Individual Defense Win Precludes Municipal Liability by A defendant's verdict as to individuals in a bifurcated trial forecloses any further action against the municipality under Los Angeles v. Heller (no discussion of possible exceptions to this rule). At 7: "There is, however, nothing to prevent a plaintiff from foregoing the …
Cost, Political/Public Criticism Not Legitimate Concern in Denying Transsexual Medical Needs by Cost, Political/Public Criticism Not Legitimate Concern in Denying Transsexual Medical Needs This case takes on the more bizarre aspects of the Farmer v. Brennan deliberate indifference standard in a more direct way than anything I have previously seen. …
Retaliatory Transfer Standard Explained by The court of appeals for the First circuit held that a Massachusetts prisoner had stated a valid retaliation claim that he was transferred to a different prison after filing lawsuits against prison officials. The court held that a chronology of events from which retaliation can …
No Right to Operate Business or Buy Cheap Food by The court of appeals for the First circuit held that a Massachusetts prisoner had no right to operate a health food business in prison to sell food to other prisoners. The court held prisoners have no constitutional right to buy …
Prevailing Party in Disciplinary Suit Awarded Fees by Prevailing Party In Disciplinary Suit Awarded Fees The court of appeals for the First Circuit upheld an award of $37,123.85 in attorney fees to a Massachusetts state prisoner who was awarded $1 in nominal damages at trial for due process violations at …
Prisoners Have No Liberty Interest in Prison Housing Assignment by Prisoners Have No Liberty Interest In Prison Housing Assignment The U.S. Supreme Court held that prisoners do not have a liberty interest in their prison housing assignments. A Massachusetts prisoner brought an action in federal district court alleging deprivation of …
Reasons for Refusing to Call Witnesses Need Not Be Documented by The U.S. Supreme Court vacated and remanded a lower court's ruling that a prison disciplinary board's reason for refusing to call requested witnesses must be part of the official hearing record. The ruling resulted from a complaint filed by …
Denial of Good Conduct Credit Ex Post Facto by Massachusetts state prisoner Ronald Greenfield was sentenced to 5-7 years incarceration in 1962. In 1965, the law concerning the awarding of credits for good conduct was amended to prohibit such credits for persons who violate parole and are re-incarcerated. Greenfield violated …
Prisoners Receive Damages for Beatings by Two prisoners, John Furtado and Gerald Sousa brought a civil rights suit under § 1983 against prison officials, at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution. Both Furtado and Sousa were beaten by guards. Furtado's injuries required hospitalization. Both men sought redress. When prison officials retaliated against …
$1,135,000 Paid to Massachusetts Prison Guard for Rape by A Massachusetts prison guard in her 20's was working at MCI- Shirley when a prisoner defeated his cell's locking mechanism and brutally beat and raped her. She sued the manufacturer and contractor of the precast modular jail cells. There was a …
Lack of Toilets in Cells Unconstitutional by The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Suffolk, held that the lack of toilets and hot and cold running water at an Essex County jail constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment and the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights as measured …
Prisoner Prevailing Party, Awarded Attorney Fees by A mental patient imprisoned at a treatment center run by the Massachusetts DOC brought a § 1983 action alleging constitutional violations relating to, among other things, inadequate telephone privileges, right to unopened privileged mail and right to treatment. A Superior Court issued an …
Massachusetts Prisoner Sufficiently Alleges Violations Of State Civil Rights Act by Massachusetts Prisoner Sufficiently Alleges Violations Of State Civil Rights Act The Appeals Court of Massachusetts, Suffolk, held that a prisoner sufficiently alleged violations of the state constitution by prison officials but lacked standing to pursue a federal civil rights …
Prisoner Regarded as Having Impairment Entitled to ADA and RA Protection by A Massachusetts federal district court held that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act (RA) applies to prisoners suffering from a heart condition and diabetes. The prisoner's suit alleged he was denied participation in educational …
Federal Parole Condition Denying Parolee Contact with His Minor Daughter Upheld by In January of 2004, Gregory Smith completed a 10-year sentence for drug and firearm violations. His parole officer ordered him to stay away from his minor daughter. Even so, he went to several schools looking for her and …
Disabled Prisoner Claim Not Actionable Under Federal Civil Rights Action by State prisoner Timothy Reaves filed a State court action alleging claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the U.S. and Massachusetts Constitutions. Reaves is a quadriplegic with a brain injury suffered in a …
FBI Mob Murder Claim Filed Too Late by The First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) claim against the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for a 1982 murder. John Callahan was the chief executive officer of World Jai Alai, a gambling organization …
Massachusetts Prisoner Beaten By Guards Awarded $21,000 by In August 1997, a court in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, awarded $21,000 to a state prisoner who was severely beaten by prison guards. The plaintiff prisoner claimed that while imprisoned in May 1991 he was shackled, handcuffed, kneed, and spat on by a …
Qualified Immunity for Sex Offender Cavity Searches by The plaintiff sex offenders alleged that they were harassed because of their status and were subject to retaliatory body cavity searches. Injunctive relief was not appropriate because there was no allegation that the misconduct was ongoing. Declaratory relief is inappropriate for the …
Court Enjoins BOP Prisoner Transfers from Work Release by The three petitioners moved to vacate their sentences on the ground that they had been imposed on the understanding that the petitioners would serve their short sentences of imprisonment in community correction centers, but the Department of Justice had subsequently decided …
