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BOP Employees on Active Military Leave Not Entitled to Statutorily Mandated Benefits

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: USERRA, Guards/Staff, Employee Litigation, Veterans

BOP Employees on Active Military Leave Not Entitled to Statutorily Mandated Benefits by Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employee Mathew Tully appealed a Merit Systems Protection Board (Board) decision denying him holiday pay while he was on active military leave from the BOP. The decision was affirmed. While Tully served …

Parole Revocation Invalidated Due to Multilayered Hearsay Testimony

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Sentencing, Parole, Habeas Corpus

Parole Revocation Invalidated Due to Multilayered Hearsay Testimony by A District of Columbia federal district court denied a habeas corpus petition filed by prisoner Charles Singletary, who then appealed. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held that Singletary’s parole revocation could not be based upon multilayered …

District Of Columbia Class Action Reinstated For Excessive Copying Fees

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Medical Records, Photocopies, Civil Procedure, Costs, Class Certification, Disclosure of Records

District Of Columbia Class Action Reinstated For Excessive Copying Fees by District of Columbia resident Julian Ford sought review of his class action denial against medical records contractor ChartOne, Inc., for charging excessive copying fees. The court denied the certification deeming Ford's acquisition of the records for commercial purposes and …

D.C. Circuit Reverses Res Judicata Dismissal; Failure to Treat HCV Constitutes “Imminent Danger”

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Medical, Cancer, Hepatitis, Filing Fees (PLRA), Frivolous Litigation (PLRA), Res Judicata

D.C. Circuit Reverses Res Judicata Dismissal; Failure to Treat HCV Constitutes “Imminent Danger” by The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reversed a lower court’s dismissal of a pro se prisoner’s suit, on res judicata grounds. The court also granted the prisoner leave to appeal in forma …

No FOIA Disclosure of Marshals’ Names

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Disclosure of Records, Discovery, Freedom of Information Act

No FOIA Disclosure of Marshals’ Names by The names of the marshals who escorted the plaintiff on a particular occasion when he was injured were exempt from disclosure under FOIA because they were part of records compiled for law enforcement purposes, and the plaintiff did not show that the public's …

$1.2 Million Settlement For Childrens' Death During D.C. Police Chase

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Police, Police Chases

$1.2 Million Settlement For Childrens' Death During D.C. Police Chase by District of Columbia (D.C.) residents Towhanna Boston and Christopher Suydan, Sr., brought suit after a D.C. police pursuit caused the death of Suydan's children in 2004. The suit settled for $1.2 million. Suydan and his two children, Octavia and …

BOP Policy Denying Hormone Therapy to Transsexual Challenged

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Medical, HIV/AIDS, Transgender Medical Procedures

BOP Policy Denying Hormone Therapy to Transsexual Challenged by The Bureau of Prisons' policy requiring documentation of pre-incarceration hormone therapy before the BOP will provide hormone therapy in prison is upheld. There is a disputed factual question whether the plaintiff is similarly situated for equal protection analysis with persons who …

Paralegal Services Reimbursed at Market Rate Under Federal EAJA

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Staffing, Attorney Fee Awards, Paralegals, Federal Statutory Law, Equal Access to Justice Act

Paralegal Services Reimbursed at Market Rate Under Federal EAJA by The Richlin Security Service Co. (Richlin) provided guards for U.S. government detainees at the Los Angeles International Airport during the 1990s. Contract ambiguities resulted in Richlin guards being underpaid. In 1995, the U.S. Department of Labor ordered the government to …

Fines for Consent Decree Non-Compliance are Criminal, Require Jury Trial

Article • May 15, 2008

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Consent Decrees, Juries, Sanctions

Fines for Consent Decree Non-Compliance are Criminal, Require Jury Trial by The district court fined D.C. $5.1 million for noncompliance with a consent decree governing treatment of the mentally retarded, which requires placement in community institutions and payment of vendors within 30 days following submission of acceptable vouchers. The nonpayment …

Department of Homeland Security - ICE Undercover Operations Handbook, 2008

Publication • April 14, 2008

Filed under: Searches, Databases, Money/Property, Immigration

Department of Homeland Security - ICE Undercover Operations Handbook, 2008 Department of Homeland Security Office of Investigations Undercover Operations Handbook OI HB 08-04 April 14, 2008 OFFICIAL USE ONLY Foreword The Undercover Operations Handbook provides a single source of national policies, procedures, responsibilities, guidelines, and controls for U.S. Immigration and …

