Victim of Guard Rape Awarded $50,000 by The court of appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that a continuing, widespread, and persistent pattern of sexual activity between the guards and prisoners of the Jackson County (Missouri) jail, coupled with the county's custom of inaction towards allegations of sexual misconduct by …
No Immunity for Forcing Disabled Prisoner to Work by The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit held that a prison guard was not entitled to qualified immunity from money damages for forcing a prisoner to perform work he was physically incapable of doing. Ramon Sanchez, a Missouri state prisoner, …
Four Indicted in Videotaped Brazoria Jail Beatings by FBI agents arrested three current and former Brazoria County jailers indicted July 29, 1998, on charges stemming from the infamous videotaped shakedown of Missouri prisoners in the Brazoria County "Rent-A-Jail." The three, Lester Arnold, David Cisneros and Robert Percival, along with former …
Denial of Legal Materials Sent by Relatives Upheld by The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit, sitting en banc, held that Missouri prison officials were entitled to qualified immunity from money damages for denying a prisoner a package of legal materials sent by a relative. The court held it …
Sign Language Interpreters Required in Missouri by Sign Language Interpreters Required In Missouri The federal district court in Missouri granted a deaf prisoner injunctive relief and partial summary judgment for prison officials' failure to provide a sign language interpreter at disciplinary hearings, routine medical visits, classification hearings, and educational programs. …
Plaintiffs Must Be Allowed to Present Evidence in PLRA Motions to Terminate Prospective Relief by The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit held that court injunctions limiting jail or prison populations must be dissolved unless findings to justify such relief are entered by a three judge district court. Once …
U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies § 1983 Claims by David C Fathi John Midgley and David C. Fathi Recently, the United States Supreme Court has made it difficult for prisoners to successfully file claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 that "necessarily imply" the invalidity of a conviction or a decision that …
Discriminatory Policy Enforcement Actionable by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held that the discriminatory enforcement of prison policies is actionable as an equal protection violation. William Foster is a black Missouri state prisoner. A prison policy required that all electronic equipment be bought from the prison commissary. …
Delay of Dental Service Violates 8th Amendment by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held that a district court erred when it dismissed a prisoner's suit over delays in dental care. The appeals court also held that untimely service of the suit by the marshalls service was not …
Supervisors Liable for Excessive Force by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit affirmed an award of compensatory and punitive damages against a guard who beat a handcuffed and unresisting prisoner, the four guards who held the prisoner down during the attack, the lieutenant who supervised the beating and …
Legal Material Confiscation May Violate First Amendment by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held that a factual dispute required a trial to determine if a prison package policy was arbitrarily applied in a manner that violated the first amendment. Clyde Weiler, a Missouri state prisoner, was sent …
'Training Video' Reveals Beatings in Texas Rent-A-Jail by The state of Missouri was swift to react to the explosive national news coverage resulting from the release of a video tape showing Missouri prisoners being kicked and beaten during a "shake down" at a Texas Rent-A-Jail. The state of Missouri announced …
Fact Finding of Segregation Conditions Required in Disciplinary Suit by In two separate cases the court of appeals for the eighth circuit held that lower courts had improperly dismissed suits filed by Missouri state prisoners who had claimed they were denied due process when they were placed in segregation. Roman …
No P.C. for Informants by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held prison officials were not liable when a prison informant was assaulted after being evicted from protective custody (PC). Missouri prisoner Ricky Davis is described by the court as "a prison informant." Davis was placed in PC …
Filing Fees Required in Civil Mandamus by The court of appeals for the tenth circuit held that the PLRA's filing fee requirements apply when a prisoner litigant seeks a writ of mandamus in an ongoing civil suit. The court did not discuss whether this applied to writs of mandamus in …
Media TRO Denied by A federal district court in Missouri held that a television station and prisoners had virtually no likelihood of success in challenging a prison system's ban on video taped interviews. A Missouri TV station began filming interviews with prisoners throughout MO prisons. After initially granting the interview …
Eyewitness News from Missouri by K.C. This is the eyewitness account of what went down here at the Jefferson City Correctional Facility on August 10, 1996. At about three in the afternoon, a prisoner in Four House was being seen on a [disciplinary] violation. The caseworker (guard) got loud with …
De Novo Review Required of Magistrate's Report by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held that a district court's erroneous statement that no objections had been filed to a magistrate's report and recommendation constituted prima facie evidence that the district court did not perform the requisite de novo …
Missouri Haircut Rule Upheld under RFRA by Missouri Haircut Rule Upheld Under RFRA The court of appeals for the eighth circuit reversed a federal district court ruling which had held that a Missouri DOC rule requiring prisoners to have short hair and banning sweat lodges violated the Religious Freedom Restoration …
Limited Interlocutory Appeals in Medical Cases by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held that the law is clearly established that a heart transplant patient is entitled to reasonable medical care. Whether he actually received that care was a factual question it lacked jurisdiction to answer. In 1985 …
