$279,000 Harassment Award Upheld in Missouri Nurses' Suit by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld judgment against Missouri Department of Corrections (MODOC) officials in favor of nurses who sued for retaliation and sexual harassment. The court also upheld attorney fee awards. Rebecca Hunt and Susan Nurnberg were recruited by …
$9,000 Jury Award Against Missouri: Religious Halfway House by A Missouri federal district court upheld a jury's verdict and damage award, but reversed the award of punitive damages. The suit was filed by a probationer sentenced to the Agape House, a state sponsored halfway house in Sedalia, who alleged the …
Eighth Circuit Denies Police Board Sovereign Immunity; Upholds ADA/RA Damages by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a case that may have implications for arrestees and prisoners nationwide, has denied Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity protection to a state-created police board and, splitting with the Sixth Circuit, has ruled that …
Sweat Patch Drug Test Admissible at BOP Parole Revocation Hearing by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that laboratory reports may be admitted into evidence at a federal parolee's revocation hearing without accompanying expert testimony. The Missouri parolee's supervised release revocation hearing ensued after he tested positive for cocaine …
Fugitive Disentitlement Rule by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the fugitive from justice rule does not mandate the automatic dismissal of a civil case under the fugitive rule. In May 1987, James Perko, while confined at a Missouri State Penitentiary, brought suit under § 1983 for deliberate …
BOP Rule Limiting Detainee's Ability to Publish Books Unconstitutional by A Missouri federal district court held that a Bureau of Prisons (BOP) regulation that limited an unconvicted prisoner's ability to produce and to have published manuscripts violated the prisoner's fundamental constitutional rights. This habeas corpus proceeding was filed by a …
$16,000 Paid in Excessive Force Use on Missouri Prisoner by While a prisoner at Missouri's Jackson County Prison, guards manacled 24-year-old Neil Houston to a bed for several days while he was stripped naked. His complaint for cruel and unusual punishment also alleged guards used excessive force when they entered …
Supreme Court Issues Test for Prison Rules by In response to a class action suit filed by prisoners, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Missouri prison's mail regulations were constitutionally valid, but its policy of not allowing prisoner marriages without the warden's approval was not. The Court also established, …
Seizure of MO Escapee's Prison Account Upheld by The Missouri Court of Appeals upheld the confiscation of a state prisoner's trust fund account after he escaped from work release and remained at large for a month. The defendant prison officials claimed he abandoned the funds when he escaped. The trial …
Consent Judgment Entered to Improve Confinement Conditions at MO Jail by A Missouri federal District Court approved a consent decree in litigation challenging conditions at the Jackson County Jail in Kansas City. The consent judgment requires jail authorities to: (1) fumigate the jail weekly for insects and rodents; (2) make …
Eighth Circuit Reverses Dismissal for Consideration Under McKune v. Lile by The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of a Missouri prisoner's suit, holding that qualified immunity does not shield officials from equitable relief and that the prisoner's suit raised issues that must be considered in light …
State Cannot Seize § 1983 Award to Satisfy Incarceration Costs by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held a state may not seek reimbursement of costs for incarceration by seizing monetary damages awarded in a 42 U.S.C. §1983 action. A Missouri state prisoner was awarded $1 nominal damages and $3,000 …
Elevated Charges, No Lab Analysis Does Not Violate Due Process by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that a Missouri state prisoner's due process rights were not violated as a result of disciplinary proceedings stemming from a possession of contraband charge. Prisoner Dale Holt was found …
Missouri Attaches Prisoner's Award Against CMS, 8th Cir Remands by On July 28, 2003, the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a district court to reconsider whether the State of Missouri could confiscate a prisoner's judgment against a prison medical provider under the state's cost of incarceration statute. Acting …
MO Prisoner's 1983 Action to Correct Parole Record Dismissed as Frivolous by John Quincy Adams, a Missouri state prisoner, was denied parole based on records stating that he was an alcoholic. He filed suit in a federal district court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, seeking correction to his parole record …
Qualified Immunity Denied to Prison Pharmacist That Refused to Fill Prisoner's Prescriptions by Qualified Immunity Denied to Prison Pharmacist That Refused to Fill Prisoner's Prescriptions The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a pharmacist's refusal to fulfill a prescription issued by a doctor to treat a prisoner disentitles …
Missouri Prisoner's Allegation that Prison Doctor Ignored His Constant Complaints of Pain May State 8th Amendment Claim by Missouri Prisoner's Allegation that Prison Doctor Ignored His Constant Complaints of Pain May State 8th Amendment Claim In February of 2002, Robert Taylor, a Missouri state prisoner, injured his knee. A Correctional …
Individual Class Action Settlement Notice Not Required by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that individual notice to each prisoner in a class action is not required and a district court's unexplained failure to set forth reasons or evidence to show the settlement was fair did not render …
Missouri DNA Profiling Program Expanded by In July of 2000, John Clevenger, a Missouri state prisoner serving time for attempted murder, was directed to provide a blood sample for DNA profiling. He complied. Later, he learned that MO. Rev. Stat. § 650.055 allowed the taking of blood only from violent …
Missouri Mental Health Records Must Be Disclosed by The Missouri Protection and Advocacy Services (MOPAS) requested medical peer review reports from Missouri Department of Mental Health Director Dorn Schuffman following a patient's death. Missouri law rendered the report confidential, but the federal Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill Individuals Act …