Centinela v. Bacardi & Co, DDC, Order, Fees for Motion to Compel Discovery Request, 2008

Brief • March 4, 2008

Filed under: Discovery, Sanctions, Lanham Trademark Act

Centinela v. Bacardi & Co, DDC, Order, Fees for Motion to Compel Discovery Request, 2008 Case 1:05-cv-10220-PBS Document 1-1 Filed 02/03/2005 , FILED 1 t, CLfRKS OFFICE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSET TS RICHARD CASTELLINI tp t. !,...,. r""_ .....,.;._; . ; illll:i FEB -3 p …

Myrdal v. District of Columbia, DC, Opinion, Employee Searches, 2008

Brief • February 25, 2008

Filed under: Employee Searches

Myrdal v. District of Columbia, DC, Opinion, Employee Searches, 2008 Case 1:05-cv-02351-RCL Document 75 Filed 02/25/08 Page 1 of 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ____________________________________ ) MARILYN SEABROOKS MYRDAL, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 05-2351 (RCL) ) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, …

BOP Must Provide Prisoner's FOIA Request in Electronic Format

Article • February 15, 2008 • from PLN February, 2008

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Disclosure of Records, Freedom of Information Act

BOP Must Provide Prisoner's FOIA Request in Electronic Format by The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has held that the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) must provide a prisoner with information requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in the format requested by the prisoner, which includes …

Centinela v. Bacardi & Co, DDC, Order, Interrogation, 2008

Brief • January 18, 2008

Filed under: Disclosure of Records, Discovery, Local Rules

Centinela v. Bacardi & Co, DDC, Order, Interrogation, 2008 Case 1:04-cv-02201-RCL Document 66 Filed 01/18/08 Page 1 of 13 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ) TEQUILA CENTINELA, S.A. de C.V., ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ) BACARDI & COMPANY LIMITED, ) ) Defendant. ) …

Fed Prisoner Wins FOIA Action Requesting Informant's Names

Article • January 15, 2008

Filed under: Disclosure of Records, Federal Statutory Law, Freedom of Information Act

Fed Prisoner Wins FOIA Action Requesting Informant's Names by Kenneth H. Linn, a federal prisoner, requested from the U.S. Dept. of Justice (the DOJ) a number of documents associated with his conviction, pursuant to the federal Freedom of Information Act (the Act), 5 U.S.C. § 552 et seq. When the …

Fed Prisoner's FOIA Request for Investigation-Related Documents Properly Denied

Article • January 15, 2008

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Informants (Disciplinary Hearings), Freedom of Information Act

Fed Prisoner's FOIA Request for Investigation-Related Documents Properly Denied by In 1997, Willie E. Boyd, a federal prisoner, was convicted of charges related to a gun and bag of cocaine found in his girlfriend's closet. He later discovered that his girlfriend's brother was a government informant who had sold drugs …

Eye Loss from Guard Assault Nets $162,500 For DC Prisoner

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Eye Loss from Guard Assault Nets $162,500 For DC Prisoner by A District of Columbia (DC) prisoner who lost an eye when a guard beat him, was awarded $162,500. Mr. Quander, a 39-year-old black prisoner was beaten with a radio by a Hispanic prison guard. Quander's left eye was damaged …

Arresting Protestors Without Warrant Verdict Upheld

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Damages, Police, False Arrest, Arrest Warrants

Arresting Protestors Without Warrant Verdict Upheld by The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed a jury verdict finding the class plaintiff's rights were violated when they were arrested on the U.S. Capitol steps without warrant. The class plaintiffs, who were Congressman Ronald V. Dellums, engaged in a …

DC Circuit Awards Fees in CIA FOIA Suit

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, Civil Procedure, Disclosure of Records, Freedom of Information Act

DC Circuit Awards Fees in CIA FOIA Suit by The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has held that the appellee in this case was a prevailing party in a lawsuit to enforce his request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and remanded to determine if he …

DC Prisoner Assaulted by Other Prisoners Suffers Brain Damage, Awarded $1.6 Million

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General)

DC Prisoner Assaulted by Other Prisoners Suffers Brain Damage, Awarded $1.6 Million by A District of Columbia (DC) prisoner who was assaulted by other prisoners was awarded $1.6 million. Brown sued in state court alleging that only one guard was on duty and that he was in a different section …