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Sixth Circuit: No Sanction for Third-Party Spoilation in Michigan

Article • April 15, 2011

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Evidence, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Sanctions

Sixth Circuit: No Sanction for Third-Party Spoilation in Michigan by Matthew Clarke By Matt Clarke On March 21, 2008, a panel of the Sixth Circuit court of appeals held that a defendant could not be sanctioned for third-party spoilation of evidence in a Michigan case involving excessive use of force …

Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity for Michigan DOC Officials for Religious Book Censorship

Article • April 15, 2011

Filed under: RLUIPA, Mail, Publications/Books, Mail Regulations, Religious Property

Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity for Michigan DOC Officials for Religious Book Censorship by On February 6, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a denial of qualified immunity for three Michigan prison officials accused of violating the First Amendment and the Religious Land …

Prisoner’s Administrative Remedies Do Not Require Naming of Official

Article • April 15, 2011

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, PLRA, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA)

Prisoner’s Administrative Remedies Do Not Require Naming of Official by The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated its own affirmation of the dismissal of a prisoner’s civil rights complaint after the Supreme Court found that the circuit’s imposition of the prerequisite to properly exhaust administrative remedies before filing a complaint …

6th Circuit: Grievances Enjoy First Amendment Protection

Article • April 15, 2011

Filed under: Retaliation, Retaliation for Filing Grievances

6th Circuit: Grievances Enjoy First Amendment Protection by On September 29, 2009, the 6th Circuit vacated a district court ruling dismissing a complaint filed by Michigan prisoner Lynn Pasley. The complaint was filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging constitutional violations against Vera Conerly, a prison employee. Pasley accused …

Smith v. County of Lenawee, MI, Order - Summary Judgment, Wrongful Death Deliberate Indifference Alcohol Withdrawal, 2011

Brief • March 28, 2011

Filed under: Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Smith v. County of Lenawee, MI, Order - Summary Judgment, Wrongful Death Deliberate Indifference Alcohol Withdrawal, 2011 Case 2:09-cv-10648-DML-MJH Document 139 Filed 03/28/11 Page 1 of 50 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION SUETTA SMITH, as Personal Representative of the Estate of BRENDA SUE SMITH, Deceased, …

State Inspections Compel Changes at Abusive Michigan Juvenile Facility

Article • March 15, 2011 • from PLN March, 2011

Filed under: Staffing, Excessive Force, Restraints, Juvenile Prisons

State Inspections Compel Changes at Abusive Michigan Juvenile Facility by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Inspection reports by Michigan’s Department of Human Services (DHS) concerning conditions at the Muskegon County Juvenile Detention Center (MCJDC) found an abusive environment caused by understaffing. On the verge of losing the state license …

Sixth Circuit Holds Pre-1992 Michigan Lifers Not Entitled to Ex Post Facto Relief

Article • March 15, 2011 • from PLN March, 2011

Filed under: Sentencing, Ex Post Facto, Parole

Sixth Circuit Holds Pre-1992 Michigan Lifers Not Entitled to Ex Post Facto Relief by In what may prove to be a major blow to parole-eligible life-sentenced prisoners in Michigan, the Sixth Circuit has rejected an as-applied ex post facto challenge to the retroactive application of changes in Michigan’s parole laws. …

Michigan Cop’s Mug Shot Releasable Under FOIA

Article • March 15, 2011

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Police Misconduct, Freedom of Information Act

Michigan Cop’s Mug Shot Releasable Under FOIA by The Michigan Court of Appeals held that a Detroit police officer’s mug shot may be released to the media under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The Detroit Free Press made an FOIA request for the release of the booking photograph of …

Michigan Prison Doctor Liable for Late Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

Article • February 15, 2011 • from PLN February, 2011

Filed under: Medical, Systemic Medical Neglect, Cancer

Michigan Prison Doctor Liable for Late Prostate Cancer Diagnosis by The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a prisoner stated sufficient facts to defeat dismissal of his claim alleging a prison doctor was deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs. However, the appellate court affirmed judgment in favor …

Denial of Qualified Immunity Reversed in Michigan Prison Wage Suit

Article • February 15, 2011 • from PLN February, 2011

Filed under: Prison Labor, Liberty Interests, Immunity/Liability, Qualified Immunity

Denial of Qualified Immunity Reversed in Michigan Prison Wage Suit by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed a district court’s denial of qualified immunity for Michigan prison officials accused of violating a prisoner’s due process rights. In April of 2001, David Pickelhaupt was given a physical …

Michigan Prison System Exceeds Budget, Again

Article • December 15, 2010 • from PLN December, 2010

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Staffing

Michigan Prison System Exceeds Budget, Again by In two of the last three years, the Michigan Department of Corrections’ (MDOC) budget has “blown through its caps,” according to state Rep. John Proos. A May 27, 2010 letter from Robert Emeron, director of the state budget office, informed lawmakers that the …

