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Booker v. City and County of Denver, CO, Rebuttal to Expert Report, Excessive Force Jail, 2012

Brief • May 10, 2012

Filed under: Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Stun Guns/Tasers, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Mental Health, Excessive Force (Police)

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Vega v. Davis, CO, Complaint, Inmate Suicide, 2012

Brief • May 1, 2012

Filed under: DOC/BOP misconduct, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Deliberate Indifference

Vega v. Davis, CO, Complaint, Inmate Suicide, 2012 Case 1:12-cv-01144-RPM Document 1 Filed 05/01/12 USDC Colorado Page 1 of 12 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO Civil Action No. RAYMOND VEGA, on behalf of Jose Martin Vega, deceased, Plaintiff, vs. BLAKE R. DAVIS and certain …

Challenge to BOP’s Ban on Sexually Explicit Publications Dismissed

Article • April 15, 2012 • from PLN April, 2012

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Mootness, Sexually Explicit Materials

Challenge to BOP’s Ban on Sexually Explicit Publications Dismissed by Brandon Sample The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit dismissed an appeal challenging the Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) implementation of the Ensign Amendment, a law that prohibits the expenditure of federal funds “to distribute or make available to …

Booker v. City and County of Denver, CO, Rebuttal Report, Excessive Force, 2012

Brief • April 5, 2012

Filed under: Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Stun Guns/Tasers, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Mental Health

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Booker v. City and County of Denver, CO, Expert Report, Excessive Force Jail, 2012

Brief • April 4, 2012

Filed under: Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Stun Guns/Tasers, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Mental Health, Excessive Force (Police)

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How Victim Rights Shaped Spending, Laws and the Future of Punishment in Colorado

Article • March 15, 2012 • from PLN March, 2012

Filed under: Organizing, Lobbying, Victims, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, State Legislation

How Victim Rights Shaped Spending, Laws and the Future of Punishment in Colorado by Alan Prendergast Newly elected as a Colorado state representative, Pete Lee hit the Capitol in January 2011 fired up with big ideas. The biggest of them all was the restorative justice bill he introduced shortly after …

United States District Court Grants Summary Judgment in Internet Libel Case

Article • March 15, 2012

Filed under: Immunity/Liability, Qualified Immunity, Prosecutorial Immunity, Censorship, Internet

United States District Court Grants Summary Judgment in Internet Libel Case by The United States District Court granted a Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 suit, claiming violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. This action arose out of Thomas Mink’s publication of an internet based …

Exec with GEO Group, which Operates Immigration Detention Facilities, Intimidates Immigrant In-Law

Article • March 15, 2012 • from PLN March, 2012

Filed under: GEO Group/Wackenhut, Contractor Misconduct, International, Immigration

Exec with GEO Group, which Operates Immigration Detention Facilities, Intimidates Immigrant In-Law by Thomas M. Wierdsma is the Senior Vice President for Project Development at The GEO Group, Inc., a Boca Raton, Florida-based company that, according to its 2010 annual report, operates “a broad range of correctional and detention facilities …

Tenth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of § 1983 Complaint Which Fails to Specifically Connect Defendants to Alleged Violations

Article • March 15, 2012

Filed under: Immunity/Liability, Supervisory Liability, Municipal Liability

Tenth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of § 1983 Complaint Which Fails to Specifically Connect Defendants to Alleged Violations by Tenth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of § 1983 Complaint Which Fails to Specifically Connect Defendants to Alleged Violations In an unpublished decision, the Tenth Circuit has affirmed the dismissal without prejudice of a …

Colorado Prison Murder Prosecutions Include Coerced Witnesses, Withholding of Evidence

Article • February 15, 2012 • from PLN February, 2012

Filed under: Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Malicious Prosecution, Retaliatory Discipline, Witnesses (Disciplinary Hearings), Crime/Demographics, Prison/Jail Murders

Colorado Prison Murder Prosecutions Include Coerced Witnesses, Withholding of Evidence by In January 2011, a Powers County, Colorado jury acquitted a prisoner who was charged in the stabbing death of another prisoner. Prior to trial, prison officials were accused of using coercion to persuade prisoners to testify for the prosecution, …

Federal Appeals Court Denies Colorado Prisoner’s “Mail Box Rule” Appeal

Article • February 15, 2012

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Appeals, Limitations

Federal Appeals Court Denies Colorado Prisoner’s “Mail Box Rule” Appeal by The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a Colorado district court’s order to alter the judgment in a suit won by a Colorado prisoner. Michael N. Milligan filed suit against Brian Matthews, a prison official at the prison in …

