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Kansas Grievance Procedures Inapplicable in Negligence Action

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: Workplace Injury, Civil Procedure, State Law Claims, Administrative Exhaustion

Kansas Grievance Procedures Inapplicable in Negligence Action by The Kansas Court of Appeals held that a state prisoner was not required to follow prison grievance procedures to exhaust administrative remedies before filing a negligence action. The court also held that the prisoner was not required to: file his claim with …

Dismissal Sanction for Prisoner's Refusal to Be Deposed Without Court Order Reversed

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: Esmor/CSC, Food, Civil Procedure, Parties, Discovery, Sanctions, Depositions

Dismissal Sanction for Prisoner's Refusal to Be Deposed Without Court Order Reversed by Dismissal Sanction for Prisoner's Refusal to be Deposed Without Court Order Reversed The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held that considering a prisoner's refusal to be deposed absent a court order, as a factor to enter a …

Confinement for Willful Failure to Pay LFOs Upheld

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: Money/Property, Restitution

Confinement for Willful Failure to Pay LFOs Upheld by The Washington state court of appeals held that confining a criminal defendant for 60 days for failing to pay his legal financial obligations (LFOS) was proper. In 1993, John Woodward pleaded guilty to burglary and auto theft charges, for which he …

Illinois County Necessary Party in Suit Against Elected Official

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Damages, Parties, Municipal Liability

Illinois County Necessary Party in Suit Against Elected Official by Illinois County Necessary Party in Suit Against Elected Official In a case of great importance to those seeking damages in suits on jail conditions in Illinois, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held a county must satisfy any judgment or …

Texas Monitors Prisoners for-Signs of Al-Qaeda Recruitment

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: Political Prisoners, Gang Policies, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, International, Interpreters

Texas Monitors Prisoners for-Signs of Al-Qaeda Recruitment by by Matthew T. Clarke Fears of possible al-Qaeda recruitment among prisoners in U.S. prisons have led officials to take a fresh look at prisoners with a view to their possible recruitment by al-Qaeda. Texas has taken the process to an extreme, closely …

No Crueler Tyrannies: Accusation, False Witnesses, and Other Tyrannies of Our Times

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Reviews, Crime, Victims, Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

No Crueler Tyrannies: Accusation, False Witnesses, and Other Tyrannies of Our Times by Robert Woodman by Dorothy Rabinowitz. 2003. Free Press, ISBN: 0-7432-2834-0 Review by Robert Woodman "There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of law and in the name of justice." These words, …

BOP Medical Detainees Not Subject to PLRA

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: PLRA, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Civil Commitment

BOP Medical Detainees Not Subject to PLRA by In a brief per curiam opinion, the court of appeals for the Eighth circuit held that a Federal Medical Center detainee in Missouri was exempt from the administrative exhaustion provisions of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a). The …

Virginia Prison Vendors Lose Contracts to Out-of-State Supplier

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: Private Prisons, Food/Commissary (Private Prisons), Prison Labor

Virginia Prison Vendors Lose Contracts to Out-of-State Supplier by Gary Hunter Three Virginia retailers who made their money from prisoner earnings now find themselves in financial trouble. In August 2003, when the Virginia Department of Corrections (DOC) relinquished management of prison commissaries to St. Louis-based Keefe Supply Co., three Virginia …

Jailhouse Snitch Enlisted in War on Terrorism Behind Bars

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: Political Prisoners, Gang Policies, Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Informants

Jailhouse Snitch Enlisted in War on Terrorism Behind Bars by Bob Williams Scott Lee Martin couldn't help himself. After a decade locked up in a half-dozen federal prisons where snitches, rats, informantsor whatever the regional prison slang calls those who tell on othersare detested, spat upon, beaten, even killed for …

Innocent Ohio Man Paid $750,000 for 10 Years Imprisonment

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, Civil Procedure, Damages, Wrongful Conviction

Innocent Ohio Man Paid $750,000 for 10 Years Imprisonment by In 1991, Jimmy "Spunk" Williams, 32, was convicted of raping a 12 year-old girl, and sentenced to life in prison. Williams was appointed attorney Tom Watkins to represent him at a December 2001 parole hearing. Convinced of Williams' innocence, Watkins …

