qualified Immunity for Not Releasing Prisoner by The plaintiff obtained an order stating that he should be released from the Taos County Adult Detention Center; however, by then he was at the Bernalillo County Detention Center. Officials at the latter were entitled to qualified immunity for …
CMS Liable as State Actor For Denying HCV Care in NJ by The plaintiff complained about his medical care, reciting a long and tortured history of his treatment and non-treatment for Hepatitis A, B, and C, and rheumatoid arthritis that may or may not have been caused by it. The …
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 …
Class Claims' Mootness Determined by When Certification is Sought by At 176: if named plaintiffs' claims become moot before they move for class certification, the case must be dismissed as moot. If they become moot while the certification motion is pending, "the Court should not dismiss the action until the …
Psychologist Who Prepares Parole Report Gets Judicial Immunity from Suit by The plaintiff alleged that he was denied parole based on a report by the defendant psychologist. The parole denial was later reversed in court. A private actor who conducts a psychological evaluation of a parole candidate on the order …
Plaintiffs May Opt Out of Esmor Brutality Class Action by In litigation against the operator of a notorious private immigration facility (one certified class action and two individual actions which appear to have multiple plaintiffs), the class members were so difficult to locate that the court questions whether the case …
New Jersey Auditor: Life Skills Academy Prison Contract Improperly Monitored by Matthew Clarke by Matthew T. Clarke A report by the New Jersey State Auditor released in July 2005, finds that the $1.5 million Life Skills Academy (LSA) contract was not properly monitored by prison system officials. The problems included …
Florida's Prison Industry Practices Tightening by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Three years after its scathing report on the corporate nepotism that was lining the pockets of administrators of Florida's Prison Industries and Diversified Enterprises (PRIDE), Florida's Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accounting (OPPAGA) has issued a …