Colorado CCA Prison Uprising: New Details of Unheeded Warnings Emerge in Epic Lawsuit

Article • February 15, 2012 • from PLN February, 2012

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Organizing, Prison Rebellion, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding, Staffing, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Colorado CCA Prison Uprising: New Details of Unheeded Warnings Emerge in Epic Lawsuit by Alan Prendergast Seven years ago prisoners at a private prison in southeastern Colorado went on an all-night rampage, chasing the shorthanded staff from the premises, attacking suspected snitches, setting fires and causing millions of dollars in …

Mother Questions Her Son’s “Natural” Death in Colorado CCA Prison

Article • February 15, 2012 • from PLN February, 2012

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Medical, Cardiovascular, Urinary, Private Contractors, Kidney, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Mother Questions Her Son’s “Natural” Death in Colorado CCA Prison by Alan Prendergast On October 28, 2010, a 26-year-old prisoner named Terrell Griswold was found slumped over and unresponsive in his cell at the Bent County Correctional Facility, a private prison in southeastern Colorado. The official cause of death was …

Prison Sexual Abuse Survivor Speaks Out

Article • December 15, 2011 • from PLN December, 2011

Filed under: Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Federal Statutory Law, Prison Rape Elimination Act

Prison Sexual Abuse Survivor Speaks Out by Alan Prendergast In January 2010, Scott Howard, a 39-year-old federal prisoner, made his way briskly into a hearing room in the Robert F. Kennedy Justice Building in Washington, D.C. He was neatly dressed in blazer, slacks and tie, and quite nervous about what …

Denver Prisoner’s Death Ruled a Homicide; Family Files Suit

Article • December 15, 2011 • from PLN December, 2011

Filed under: Excessive Force, Wrongful Death

Denver Prisoner’s Death Ruled a Homicide; Family Files Suit by Brandon Sample The Denver area coroner’s office has ruled the death of a prisoner at the Van Cise-Simonet Detention Facility (VCSDF) a homicide. Marvin L. Booker, 56, a homeless preacher, died on July 9, 2010 after a struggle with guards …

PLN Wins Partial Victory, Attorneys Fees in FOIA Video Tape Suit Against U.S. Attorneys’ Office

Article • November 15, 2011 • from PLN November, 2011

Filed under: Disclosure of Records, Freedom of Information Act, Wrongful Death, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), PLN Litigation

PLN Wins Partial Victory, Attorneys Fees in FOIA Video Tape Suit Against U.S. Attorneys’ Office by Brandon Sample by Brandon Sample and Derek Gilna In a lawsuit brought under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Prison Legal News was awarded attorneys fees by a U.S. District Court in Colorado after …

Colorado Prison Culinary Program Caters to Local Community

Article • November 15, 2011 • from PLN November, 2011

Filed under: Prisoner Privileges, Rehabilitation/Recidivism

Colorado Prison Culinary Program Caters to Local Community by Prisoners at Colorado’s Sterling Correctional Facility (SCF) are catering local events as part of a culinary training program at the prison. Their cuisine has such a fine reputation that in March 2011 students at one high school asked SCF to cater …

Boulder, Colorado Jail’s Postcard-Only Correspondence Policy Ends with Settlement

Article • November 15, 2011 • from PLN November, 2011

Filed under: Mail, Mail Regulations

Boulder, Colorado Jail’s Postcard-Only Correspondence Policy Ends with Settlement by The ACLU has settled a lawsuit on behalf of detainees at Colorado’s Boulder County Jail, ending a policy that limited prisoners’ personal correspondence to postcards. The policy went into effect in March 2010 and the ACLU filed suit five months …

Texas Prisoner’s Defamation Suit Dismissed

Article • November 15, 2011

Filed under: Media

Texas Prisoner’s Defamation Suit Dismissed by Federal Prisoner’s Defamation Suit Dismissed On June 17, 2011, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson dismissed a defamation suit filed by a federal prisoner against a Washington Post columnist. James Carpenter, a federal prisoner, sued Colbert I. King, a Washington Post columnist, after the …

Postcard-Only Mail Policy Enjoined at Colorado Jail

Article • October 15, 2011 • from PLN October, 2011

Filed under: Mail, Mail Regulations, Access to Media

Postcard-Only Mail Policy Enjoined at Colorado Jail by On December 20, 2010, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Wiley Y. Daniel issued a preliminary injunction against a postcard-only mail policy instituted at the El Paso County Jail in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The injunction resulted from a class-action lawsuit filed by a …