District Court Reversed; Warden's Defamation Suit Ordered Dismissed by The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, reversing the U.S. District Court, Western District of Virginia, held that Connecticut newspapers sued by a Virginia prison warden for defamation and libel after posting allegedly defamatory articles on their websites did not manifestly …
No Liberty Interest in Virginia Jail Work Release by The court of appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the Riverside Regional Jail Authority in Virginia is a municipal agency and not a branch of state government, therefore they are to entitled to Eleventh amendment immunity from suit. The court …
US Supreme Court Held That Statutes Can Be Challenged Before Enforcement by The U.S. Supreme Court held that under the First Amendment plaintiffs have standing to mount pre-enforcement challenges to statutes and policies. The US Supreme Court's decision on a Virginia statute previously challenged in the Fourth Circuit by American …
Commercial Speech Protection Extends to Sender & Recipient by The United States Supreme Court held in a Virginia case that First Amendment protections related to commercial speech are enjoyed by both the advertisers who seek to disseminate information and the intended recipients of that information, stating: If there is a …
Altercation Suit Brought By Prisoner Backfires; $250,000 Awarded to Guard by Virginia state prisoner Lament Douglas brought a § 1983 suit against prison guard J. McCarty for an altercation which left both parties injured. The Court granted remittur and awarded $250,000 to McCarty on his counterclaim. Douglas' motion for a …
Claims May Be Found Within Content Of Complaint by A Virginia State Prisoner, Jerome Howard appealed the district court's dismissal of his claim of deliberate indifference to a medical need for failure to state a claim. Howard was housed on the second tier even with his clubbed foot. Howard fell …
Hearing Officer Immune in Barring Witness Questioning by The plaintiff was disciplined, on appeal the tape of the hearing was damaged and unintelligible, so the charge and incident were expunged. The officers who reported the plaintiff's conduct did not violate the plaintiff's rights. At 791: ". . . [A] correctional …
Preliminary Injunction Insufficient for Prevailing Party Status by Under Buckhannon, a preliminary injunction does not make a plaintiff a prevailing party for fees purposes, since the merits inquiry for a preliminary injunction is "necessarily abbreviated" and in some cases a plaintiff need only establish a substantial question on the merits. …
No Qualified Immunity to Virginia DOC Officials in Smoking Suit by The plaintiff, a non-smoker with a respiratory condition, was double-celled over his objection with a habitual smoker of cigars. In response to his grievance, he was moved to a unit for "troublemakers" and assigned to a cell with a …
Virginia Prison Warden's Defamation Suit Survives Dismissal Motion by The United States District Court, Western District of Virginia, denied motions by Connecticut newspapers, reporters, and editors to dismiss a Virginia prison warden's suit against the Connecticut defendants after the defendants posted allegedly defamatory news articles on the newspapers' World Wide …
5-Point Restraints = Excessive Force + Due Process Violation Results in $25,000 Virginia Damage Award by A federal court in Virginia held that subjecting a prisoner to five-point restraints for 46-48 hours on five occasions was cruel and unusual punishment. It also found the lack of procedural protections deprived the …
Virginia Prison Minister Indicted on Sex Charges; Ministries Under Fire by Gary Hunter Toney Leon McDonald, an ex-sheriff?s deputy and now ex-prison minister, was arrested on May 17, 2006 on four counts of sexual misconduct with a 23-year-old female prisoner. After posting a $25,000 bond, McDonald surrendered to authorities a …
Virginia Guard Hazed By Coworkers Awarded $25,001 by Michael Rigby On March 1, 2006, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia awarded $25,001 to a prison guard who was subjected to a humiliating hazing ritual by his coworkers. Guard Terry Givens was promoted to …
Virginia Jail Disgraceful by Gary Hunter Richmond City Jail is in such bad shape newly elected Sheriff C.T. Woody called it a ...disaster. I knew it was bad, but I had no idea it was that bad, he said. On January 4, 2006 a report was issued detailing the deficiencies …
Court Invalidates BOP Prisoners' UCC Liens Against Judges and Officials by A Virginia federal district court has entered a permanent injunction against two federal prisoners who filed liens under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) against judges and prison officials. The United States government brought this action against Lorenzo Grade Martin …
Anderson-Bey et al v. District of Columbia, DC, Opinion, 8th Am bus conditions, 2008 Case 1:00-cv-02000-RCL Document 112 Filed 12/11/2006 Page 1 of 22 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA KENNETH ANDERSON-BEY, et aL, ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, et al. Civil …
Virginia's General Assembly Sells Out Prisoners' Families for Phone Money by Gary Hunter Virginia's General Assembly reneged on their agreement with a prisoner advocate group to substantially reduce phone rates between prisoners and their families. Virginia's Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE) had lobbied for years to have …
Virginia Sheriffs Pay for Christian Ministries by Michael Rigby Several Virginia sheriffs have used public money to pay for services from Christian groups that minister to prisoners, the Virginia-Pilot reported on March 2, 2006. The payments have drawn criticism from some watchdog groups that advocate for a strong separation of …
Virginia Prisoners Challenge Grooming Policy Under RLUIPA by Get in a fight behind bars and in most states, youll serve somewhere between a few days or months in segregation. Refusal to cut your hair in Virginia and youll be segregated until you comply. In 1999 the Virginia Department of Corrections …
$769,000 Awarded For Death of Asthmatic Virginia Jail Prisoner by On May 11, 2005, a jury in Portsmouth City, Virginia, awarded $769,000 to the family of an asthmatic prisoner who died in the city jail due to inadequate medical care. While serving a five day sentence in the Portsmouth jail …
