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Blind Prisoner Must Exhaust Administrative Remedies

Article • April 15, 2004 • from PLN April, 2004

Filed under: Blind Prisoners, PLRA, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA)

Blind Prisoner Must Exhaust Administrative Remedies by Blind Prisoner Must Exhaust Administrative Remedies The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a blind prisoner is not excused from the administrative exhaustion requirement of the PLRA, and that a state court finding the prison systems grievance procedure violates Louisiana's State Constitution …

Injunctive Relief Ordered to Fix ADA Violations in California Parole Hearings

Article • July 15, 2003 • from PLN July, 2003

Filed under: Deaf Prisoners, Disabled Prisoners, Blind Prisoners, Injunctions (PLRA), Restraints, Civil Procedure, Defenses, Class Certification, Parole, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, Supervisory Liability, Sovereign Immunity, Civil Commitment

Injunctive Relief Ordered to Fix ADA Violations in California Parole Hearings by John E Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals upheld a December 1999 district court decision (USDC, N.D. Calif.) granting injunctive relief to the class of all California state prisoners and parolees having …

ADA Claims Against State Cannot Proceed in Federal Court

Article • December 15, 2001 • from PLN December, 2001

Filed under: Blind Prisoners, Reading Materials, Civil Procedure, Damages, State Law Claims, Venue, Americans with Disabilities Act, Eleventh Amendment Immunity

ADA Claims Against State Cannot Proceed in Federal Court by John E Dannenberg ADA Claims Against State Cannot Proceed In Federal Court In a suit against an Illinois prison brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a prisoner with impaired vision was denied monetary, declaratory, and injunctive relief in …

Blind Ohio Prisoner Spends Months in Strip Cell

Article • November 15, 2001 • from PLN November, 2001

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Blind Prisoners, Conditions of Confinement, Exposure to Cold, Clothing, Strip Cells, Bedding

Blind Ohio Prisoner Spends Months in Strip Cell by Ronald Young Blind Ohio Prisoner Spends Months In Strip Cell by Ronald Young An investigation by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) revealed that a blind prisoner at the Orient Correctional Institution in Pickaway County was subjected to three …

PLRA Physical Injury Rule Applies to ADA Claims

Article • July 15, 2001 • from PLN July, 2001

Filed under: Blind Prisoners, PLRA, Physical Injury Rule, Damages, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act

PLRA Physical Injury Rule Applies to ADA Claims by The Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) rule of requiring physical injury applies to damage claims brought under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Richard …

Administrative Exhaustion Required in Bivens Suits

Article • October 15, 2000 • from PLN October, 2000

Filed under: Disabled Prisoners, Blind Prisoners, PLRA, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act

Administrative Exhaustion Required in Bivens Suits by The court of appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that federal prisoners filing Bivens suits must exhaust all administrative remedies regardless of whether or not they are seeking money damages. As previously reported in PLN, the Fifth, Ninth and Tenth circuits have held …

$59,177 in Damages and Fees Awarded in Georgia Braille Suit

Article • June 15, 2000 • from PLN June, 2000

Filed under: Blind Prisoners, Conditions of Confinement, Reading Materials, Attorney Fee Awards, Writing Implements, Damages, Americans with Disabilities Act

$59,177 in Damages and Fees Awarded in Georgia Braille Suit by On April 15, 1999, a federal district court in Georgia issued a directed verdict awarding a blind Georgia state prisoner $2,000 in damages. Eddy Stephens, a blind prisoner, was denied access to braile books and writing instruments. He was …

Seventh Circuit Applies ADA to Prisoners

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

Filed under: Discrimination, Blind Prisoners, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Eleventh Amendment Immunity

Seventh Circuit Applies ADA to Prisoners by The court of appeals for the seventh circuit held that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12132 and the Rehabilitation Act (RA), 29 U.S.C. § 794, explicitly apply to state prisoners. Anyone litigating an ADA or RA claim will find …

ADA Applies to State Prisons

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

Filed under: Deaf Prisoners, Disabled Prisoners, Blind Prisoners, Work, Inability to Work, Skeletal Injury, Good Time, Parole, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, Eleventh Amendment Immunity

ADA Applies to State Prisons by A federal district court in California held that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12131-34 and the Rehabilitation Act (RA), 29 U.S.C. § 794, apply to state prisons and the California Department of Corrections (CDC) must comply with their respective provisions. …

Qualified Immunity RA Defense

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

Filed under: Blind Prisoners, Vision, Civil Procedure, Damages, Defenses, Rehabilitation Act, Qualified Immunity

Qualified Immunity RA Defense by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit has held that the affirmative defense of qualified immunity is available to government officials sued under the Rehabilitation Act (RA), 29 U.S.C. '794(a). McKinley Lue is a blind Missouri state prisoner who filed suit claiming he was …

Law of Medical Treatment Explained

Article • January 15, 1994 • from PLN January, 1994

Filed under: Blind Prisoners, Medical, Medical Expenses, Vision, Eyeglasses, Damages, Frivolous Litigation, Administrative Exhaustion, Qualified Immunity

Law of Medical Treatment Explained by Ed Mead By Ed Mead Case Goes to Trial Over $12.40 Pair of Glasses Aprisoner at the Iowa State Penitentiary (ISP), Dean Benter, filed a suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging he was subjected to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the …

Blind Pretrial Detainees Entitled to Treatment

Article • April 15, 1993 • from PLN April, 1993

Filed under: Disabled Prisoners, Blind Prisoners, Medical, Vision, Failure to Protect (General), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Service

Blind Pretrial Detainees Entitled to Treatment by Anthony Harris was a pretrial detainee in the Cook county jail (Chicago). He is legally blind. While at the jail he repeatedly requested medical treatment for his blindness and frequent eye infections. He also requested special handicapped housing to prevent dangerous situations. Jail …