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Court Questions PLRA IFP Provisions

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

Filed under: PLRA, Filing Fees (PLRA)

Court Questions PLRA IFP Provisions by In a rare voice of dissent to the PLRA's filing fee provisions, Judge Reynolds of the U.S. district court in Wisconsin, described the filing fee requirements of the Prison Litigation Reform Act, then summed it up. "This provision is mean spirited and unnecessary. In …

Bickford v. US, WI, Complaint, Vendor Nonpayment, 1997

Brief • November 10, 1997

Bickford v. US, WI, Complaint, Vendor Nonpayment, 1997

Farmer Loses at Jury Trial

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

Filed under: Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Transgender, Discrimination (Transgender), Failure to Protect (Transgender)

Farmer Loses at Jury Trial by In the July, 1994, issue of PLN we reported Farmer v. Brennan, 114 S.Ct. 1970 (1994), where the supreme court held that prisoners have an eighth amendment right to be protected by prison officials from rape or attack by other prisoners. Farmer proceeded to …

BOP Mutiny Convictions Affirmed

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

Filed under: Prison Rebellion, Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution

BOP Mutiny Convictions Affirmed by The court of appeals for the seventh circuit affirmed the convictions of three federal prisoners convicted of mutiny in a federal prison pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1792. The convictions stem from the October, 1995, BOP uprisings after congress refused to ratify changes to the …

Prison NA Meetings Violate Establishment Clause

Article • June 15, 1997 • from PLN June, 1997

Filed under: Qualified Immunity, Mental Health, Drug Treatment/Rehab, Required Religious Programming

Prison NA Meetings Violate Establishment Clause by The court of appeals for the seventh circuit held that a prisoner's forced attendance at a religion based substance abuse counseling program violates the establishment clause of the first amendment. James Kerr is a Wisconsin state prisoner in a minimum security prison. Prison …

Qualified Immunity for Strip Search

Article • June 15, 1997 • from PLN June, 1997

Filed under: Gender Discrimination -- Men, Strip Searches, Mootness, Qualified Immunity, Religious Freedom, Religious Practices

Qualified Immunity for Strip Search by In the July, 1994, issue of PLN we reported Canedy v. Boardman, 16 F.3d 183 (7th Cir. 1993) which reversed dismissal of a Muslim prisoner's suit claiming violation of his religious rights when guards of both sexes could see him naked. On remand the …

Wisconsin RFRA Jewelry Ruling Affirmed

Article • June 15, 1997 • from PLN June, 1997

Filed under: Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Religious Freedom, Religious Property

Wisconsin RFRA Jewelry Ruling Affirmed by The court of appeals for the seventh circuit held that a prison policy prohibiting prisoners from wearing crucifixes and all other religious jewelry violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb. In the August, 1996, issue of PLN we reported Sasnett …

Do the Math

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

Filed under: Out of State Transfers, Private Prisons

Do the Math by E.D. I read an article in the Wisconsin State Journal about Wisconsin sending prisoners to Texas. There are going to be 700 prisoners shipped there (40 per week, which will take 17.5 weeks) at a cost of $39.36 per day for their housing once they are …

Guard Tower Scam

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

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Staffing, Guard Unions

Guard Tower Scam by A.L. In the January PLN, Paul Wright described the ordeal of the guards' union in Washington state successfully fighting the DOC's effort to reduce staffing of the guard towers in Washington's prisons. While it's clear that the public-employee unions representing turnkeys fight tooth-and-nail to keep positions …

Farmer Remanded Again, for Discovery

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

Filed under: Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Summary Judgment, Discovery, Transgender, Failure to Protect (Transgender)

Farmer Remanded Again, for Discovery by The court of appeals for the seventh circuit held a district court erred in dismissing a case without allowing the plaintiff to conduct discovery in order to oppose the defendants' motion for summary judgment. In doing so the court gives a detailed discussion of …

