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Ohio Jail Guard’s Excessive Force Conviction Affirmed

Article • January 15, 2009 • from PLN January, 2009

Filed under: Criminal Prosecution, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Ohio Jail Guard’s Excessive Force Conviction Affirmed by The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a former jail guard’s criminal convictions for using excessive force on three prisoners. Michael J. Budd, once second-in-command of the Mahoning County, Ohio Sheriff’s Department, was charged in a four-count indictment with subjecting prisoners …

Ohio Reformatory Liable For Loss Of Prisoner's Property

Article • January 15, 2009

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Clothing, Prisoner Property

Ohio Reformatory Liable For Loss Of Prisoner's Property by Bob Williams Ohio State prisoner Harmony Love sought recovery of the value of personal items lost by the Ohio Reformatory for Women (ORW). The court awarded Love $511.62 and assessed court costs against the ORW. Love was incarcerated in the ORW …

$500,000 Settlement In Shooting Death of Mentally Ill Individual

Article • January 15, 2009

Filed under: Police--Excessive Force, Police, Arrest Warrants

$500,000 Settlement In Shooting Death of Mentally Ill Individual by The Sheriff of Franklin County, Ohio agreed to settle a suit concerning the shooting death of a mentally ill individual for $500,000. Nasir A. Abdi, a Somali immigrant, had a history of mental illness. When Abdi failed to comply with …

Ohio Man Receives $600,000 for Wrongful Imprisonment

Article • December 15, 2008 • from PLN December, 2008

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Conviction

Ohio Man Receives $600,000 for Wrongful Imprisonment by During mediation, a settlement of $600,000 was reached between Kenneth Moore and the State of Ohio in a claim of wrongful imprisonment. Moore had sued Ohio for damages incurred in his defense at trial and post-conviction proceedings related to the criminal charges, …

$5,775 Awarded For 104 Days of Over-Incarceration in Ohio Prison

Article • November 15, 2008 • from PLN November, 2008

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

$5,775 Awarded For 104 Days of Over-Incarceration in Ohio Prison by $5,775 Awarded For 104 Days of Over-Incarceration in Ohio Prison The Ohio Court of Claims has awarded a former Ohio prisoner $5,775 for 104 days of over-incarceration. Jasen Thomson was confined at the Marion Correctional Institution for 104 days …

Courts Find Ohio Adam Walsh Act Unconstitutional

Article • October 15, 2008 • from PLN October, 2008

Filed under: Discrimination, Sex Offender Registration, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Ex Post Facto

Courts Find Ohio Adam Walsh Act Unconstitutional by Cuyahoga County Judge Ronald Suster held on May 9, 2008 that Ohio’s Adam Walsh Act violates the retroactivity clause of the Ohio Constitution and is an ex post facto law. Ohio has maintained a sex offender registry since 1963. The first substantial …

$7,025 Award in Slip and Fall From Ohio Prison Bunk

Article • October 15, 2008 • from PLN October, 2008

Filed under: Medical, Injury -- Misc., Premises Liability

$7,025 Award in Slip and Fall From Ohio Prison Bunk by The Ohio Court of Claims has awarded a former Ohio prisoner $7,025 for injuries related to a slip and fall from a prison bunk. Stacy Rose slipped and fell while climbing down from his bunk at the Chillicothe Correctional …

Sixth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Challenge to Ohio Parole System

Article • September 15, 2008 • from PLN September, 2008

Filed under: Liberty Interests, Sentencing, Ex Post Facto, Parole

Sixth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Challenge to Ohio Parole System by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The Sixth Circuit court of appeals upheld the district court’s dismissal of a challenge to the Ohio parole system brought by Ohio attorney Norman Sirak. This is a civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. …

Physical, Mental and Substance Abuse Problems Fuel Recidivism

Article • September 15, 2008 • from PLN September, 2008

Filed under: Reviews, Crime, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Sentencing, Parole

Physical, Mental and Substance Abuse Problems Fuel Recidivism by by Gary Hunter In February 2008 the Urban Institute Justice Policy Center issued a report detailing three major factors fueling the high recidivism rate in U.S. prisons. These factors included Physical Health and Reentry, Mental Health and Reentry and Substance Abuse …

Washington DOC Settles Failure to Supervise Parolee Suit for $975,000

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Immunity/Liability, Qualified Immunity, Excessive Force (Police)

Washington DOC Settles Failure to Supervise Parolee Suit for $975,000 by Nathan Hipsher, a Washington state parolee, was using drugs, failing to participate in drug treatment and not reporting to his parole officer, who didn't have him arrested. He was living with Amber Bulus-Steed at the time, who he eventually …

