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 …
Right to Elective Abortions by The court of appeals for the Third circuit upheld a lower court injunction requiring jail officials to provide female prisoners with elective abortions upon request. The suit was filed as a class action suit against the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in New Jersey over its …
No Qualified Immunity for Failing to Protect Jail Prisoner by The court of appeals for the Third circuit held that jail officials were not entitled to qualified immunity for failing to protect a pretrial detainee from harm by other prisoners. The plaintiff was detained for traffic violations and placed in …
Summary Judgment Precluded in Beating, Qualified Immunity for Hearing Officer by A New Jersey prisoner brought § 1983 action alleging violations of his constitutional rights. Defendant prison officials and guards motioned for partial summary judgment. The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey held: 1) Summary judgment against …
Attorney Fee Award in New Jersey Jail Case by The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey held that Cape May County Jail prisoners, who won a consent decree in a jail conditions case, were the "prevailing parties" for the purpose of an attorney fee award under the …
Muslim Prisoners' Right to Jumu'ah Denied by The U.S. District Court of New Jersey held that minimum security Muslim prisoners working outside a prison perimeter did not have a compelling right to be off work on Friday afternoons to attend Jumu'ah services, a form of Muslim congregational worship. Ahmad Uthman …
Third Circuit Holds Right to Jumu'ah Services Outweighs Security Concerns by Reversing the District Court of New Jersey, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that material questions of fact precluded dismissal of prisoner-plaintiffs' claims that the New Jersey State Prison at Leesburg ("Leesburg") unfairly infringed on the constitutional …
New Jersey Prisoner Denied Right to Artificially Inseminate Wife by The Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, held that a state prisoner had no constitutionally protected right to artificially inseminate his wife. Robert G. Percy, a 45-year-old prisoner sentenced in 1985 to 30 years to life for homicide, sought …
Court Orders Minor Child Visitation in NJ Jail by A federal court in New Jersey ordered that visits by minor children be allowed for pretrial detainees at the Passaic County jail in New Jersey. The court also ordered a special master to file a report on the adequacy of visiting …
NJ Parole Class Action Settled by A U.S. District Court for New Jersey held that a group of New Jersey state prisoners, who were seeking injunctive relief from the state's Parole Board for its consistent failure to conduct timely parole hearings, warranted certification as a class action for the purpose …
New Jersey DOC Must Clarify Disciplinary Hearing Record by The Supreme Court of New Jersey remanded a prison disciplinary proceeding to the state Department of Corrections for clarification of whether a prisoner was denied the opportunity to cross-examine and confront witnesses. Gallimore McDonald, a New Jersey state prisoner, was charged …