Drug Sales Boom in Wisconsin Prisons

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

Filed under: Medication, Mental Health

Drug Sales Boom in Wisconsin Prisons by One of every eight adult and juveniles in Wisconsin's prisons or reform schools are receiving psychotropic drugs for a mental disorder. According to Sharon Zunker, director of Wisconsin's Department of Corrections Bureau of Health Services, the cost of psychotropic drug treatment has grown …

No Administrative Exhaustion Requirement in 7th Circuit

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

Filed under: Court Access, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Damages, Administrative Exhaustion, Filing Fees

No Administrative Exhaustion Requirement in 7th Circuit by The court of appeals for the seventh circuit held that prisoners seeking money damages need not exhaust administrative remedies prior to filing suit. The court also held a district court erred when it dismissed a complaint filed in forma pauperis solely because …

Stunning Revelations

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

Filed under: Chain Gangs, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers

Stunning Revelations by Adrian Lomax Recently Governor Thompson signed into law a bill permitting prisoner chain gangs in Wisconsin. In a high-tech twist on the old Southern chain gangs, Thompson's program includes requiring prisoners to wear electrical stun belts in addition to being chained at the ankle. When activated, the …

Seventh Circuit Applies PLRA to Federal Prisoners

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

Filed under: PLRA, Filing Fees (PLRA), Appeals, Filing Fees, Habeas Corpus

Seventh Circuit Applies PLRA to Federal Prisoners by In five consolidated appeals the court of appeals for the seventh circuit applied the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) to actions brought by federal prisoners. The court held that this ruling, together with Martin v. United States, 96 F.3d 853 (7th Cir. …

Censorship of Rap Tape States Claim

Article • December 15, 1996 • from PLN December, 1996

Filed under: Filing Fees, Mail, Tapes/Music (Mail)

Censorship of Rap Tape States Claim by Afederal district court in Wisconsin granted a prisoner plaintiff's motion for in forma pauperis status holding that censorship of a rap music tape states a claim for a first amendment violation. James Golden, a Wisconsin state prisoner, filed suit challenging the censorship of …

Prison Labor and Private Profit

Article • November 15, 1996 • from PLN November, 1996

Filed under: Work, Prison Industries

Prison Labor and Private Profit by Adrian Lomax Wall Street wheeler-dealer Irwin Jacobs, known as "Irv the Liquidator" for his leveraged-buyout exploits in the 1980s, is always looking to turn a profit. One of his current business ventures refurbishes and repackages items that customers have returned to retail stores. When …

Wisconsin Property Policy Violates RFRA

Article • August 15, 1996 • from PLN August, 1996

Filed under: Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Religious Freedom, Religious Property

Wisconsin Property Policy Violates RFRA by A federal district court in Wisconsin held that a state DOC policy sharply restricting prisoner property violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) when it prohibits prisoners from wearing religious jewelry. The court held that the policy did not violate the RFRA in that …

WI Court Upholds DOC Classification Policy

Article • December 15, 1995 • from PLN December, 1995

Filed under: Classification

WI Court Upholds DOC Classification Policy by A Wisconsin state appeals court has upheld DOC rules which establish minimum periods that lifers are required to serve in maximum security prisons. The DOC rules assign each lifer to one of four security classifications, based on the prisoner's conviction, criminal history and …

Old Friends Only

Article • November 15, 1995 • from PLN November, 1995

Filed under: Family, Fathers in Prison

Old Friends Only by Adrian Lomax The public pays $25,000 a year to keep each of Wisconsin's 9,500 adult prisoners locked away. Part of what society expects to get for that considerable investment is prisoners who are changed for the better by the time they get out. One of the …

Police, Death and Inquests

Article • August 15, 1995 • from PLN August, 1995

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Jail Misconduct, Cardiovascular, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Police, Death and Inquests by Adrian Lomax David Urban, 35 years old, was serving a 30-day sentence in the Winnebago County Jail in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, when, at 1:00 pm on January 13, he began complaining to guards that he felt ill and needed medical attention. The sheriff's deputies who run …