Temporary Injunction Issued to Prevent Sex Offender Notification to Employer by A federal court in New Jersey has issued a temporary injunction to prevent state parole officials from notifying a paroled sex offender's employer of his parole status and criminal history. John Doe is a paroled New Jersey state sex …
AEDPA Statute of Limitations Tolled by The court of appeals for the Third circuit held that the one year statute of limitations in which to file a federal habeas corpus petition is a statute of limitation subject to tolling. In 1994 Frank Miller, a New Jersey state prisoner, was found …
PLRA Immediate Termination Provisions Unconstitutional by Afederal district court in. New Jersey has declared unconstitutional the provisions of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), 18 U.S.C. § 3626(b)(2)(3), permitting the immediate termination of consent decrees. In 1983, Robert Lee Denike and Kenneth Vespa, New Jersey state prisoners, sued prison officials …
Qualified Immunity No Protection for ADA Injunctive Claims by In the October, 1998, issue of PLN we reported Rouse v. Plantier , 987 F. Supp. 302 (D NJ 1997) which involves a class action lawsuit challenging the adequacy of treatment that diabetic prisoners receive in New Jersey state prisons. In …
Abuses Continue at Private INS Facility by Alex Friedmann The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) continues to experience problems at a privately -operated detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey. In June 1995 detainees rioted at the facility, which was then run by Esmore Correctional Services. The detainees mostly asylum-seekers who …
Trial Required in New Jersey Diabetic Care Suit by Afederal district court denied New Jersey prison authorities their motion for summary judgment against diabetic prisoners' class action suit under 42 USC § 1983. The prisoners' complaint was that the medical care provided by the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center (ADTC) …
Zero Tolerance Drug Policy in New Jersey by New Jersey Corrections authorities began a "zero tolerance" policy in May, 1998. Under the new policy, prison staff are cracking down on prisoners who use drugs or alcohol by taking contact visits as punishment according to an article published by the Associated …
NJ Prisoners Refuse to Swallow PINs by Approximately two years ago, the entire NJ prison system switched to an "automated call" phone system. Despite a predicted hike in costs to family and friends of prisoners, very few prisoners objected in a short-lasting boycott. On September 15, 1997, the prison population …
Mailbox Rule Applied to Habeas Petitions by The court of appeals for the Third circuit extended the mailbox rule to habeas corpus petitions, holding that habeas petitions are considered filed when given to prison officials for mailing. Donald Burns, a New Jersey state prisoner, gave his federal habeas petitions to …
STGMU-tized in New Jersey by T.R. On March 4, 1998, approxmately 170 NJ state prisoners were rounded up by the Special Operation Group (S.O.G.) and Internal Affairs, cameras in hand, and shipped to this [Northern State] prison. We were handed a memo signed by the Assistant Commissioner, Howard Beyers and …
Union County, NJ, Jail Guards Convicted by In June, 1995, twenty-five political asylum seekers were hauled in chains from a federal INS Detention Center in Elizabeth, NJ, to the nearby Union County Jail. The 25 immigrant detainees many of whom are refugees who escaped religious and political persecution in their …
New Jersey Mental Health Class Action Gains Momentum by Steve Vaccaro Afederal district court in New Jersey has upheld the claims of a statewide class of mentally ill prisoners against defendants' motions to dismiss and for summary judgment. The defendants are: officials of the New Jersey Department of Corrections; Correctional …
Community Notification Upheld by Three Circuits by In the December, 1997, PLN we reported Doe v. Gregoire , 960 F. Supp. 1478 (WD WASH. 1997), wherein a district court ruled that Washington's "community notification" statute violates the ex post facto clause insofar as releasing information to the public regarding sex …
Conditions in Camden County Jail Unconstitutional by In 1992 and 1993 numerous' present and former CCJ prisoners filed civil rights complaints in federal court alleging an assortment of constitutional violations. Because the issues mirrored those involved in Camden County Jail Inmates v. Parker , 123 F.R.D. 490 (DNJ 1988), a …
New Jersey DOC Required to Follow Own Rules by The appellate division of the superior court of New jersey held that a prisoner was entitled to reversal of a disciplinary sanction because the prison hearing officer disobeyed a court ordered prison rule requiring the prisoner to sign a form documenting …
Actual Injury Required in Legal Mail Claim by In the December, 1995, issue of PLN we reported Bieregu v. Reno , 59 F.3d 1445 (3rd Cir. 1995) where the third circuit held that a prisoner need not show harm to a court claim when the confidential) of his legal mail …
NJ Guards Threaten Walkout Over Vests by On July 31, 1997, New Jersey state prisons were locked down after a guard was fatally stabbed and angry union leaders told guards for the next shift not to report for work unless the state agreed to purchase body armor vests. Bayside State …
New Jersey Jail Brutality Settlement by Seventeen former detainees of the Sussex County (NJ) Jail settled a lawsuit alleging a pattern and practice of guard brutality, inadequate medical and psychiatric care, and inadequate legal access. As part of the settlement, the county agreed to pay $372,000; install video surveillance cameras …
Managed Care Infects Prison Health Services by by Adrian Lomax In September, 1996, Melody Bird complained to guards at Florida's Pinellas County Jail that she was experiencing severe chest pains and having trouble breathing. Nurses at the jail, finding no discernible blood pressure, concluded that Bird was suffering a heart …
New Jersey Prisoners Have Liberty Interest in Parole by A federal district court in New Jersey held that New Jersey parole statute N.J.S.A. § 30:4-123-53(a) creates a due process liberty interest in parole release. Hubert Watson filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claiming his due process rights were violated …
