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Qualified Immunity No Protection for ADA Injunctive Claims

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

Filed under: Diabetes, Civil Procedure, Injunctions, Local Rules, Americans with Disabilities Act, Qualified Immunity

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

Article • November 15, 1998 • from PLN November, 1998

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Immigration, Involuntary Treatment/Drugging

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

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

Filed under: Diabetes, Food, Civil Procedure, Summary Judgment, Expert Witnesses, Americans with Disabilities Act, Qualified Immunity

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

Article • September 15, 1998 • from PLN September, 1998

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Sanctions (Disciplinary Hearings)

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

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

Filed under: Prison Rebellion, Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

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

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

Filed under: Habeas Corpus, Mail, Legal Mail

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

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

Filed under: Gang Policies, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

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

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

Filed under: Esmor/CSC, Guard Misconduct, Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Immigration

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

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

Filed under: Private Prisons, CMS, Correctional Behavioral Solutions, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, Contractor Liability, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

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

Article • April 15, 1998 • from PLN April, 1998

Filed under: Discrimination, Sex Offender Registration, Double jeopardy (Hearings), Disclosure of Records, Ex Post Facto

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

Article • April 15, 1998 • from PLN April, 1998

Filed under: Prison Rebellion, Conditions of Confinement, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding, Exercise, Sanitation, Jail Specific, Hygiene Supplies, Vermin

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

Article • March 15, 1998 • from PLN March, 1998

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Witnesses (Disciplinary Hearings), Notice of Hearing, Written Findings

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

Article • February 15, 1998 • from PLN February, 1998

Filed under: Mail, Mail Regulations, Legal Mail

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

Article • December 15, 1997 • from PLN December, 1997

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Prison/Jail Murders, Guard Unions, Failure to Protect (Staff)

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

Article • December 15, 1997 • from PLN December, 1997

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Court Access

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

Article • October 15, 1997 • from PLN October, 1997

Filed under: CMS, Prison Health Services, EMSA, Contractor Misconduct, Medical Misconduct, Medication, Cardiovascular, Private Contractors, Damages, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Mental Health

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

Article • September 15, 1997 • from PLN September, 1997

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Liberty Interests, Parole

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 …

New Jersey Prison Guard Recruiting for KKK

Article • May 15, 1997 • from PLN May, 1997

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Organizing

New Jersey Prison Guard Recruiting for KKK by State and federal authorities launched an investigation in 1996 to probe the extent of the Ku Klux Klan involvement at New Jersey's Bay State Prison. On June 5, 1996, the New Jersey DOC fired Wayne Keller, 45, who was described by a …

Double Celling States Eighth Amendment Claim

Article • April 15, 1997 • from PLN April, 1997

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Totality of Conditions, Overcrowding, Eighth Amendment, Exercise, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Failure to Protect (Juveniles)

Double Celling States Eighth Amendment Claim by The court of appeals for the third circuit set forth the conditions under which double celling will violate the eighth amendment. The court also held that segregation prisoners are entitled to legal assistance to present their claims to the courts. Several New Jersey …

New Jersey Sex Offender Registration Injunction Vacated

Article • February 15, 1997 • from PLN February, 1997

Filed under: Discrimination, Sex Offender Registration, Injunctions, Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's, Disclosure of Records

New Jersey Sex Offender Registration Injunction Vacated by In the July, 1995, issue of PLN we reported Artway v. Attorney General of New Jersey, 876 F. Supp. 666 (D NJ 1995) where a district court held that a New Jersey sex offender registration law was constitutional as far as requiring …