Hall v. Martin, MI, Complaint, MDOC religious diet kosher, 2010

Brief • December 10, 2010

Filed under: Religious Diet

Hall v. Martin, MI, Complaint, MDOC religious diet kosher, 2010 Case 1:10-cv-01221-PLM -JGS Doc #1 Filed 12/10/10 Page 1 of 7 Page ID#1 FILED- GR UNITED STATES DISTRICf COURT WESTERN DISTRICf OF MICIDGAN George Norris Hall, #090753, December 10, 2010 2:40PM TRACEY CORDES, CLERK U.S. DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF …

Pryor v. Wayne Co., MI, Affidavit of Eiser, Jail Failure to Protect, 2008

Brief • October 29, 2010

Filed under: Failure to Protect (General)

Pryor v. Wayne Co., MI, Affidavit of Eiser, Jail Failure to Protect, 2008 1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION 2 3 4 EDWARD PRYOR, 5 6 7 8 Plaintiff, vs. WAYNE COUNTY, and WAYNE COUNTY SHERIFF’S COMMANDER JEROME PANACKIA, et al. …

Pryor v. Wayne County, MI, Affidavit - Eiser, MDOC jail inmate assault, 2010

Brief • October 29, 2010

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Failure to Treat, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Security Systems

Pryor v. Wayne County, MI, Affidavit - Eiser, MDOC jail inmate assault, 2010 1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION 2 3 4 EDWARD PRYOR, 5 6 7 8 Plaintiff, vs. WAYNE COUNTY, and WAYNE COUNTY SHERIFF’S COMMANDER JEROME PANACKIA, et al. …

Expanded Eligibility for New York Medical Parole Has Little Effect

Article • October 15, 2010 • from PLN October, 2010

Filed under: Furloughs, Medical, Medical Expenses, Parole

Expanded Eligibility for New York Medical Parole Has Little Effect by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In April 2009, New York passed a statutory amendment that expanded the state’s compassionate release program for terminally ill prisoners. The amendment permitted medical parole for prisoners convicted of certain violent crimes who were …

Phelps v. City of Ecorse, M, Order, Confidential Informant, 2010

Brief • September 21, 2010

Filed under: Informants

Phelps v. City of Ecorse, M, Order, Confidential Informant, 2010 Case 2:09-cv-12311-NGE -MAR Document 75 Filed 09/21/10 Page 1 of 2 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION MICHAEL PHELPS and TAMMY PHELPS, Plaintiffs, v. CIVIL ACTION NO. 09-12311 DISTRICT JUDGE NANCY G. EDMUNDS THE CITY OF …

Smith v. Wayne County, MI, Complaint, jail suicide medical neglect, 2010

Brief • July 26, 2010

Filed under: Jail Specific, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Suicides

Smith v. Wayne County, MI, Complaint, jail suicide medical neglect, 2010 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION GLORIA H. SMITH, individually and as Co-Personal Representative of the Estate of Jason Lewis Smith, and CAMILLE MITCHELL, as Co-Personal Representative of the Estate of Jason Lewis Smith Deleted: …

Sixth Circuit: No Eleventh Amendment Immunity When ADA Claim Includes Fourteenth Amendment Violations

Article • July 15, 2010 • from PLN July, 2010

Filed under: Discrimination, Disabled Prisoners, Americans with Disabilities Act, Eleventh Amendment Immunity, Qualified Immunity

Sixth Circuit: No Eleventh Amendment Immunity When ADA Claim Includes Fourteenth Amendment Violations by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On January 5, 2010, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Michigan district court’s denial of Eleventh Amendment immunity for a claim involving both a violation of the Americans with …

CMS Nurse Denied Summary Judgment for Failure to Treat Prisoner for Heat Illness;$400,000 Settlement Following Sixth Circuit Ruling

Article • July 15, 2010 • from PLN July, 2010

Filed under: CMS, Contractor Misconduct, Private Contractors, Brain Injury, Malpractice, Immunity/Liability, Qualified Immunity, Contractor Liability

CMS Nurse Denied Summary Judgment for Failure to Treat Prisoner for Heat Illness;$400,000 Settlement Following Sixth Circuit Ruling by David Reutter by David M. Reutter In February 2009, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of summary judgment to a Correctional Medical Services (CMS) nurse in a lawsuit …

City of Flint Settles Mass Arrest and Strip Search Suit for $900,000.00

Article • July 15, 2010

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Police Misconduct, Strip Searches, Arrestee Searches, Body Cavity Searches, Settlements, False Arrest

City of Flint Settles Mass Arrest and Strip Search Suit for $900,000.00 by On December 14, 2009, the City of Flint agreed to pay $900,000 to more than 100 young men and women who were detained, charged with a crime, strip searched, and, in some cases, body cavity searched for …