Michigan’s Prison Industries Mismanaged and Unprofitable by David Reutter by David M. Reutter A June 2009 report issued by Michigan’s Office of the Auditor General on the performance of the state’s Bureau of Correctional Industries (BCI), which operates under authority of the Department of Corrections, listed several reportable conditions of …
Class Action Alleging Unconstitutional Michigan Indigent Defense System Survives Summary Judgment by Michigan’s Court of Appeals has upheld the denial of a summary judgment motion filed by state officials in a class action lawsuit that claims indigent defendants subject to felony prosecutions in trial courts in three Michigan counties have …
$1.95 Million Settlement in Michigan Man’s Taser Death by Michigan’s Shelby Township has paid $1.95 million to settle a lawsuit that claimed police used excessive force by using a Taser that resulted in a man’s death. Police confronted Steven Spears, 49, on August 4, 2007, after receiving a 911 call …
Montana, Michigan Towns Vie to Fill Prisons with Guantanamo Detainees by by David M. Reutter Despite winning a lawsuit which held that officials in Hardin, Montana could contract to receive out-of-state prisoners, the town’s Two Rivers Detention Facility sits empty and the bonds issued to finance the prison are in …
Michigan Changes Overtime Rules; $4 Million Savings on Prison Budget by In order to cut operating costs, Michigan has changed the way state employees can receive overtime. Statewide, the change is expected to save $8 million annually, with half of the savings coming from prisons. The change, which became effective …
Duration of Confinement in Segregation Affects Due Process Inquiry by On May 12, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the length of a prisoner’s confinement in administrative segregation (ad seg) affects whether there has been a due process violation. Carey Harden-Bey, a Michigan prisoner …
Evidence Found During Search of Prisoner’s Home While on Home Detention Not Subject to Suppression by On May 22, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the denial of a motion to suppress evidence found during the search of a prisoner’s home while he was on …
Third Circuit Upholds Ban on UCC Materials; Sixth Circuit Disagrees by Brandon Sample The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PDOC) may lawfully ban the receipt and possession of materials related to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held on July 29, 2008. In a more recent …
Jail Guards Allowed to Assert Qualified Immunity Defense; Nurses Not by The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a Michigan federal district court’s decision that denied a group of jail guards qualified immunity in a case in which a prisoner died after complaining of chest pain and breathing problems. …
Audit Report Finds Michigan Prisoner Transportation System Wasteful by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Michigan’s Auditor General has issued a report that criticizes the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) prison transport system as inefficient and wasteful of taxpayer money. The report notes that MDOC has failed to implement recommendations …
$1,800,000 Settlement in Michigan Jail Prisoner Suicide Case by On January 1, 2008, the defendants in a Michigan federal civil rights action involving the suicide of a jail prisoner settled the case for $1,800,000, the largest jail suicide settlement in Michigan history. Tatisha Grant, 23, was arrested by River Rouge, …
Neal et al v. Michigan DOC, MI, Plan of Allocation - Settlement, sexually hostile prison guard sexual misconduct, 2009 STATE OF MICHIGAN IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF WASHTENAW NEAL, et al., Plaintiffs, Case No. 96-6986-CZ Hon. Timothy P. Connors vs. MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, et al., Defendants. …
Neal et al v. Michigan DOC, MI, Notice of Settlement, sexually hostile prison guard sexual misconduct, 2009 NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION TO: ALL WOMEN PRISONERS UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS (MDOC) PAST AND PRESENT, WHO DURING THEIR INCARCERATION WERE SUBJECTED TO SEXUAL MISCONDUCT, SEXUAL …
Neal et al v. Michigan DOC, MI, Settlement, sexually hostile prison guard sexual misconduct, 2009 STATE OF MICHIGAN IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF WASHTENAW TRACY NEAL, et al., Plaintiffs, Case No. 96-6986-CZ Hon. Timothy P. Connors v MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, et aI., Defendants. ---------------------------------~/ NICOLE ANDERSON, …
Michigan Sex Offender Freezes to Death on Street As Housing Crisis Continues by Jimmy Franks Michigan Sex Offender Freezes to Death on Street As Housing Crisis Continues by Jimmy Franks On January 26, 2009, Thomas Pauli, 52, was found dead on the cold streets of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Pauli, a …
Michigan Jail Officials Lied and Hid Documents in Lawsuit Over Prisoner’s Death by David Reutter Michigan Jail Officials Lied and Hid Documents in Lawsuit Over Prisoner’s Death by David M. Reutter On the eve of trial, a Michigan U.S. District Court adjourned a civil rights suit to reopen fact finding …
Michigan DOC Rehabilitation Programs Emphasize Education, Reentry Support by Matthew Clarke Michigan DOC Rehabilitation Programs Emphasize Education, Reentry Support by Matt Clarke In 1998, Michigan passed a law requiring most prisoners without a high school diploma to earn a GED before being released on parole. That law has since been …
New Trial and JNOV Denial Upheld in $15,545,000 Michigan Prisoner Sexual Harassment Case by Matthew Clarke New Trial and JNOV Denial Upheld in $15,545,000 Michigan Prisoner Sexual Harassment Case by Matt Clarke On January 27, 2009, the Michigan Court of Appeals upheld a trial court’s denial of a motion for …
Trethewey v. Pekrul, MI, Complaint, Excessive Force, Spoliation of Evidence, 2009 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN -SOUTHERN DIVISION- Michael J. Trethewey, Plaintiff, -v- Case No. Honorable: Magistrate: Daniel E. Pekrul, Defendant. / The F.L. Gibson Group, P.C. Fred L. Gibson P39530 Attorney for Plaintiff 17001 …
Sexual Abuse by Prison and Jail Staff Proves Persistent, Pandemic by Gary Hunter Sexual assault, rape, indecency, deviance. These terms represent reprehensible behavior in our society. They also represent recurring themes in our nation’s prisons – not only by prisoners, but also by guards and other staff members. PLN’s August …
