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Article • March 15, 1999 • from PLN March, 1999
Pennsylvania Consent Decrees Terminated Under PLRA by In two separate rulings, different federal district courts in Pennsylvania held the consent decree termination provisions of the PLRA to be constitutional and dissolved the decrees at issue. In the July, 1998, issue of PLN we reported Imprisoned Citizens Union v. Shapp, 977 …
Warden May Be Liable for Rape by The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit held that a district court erred when it granted judgement as a matter of law to a defendant prison warden in a rape case. Kendall Spruce, an Arkansas state prisoner, filed suit claiming his Eighth …
Colorado Contraband Rule Requires Visitor Notice by The Colorado supreme court held that a state statute criminalizing the introduction of contraband into county jails was constitutional but affirmed dismissal of criminal charges because the jail failed to comply with the statute's notice requirements. Thomas Holmes, an attorney, was charged with …
Rikers Island Brutality Suit Settled by Jonathan Chasan By Jonathan Chasan New York City officials have acknowledged the need for far-reaching court-ordered reforms to curb systemic brutality and its cover up in the Rikers Island Central Punitive Segregation Unit ("CPSU" or "the bing"), known in the City jails as "the …
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 …
Cancellation of TDCJ/VitaPro Contract Reversed by ATexas appellate court held that a material fact issue of whether dehydrated textured vegetable protein (TVP) is an agricultural commodity precludes the trial court from granting the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) summary judgment declaring its contract with VitaPro invalid. In mid-1994, TDCJ …
Attorney Fee Cap Inapplicable to Pre-PLRA Suits; PLRA Automatic Stay Provisions Constitutional by S.Ct. Grants Review of Fee Issue by Matthew T. Clarke The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has held that the attorney fee cap contained within the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 42 U.S.C. §1997e(d), (PLRA) does …
California Guards Indicted in Rapes by Willie Wisely By W. Wisely More than five years after they set two prisoners up to be raped, then concealed their crimes by falsifying documents and lying to investigators, five guards from California's Corcoran prison were indicted on October 8, 1998, by a Kings …
Article • February 15, 1999 • from PLN February, 1999
Virginia Prison "Fire Trap" Finding Reversed by Virginia Prison "Fire Trap" Finding Reversed Virginia's state fire marshal overruled an inspector's recommendation to close a prison "fire trap" after reinspecting the building himself at the request of the warden, according to an Associated Press report. Carolyn R. Williams, a state fire …
Article • February 15, 1999 • from PLN February, 1999
California Gas Chamber Ruling Vacated by In the April, 1995, issue we reported Fierro v. Gomez , 865 F. Supp. 1387 (ND CA 1994), affirmed at 77 F.3d 301 (9th Cir. 1996)[ PLN , Nov. 1996] which held that California's gas chamber was an unconstitutional means of execution. The supreme …
Article • January 15, 1999 • from PLN January, 1999
Utah Strip Search Suit Settled by On January 21, 1998, the Utah Department of Corrections settled a strip search lawsuit with prisoner David Hansen. Hansen had filed suit claiming his Fourth amendment rights were violated when he was handcuffed and subjected to a strip search where prison guards manipulated his …
PLRA Allows Fees on Fees in Failure to Protect Suit by The court of appeals for the Third circuit held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) allows lawyers to collect attorney fees in litigating attorney fee awards. The practice is sometimes referred to as "fees on fees." The court …
No Interlocutory Appeal of Disputed Facts by The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that prison officials may not appeal a district court's denial of their motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity when the denial is due to disputed issues of material fact. Larry Thomas, a …
Medical Cost-Cutting by Private Care Provider Opens Liability by Afederal district court in New York held that a jail prisoner had stated a claim for violation of his Eighth Amendment rights when he was denied medical care as a part of the county's effort to cut medical costs by contracting …
Guard Awarded $300,000 for ETS Exposure in ADA Suit by Afederal district court in New York held that an asthmatic prison guard was "disabled" under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., but compensation under 42 U.S.C. § 1981a(b)(3) could not exceed $300,000. The court …
Article • December 15, 1998 • from PLN December, 1998
Preliminary Injunction Granted in Kosher Diet Claim by Prisons must provide a diet which conforms to prisoners' sincerely held religious beliefs according to a federal court in Colorado. Charles Beerheide, Sheldon Perlman, and Allen Fistell, Colorado state prisoners who are Orthodox Jews, filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging …
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 …
Article • December 15, 1998 • from PLN December, 1998
Consent Decree Termination Requires Fact Finding by Consent Decree Termination Requires Fact Finding The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit held that a district court failed to articulate its reasons for terminating its jurisdiction over a consent decree and remanded the case for an evidentiary hearing and an articulation …
MT Prisoners Win Damages and Fees in Riot Suit by On April 2, 1998, a federal jury in Montana ruled that state prison officials had violated the Eighth amendment rights of 13 prisoners. In September, 1991, a riot occurred at the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge. Five prisoners in …
Article • November 15, 1998 • from PLN November, 1998
D.C. Smoking Injunction Reversed by In the December, 1997, issue of PLN we reported Crowder v. District of Columbia , 959 F. Supp. 6 (D DC 1997), where a district court in the District of Columbia (D.C.) issued an injunction requiring that three prisoners in the D.C. prison system not …
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