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No Exhaustion Required in Wisconsin When Only Money Damages Are Sought

Article • September 15, 1999 • from PLN September, 1999

Filed under: PLRA, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA)

No Exhaustion Required in Wisconsin When Only Money Damages Are Sought by A federal district court in Wisconsin held that Wisconsin prisoners filing suit and seeking only money damages, are not required to exhaust their administrative remedies under 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a) because the Wisconsin prison grievance system does not …

PLRA Doesn't Require Notice of Claim for Exhaustion

Article • August 15, 1999 • from PLN August, 1999

Filed under: PLRA, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA)

PLRA Doesn't Require Notice of Claim for Exhaustion by Afederal district court in Wisconsin held that 42 U. S.C. 1997e(a) of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) does not require prisoners to file a notice of claim with the state attorney general's office in order to exhaust their administrative remedies. …

Denial of Pain Medication Violates Eighth Amendment

Article • August 15, 1999 • from PLN August, 1999

Filed under: Medical, Medication, Pain, Cancer, Qualified Immunity

Denial of Pain Medication Violates Eighth Amendment by The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit held that a guard's denial of prescribed pain medication to a prisoner undergoing cancer treatment violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. James Ralston, a Wisconsin state prisoner, was given radiation …

Wisconsin Prisoners Stage Food Protest

Article • July 15, 1999 • from PLN July, 1999

Filed under: Classification, Out of State Transfers, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Hunger Strikes, Food

Wisconsin Prisoners Stage Food Protest by On January 18 and 19, 1999, Wisconsin prisoners housed at a private prison in Sayre, Oklahoma, refused to show up at the prison's chow hall for meals. John Wisener, chief of security at the North Fork Correctional Center, said that only 75-80 of the …

Mitigation Instruction and Excluding Indemnification Evidence Reversible Error

Article • June 15, 1999 • from PLN June, 1999

Filed under: Damages, Evidentiary Ruling, Jury Instructions, Wrongful Imprisonment, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

Mitigation Instruction and Excluding Indemnification Evidence Reversible Error by The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit held that a district court erred when it did not allow a jail detainee plaintiff to introduce evidence of a state indemnification statute after the defendants told a jury that a damages verdict …

Weapon Possession in Federal Prison Always Considered a "Violent Offense"

Article • June 15, 1999 • from PLN June, 1999

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines

Weapon Possession in Federal Prison Always Considered a "Violent Offense" by The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit held that possession of any weapons in prison constitute a "violent offense" for federal sentencing guidelines purposes. Grant Vahovick, a federal prisoner, stabbed prisoner Jeremy Darin in the head and neck …

Wisconsin Resists Out-of-State Transfers

Article • March 15, 1999 • from PLN March, 1999

Filed under: Out of State Transfers, Private Prisons, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Prison Rebellion, Overcrowding

Wisconsin Resists Out-of-State Transfers by In October, 1996, Wisconsin's legislature granted the Department of Corrections (WDOC) authorization to house 700 prisoners in Texas County Jails. WDOC Secretary Michael Sullivan overcame the opposition to that first prisoner-export proposal by assuring the public that the crossborder option was merely a stop-gap measure …

Trial Required in Wisconsin Excessive Force Suit

Article • February 15, 1999 • from PLN February, 1999

Filed under: Cell Searches, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Summary Judgment, Qualified Immunity

Trial Required in Wisconsin Excessive Force Suit by Afederal district court in Wisconsin held that a trial was required to determine if excessive force was used during a prison cell search. The court held that defendant prison officials had failed to present sufficient evidence to support their motion for summary …

Abuse of Prisoners Confirmed at CCA Facility

Article • February 15, 1999 • from PLN February, 1999

Filed under: Classification, Out of State Transfers, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Contractor Misconduct, Guard Misconduct, Failure to Protect (General), Stun Guns/Tasers

Abuse of Prisoners Confirmed at CCA Facility by On August 5, 1998, Jerry Reeves, a guard at Tennessee's Whiteville Correctional Facility (WCF), suffered near-fatal injuries in an altercation with prisoners. WCF, which houses prisoners from Wisconsin, is owned and operated by the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). In the days …

Abuse of Discretion to Dismiss Medical Suit

Article • February 15, 1999 • from PLN February, 1999

Filed under: Work Release, Medication, Seizures, Appointment of Counsel, Civil Procedure, Summary Judgment, Complaints, Parties, Contractor Liability

Abuse of Discretion to Dismiss Medical Suit by The Seventh Circuit court of appeals has held that a district court abused its discretion when, on technical procedural grounds, it refused to grant a prisoner leave to amend his suit adding the full names of defendants and dismissed the suit. Ralphfield …