Tennessee Officials Pay $450,000 to Settle Lawsuit in Detainee's Murder by Guards

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Jail Misconduct, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Settlements, Disclosure of Records, Municipal Liability

Tennessee Officials Pay $450,000 to Settle Lawsuit in Detainee's Murder by Guards by David Reutter Tennessee Officials Pay $450,000 to Settle Lawsuit in Detainee's Murder by Guards by David M. Reutter Wilson County and City of Lebanon, Tennessee, jail officials agreed to pay the widow of Walter Steven Kuntz $450,000 …

Texas Probation Officer Charged With Having Juvenile Probationer's Baby

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Probation, Juveniles

Texas Probation Officer Charged With Having Juvenile Probationer's Baby by Gary Hunter Texas Probation Officer Charged With Having Juvenile Probationer's Baby by Gary Hunter Laura Hernandez, a 32 year old probation officer, was arrested October 30, 2003 when it was discovered that the father of her child was only 16 …

$252,000 Awarded in Kansas Prisoner's Suicide

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Damages, Premises Liability, Suicides

$252,000 Awarded in Kansas Prisoner's Suicide by The suicide of Scotty Ray Sisk, a prisoner at Kansas' Shawnee County Department of Corrections (KDOC) has resulted in an award of $252,000 to his parents. On July 6, 1999, Sharon Sisk called the prison and told guard Joel Manzanares that she thought …

Dismissal of Prisoner's Divorce Petition Is Abuse of Discretion

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, Civil Procedure, Service, Family Law

Dismissal of Prisoner's Divorce Petition Is Abuse of Discretion by Dismissal of Prisoner's Divorce Petition Is Abuse of Discretion A Texas state court of appeals has reversed the dismissal for want of prosecution of a Texas prisoner's divorce action. Joe Lee Buster, a Texas state prisoner, filed a suit for …

Ohio Native American Prisoner Granted Injunction to Grow Long Hair

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's, RLUIPA, Religious Freedom, Religious Grooming

Ohio Native American Prisoner Granted Injunction to Grow Long Hair by David Reutter Ohio Native American Prisoner Granted Injunction to Grow Long Hair by David M. Reutter An Ohio federal district court has granted a prisoner at Ohio's Madison Correctional Institute (MCI) a preliminary injunction that allows him to grow …

Virginia Legislature Awards Wrongfully Convicted Man $1.5 Million

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Conviction

Virginia Legislature Awards Wrongfully Convicted Man $1.5 Million by The Virginia legislature has passed a bill awarding nearly $1.5 million to a man who spent 15 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Marvin Anderson was convicted by a Virginia court in December 1982 of abduction, sodomy, …

Mandamus Available to Review Oregon Disciplinary Orders

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Mandamus, Filing Fees, Habeas Corpus, Interstate Corrections Compact

Mandamus Available to Review Oregon Disciplinary Orders by The Oregon Court of Appeals held that prison disciplinary orders may be challenged in a mandamus action. The court also held that the trial court erred in imposing previously deferred filing fees. For many years, Oregon prisoners could challenge certain prison disciplinary …

PLRA Physical Injury Rule Applied to Non-Prison Case

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: PLRA, Physical Injury Rule, Damages, Limitations, Wrongful Imprisonment

PLRA Physical Injury Rule Applied to Non-Prison Case by PLRA Physical Injury Rule Applied to Non-Prison Case The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) applies to lawsuits that claim injuries suffered during custodial episodes, even if such custody occurred outside prison walls. …

Missed HIV Medication Did Not Create a Serious Medical Need

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: Medical, HIV/AIDS, Medication, New Trial Motions

Missed HIV Medication Did Not Create a Serious Medical Need by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a district court's denial of a motion for new trial by an HIV+ prisoner who complained that there was insufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict against him. Willie …

Washington Medical Claim Reinstated

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: Transfers, Medical, Systemic Medical Neglect, Bedding, Injunctions

Washington Medical Claim Reinstated by The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Ap-peals reversed part of a grant of summary judgment to Washington State Penitentiary (WSP) officials in an Eighth Amendment challenge of WSP medical policies and practices. WSP prisoner Garrett Linderman sued WSP officials under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for …