Federal Prisoner Facing Deportation Has No Right to Rehabilitative Programs

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Classification, Work Release, Prison Industries, Education, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Parole, Habeas Corpus, Immigration, Drug Treatment/Rehab

Federal Prisoner Facing Deportation Has No Right to Rehabilitative Programs by Hector Jimenez, a federal prisoner facing deportation when his prison sentence was completed, filed suit in U.S. district court under 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241 and 2255, claiming that his equal protection rights were violated when prison officials denied him …

Judicial Evaluation Required Before Granting Ohio Felons’ Records Requests

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Disclosure of Records, Mandamus, Sentencing, Habeas Corpus

Judicial Evaluation Required Before Granting Ohio Felons’ Records Requests by Ohio federal prisoner Dennis Evans sought a writ of mandamus in state court to obtain records maintained by the Public Safety Department / Division of Police. The request, made under the Ohio Public Records Act, was denied for procedural inadequacy. …

Ohio DNA Specimen Law Ruled Not Retroactive

Article • August 15, 2008 • from PLN August, 2008

Filed under: DNA Testing/Samples, Ex Post Facto, Parole, News, State Legislation

Ohio DNA Specimen Law Ruled Not Retroactive by The Ohio Supreme Court held that a state law requiring convicted felons and some misdemeanants to provide DNA specimens could not be applied retroactively to offenders placed on supervised release before the law’s May 2005 effective date. On August 6, 2002, Craig …

$185,000 Settlement In Ohio Deceased's Estate For Racial Discrimination And Retaliatory Termination

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Racial Discrimination, Boot Camps, Juveniles, Employee Litigation

$185,000 Settlement In Ohio Deceased's Estate For Racial Discrimination And Retaliatory Termination by Ohio State Resident Sheila Smoot, acting as administratrix of her deceased husband Robert's estate, brought suit for racial discrimination and retaliatory termination in 2006 against the Hillcrest Training Center (HTC) juvenile facility. The suit settled for $185,000. …

OH Mental Health Service Not Subject to Public Records Act

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Medical, Medical Records, Disclosure of Records, Contractor Liability

OH Mental Health Service Not Subject to Public Records Act by The state of Ohio created a mental health services board (Board) which was to contract with and govern private mental health providers to ensure that even indigents and the uninsured could receive mental health services. The Board in Stark …

$65,000 Paid to Ohio Anti-War Protesters in False Arrest Settlement

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Police, False Arrest

$65,000 Paid to Ohio Anti-War Protesters in False Arrest Settlement by The City of Kent (Ohio) agreed to pay anti-war protesters $65,000 after they filed a civil suit against police for being arrested without probable cause in 2003. An anti-war rally at Kent State University went awry when protesters exited …

OH PRA Requires Prisoners to Obtain Court Order Finding that Requested Records are Necessary to Support Valid Claim

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Disclosure of Records, Mandamus, Sentencing

OH PRA Requires Prisoners to Obtain Court Order Finding that Requested Records are Necessary to Support Valid Claim by Robert Russell, an Ohio state prisoner, filed a mandamus action in state court to compel police to provide him with copies of offense and incident reports in his criminal case, pursuant …

Ohio City Settles Suit Over Police Cover-Up in Murder Investigation for $1.5 Million

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Police Misconduct

Ohio City Settles Suit Over Police Cover-Up in Murder Investigation for $1.5 Million by James Cramer and William Nuss, Sharonville Ohio police officers, investigated the 1931 murder of Marie Schuholz and her roommate. Marie’s children believed that her estranged husband, Albert Schuholz, had killed her after she filed for a …

Ohio Guards Win $475,000 in Sex Discrimination Suit

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Discrimination, Gender Discrimination -- Women, Attorney Fee Awards, Employee Litigation

Ohio Guards Win $475,000 in Sex Discrimination Suit by Bonnie Jayne, Christina Nichols, Jaqueline Hurst, Tia Hazinakis, Bonnie Flynn, Nicole O'Brien and Karen Martin, all guards at a correctional facility in Trumbull County, Ohio, sued the county in federal district court for gender discrimination. They claimed that the discrimination resulted …

Ohio Prisoner Wins $4,525 Award For Assault By Guard

Article • July 15, 2008 • from PLN July, 2008

Filed under: Guard Brutality/Beatings, Civil Procedure, Damages

Ohio Prisoner Wins $4,525 Award For Assault By Guard by On May 12, 2007, the Court of Claims of Ohio issued a judgment in favor of an Ohio state prisoner awarding him $4,525 for an assault by a guard. Daniel Booth, an Ohio state prisoner, was working in the kitchen …