Seventh Circuit Split on Self-Defense in Prison

Article • December 15, 1998 • from PLN December, 1998

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Failure to Protect (General), U.S. Sentencing Guidelines

Seventh Circuit Split on Self-Defense in Prison by The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit held that a federal prisoner criminally charged with assault could not assert a defense of self defense when he had the time and opportunity to seek protection from guards. Charles Haynes was a prisoner …

Court Responsible for Prisoner Access to Teleconference

Article • December 15, 1998 • from PLN December, 1998

Filed under: Court Access, Court Appearances, Parole

Court Responsible for Prisoner Access to Teleconference by The Court of Appeals for the State of Wisconsin held that the court is responsible for a pro se prisoner's access to a telephone to attend a court-ordered teleconference hearing. Debra Christie, a Wisconsin prisoner, filed a pro se state petition for …

PLRA Physical Injury Requirement Does Not Apply to Ex-Cons

Article • October 15, 1998 • from PLN October, 1998

Filed under: Eighth Amendment, PLRA, Physical Injury Rule, Qualified Immunity, Drug Treatment/Rehab, Required Religious Programming

PLRA Physical Injury Requirement Does Not Apply to Ex-Cons by The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit held that the PLRA's physical injury requirement does not apply to suits filed after a prisoner is released from prison. The court also held that secular substance abuse programs do not violate …

Wisconsin Transfers Spark Protest

Article • October 15, 1998 • from PLN October, 1998

Filed under: Classification, Out of State Transfers, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Prison Rebellion, Overcrowding

Wisconsin Transfers Spark Protest by On Sunday June 28, 1998, prisoners at the Fox Lake Correctional Institution staged a protest against the scheduled transfer of 160 Wisconsin prisoners to a private prison in Oklahoma. According to eye-witnesses, about 155 prisoners refused orders to return to their cells from a recreation …

PLRA Fees Don't Apply to Mandamus

Article • August 15, 1998 • from PLN August, 1998

Filed under: PLRA, Filing Fees (PLRA), Mandamus, Parole, Habeas Corpus

PLRA Fees Don't Apply to Mandamus by The court of appeals for the tenth circuit held "that this circuit will no longer require mandatory fees under the PLRA for filing petitions for writs of mandamus seeking to compel district courts to hear and decide actions brought solely under 28 U.S.C. …

PLRA Filing fees Don't Apply to Civil Commitments

Article • August 15, 1998 • from PLN August, 1998

Filed under: PLRA, Filing Fees (PLRA), Civil Commitment

PLRA Filing fees Don't Apply to Civil Commitments by PLRA Filing Fees Don't Apply to Civil Commitments: A federal district court in Wisconsin held that the filing fee provisions of the PLRA do not apply to so called "sex predators" civilly committed in detention facilities for "treatment." 28 U.S.C. § …

WI Predator-Law Poster Boy Gets Released

Article • August 15, 1998 • from PLN August, 1998

Filed under: Discrimination, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Civil Commitment

WI Predator-Law Poster Boy Gets Released by On Halloween, 1973, nine-year-old Lisa French disappeared while trick-or-treating in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Gerald Turner, a neighbor and friend of the French family, was ultimately convicted of abducting, raping and murdering the girl. Dubbed the Halloween Killer, Turner languished in the maxi- …

WI Guard Settles Discrimination Suit for $105,000

Article • August 15, 1998 • from PLN August, 1998

Filed under: Racial Discrimination, Settlements, Guards/Staff, Employee Litigation

WI Guard Settles Discrimination Suit for $105,000 by Ablack prison guard who filed a discrimination suit against the Wisconsin Department of Corrections agreed to a $105,000 settlement in December, 1997, shortly after a U.S. district court judge ruled the case would go to trial. An unusual term of the settlement …

Wisconsin Joins the Control-Unit Fraternity

Article • July 15, 1998 • from PLN July, 1998

Filed under: Organizing, Censorship

Wisconsin Joins the Control-Unit Fraternity by Wisconsin Joins The Control-Unit Fraternity On the morning of December 17, 1997, as thirty protesters gathered in a parking lot in Boscobel, a small farm town isolated in the rural southwest corner of Wisconsin, police squad cars wheeled into the lot. Sheriff's deputies informed …

Prison Jobs and Free World Unemployment

Article • May 15, 1998 • from PLN May, 1998

Filed under: Work, Prison Industries

Prison Jobs and Free World Unemployment by Adrian Lomax In May, 1996, the Fabry Glove & Mitten Company opened a production facility in Wisconsin's Green Bay Correctional Institution. The company hired 70 prisoners as laborers, later adding 30 more. The prisoners, who operate cutting and sewing machines, earn $5.25 per …