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A Bunch of Scumbags

Article • December 15, 1993 • from PLN December, 1993

Filed under: Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Crime, Conditions of Confinement, Environmental Law, Attorney Misconduct

A Bunch of Scumbags by Adrian Lomax By Adrian Lomax Awhile back a friend wrote in her letter to me that, as she was writing, her son walked into the room and asked what she was doing. Upon hearing her answer, the son said, "Those guys in prison are a …

WI Ad Seg Rules Don't Create Liberty Interest

Article • November 15, 1993 • from PLN November, 1993

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Liberty Interests, Ad-Seg Hearings

WI Ad Seg Rules Don't Create Liberty Interest by Wisconsin regulations governing the transfer of state prisoners to "temporary lockup" status do not create a protected liberty interest under the fourteenth amendment due process clause, a majority of the Wisconsin supreme court ruled June 3, 1993. The majority agreed with …

Report from the Hole

Article • November 15, 1993 • from PLN November, 1993

Filed under: Organizing

Report from the Hole by Adrian Lomax Report From The Hole By Adrian Lomax The guard stood in the middle of the seg unit, counting, 26 of the 40 cells had the 3x12 inch Plexiglas windows in the cell doors covered with paper form the inside. The 5:00 PM count …

Rules for Appointment of Counsel Clarified

Article • August 15, 1993 • from PLN August, 1993

Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, Transgender, Transgender Medical Procedures

Rules for Appointment of Counsel Clarified by Dee Farmer is a male to female transsexual federal prisoner. She filed suit against BOP officials claiming they were deliberately indifferent to her serious medical needs, in violation of the eighth amendment, by not providing her with medical and psychiatric treatment for her …

Confiscation of Law Books States Claim

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

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Reading Materials, Legal Property, Filing Fees

Confiscation of Law Books States Claim by Tyrone Chavers is a Wisconsin state prisoner. He filed suit under § 1983 after prison officials confiscated his lawbooks. This case is the district court's ruling on Chavers' In Forma Pauperis (IFP) request. The defendants had not yet been served in the case. …

Wisconsin Lacks Adequate State Remedies for Due Process Violations

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

Filed under: Disciplinary Litigation, Witnesses (Disciplinary Hearings), Notice of Hearing, Prisoner Legal Assistance, Civil Procedure, State Law Claims

Wisconsin Lacks Adequate State Remedies for Due Process Violations by Varees Smith is a Wisconsin state prisoner. He was infracted for allegedly charging another prisoner to do legal work. He filed suit under § 1983 claiming his due process rights were violated when a disciplinary hearing was held without notice …

Prison Journalist Punished

Article • February 15, 1993 • from PLN February, 1993

Filed under: Retaliation, Retaliation for Media Contact, Access to Media, Censorship

Prison Journalist Punished by Adrian Lomax Letters from Readers [One of the objectives of the PLN is to become a forum through which readers can express opinions on what they've read, or to point out issues we should be addressing. Paul and I feel it is important for there to …

Wisconsin Parolees Have Liberty Interest in Avoiding Forced Medication

Article • January 15, 1993 • from PLN January, 1993

Filed under: Parole, Immunity/Liability, Qualified Immunity, Involuntary Treatment/Drugging

Wisconsin Parolees Have Liberty Interest in Avoiding Forced Medication by Jeffrey Felce is a Wisconsin parolee released on mandatory parole. While in prison Felce threatened prison and parole officials. They tried to commit him but were unable to do so because he was found to have mental problems but not …

From the Hole to the Street

Article • December 15, 1992 • from PLN December, 1992

Filed under: Gender Discrimination -- Women, Commentary/Reviews

From the Hole to the Street by Laurie Bembenek Whatever happened to the practice of gradual reintegration of prisoners back into society? Corrections rhetoric for years has included the concept that gradual reintegration is conducive to better psychological adjustment to freedom, thereby reducing recidivism. Theoretically, inmates were to be carefully …

Cell Searches States Claim

Article • October 15, 1992 • from PLN October, 1992

Filed under: Searches, Cell Searches

Cell Searches States Claim by Travis Blanks, a Wisconsin state prisoner, filed suit under 1983 claiming his 8th amendment rights had been violated by prison officials searching his cell nearly everyday for a 2 week period. The District Court granted Blanks leave to proceed In Forma Pauperis . The court …

Waupun Law Library Declared Unconstitutional

Article • October 15, 1992 • from PLN October, 1992

Filed under: Court Access, Prisoner Legal Assistance, Law Library Access/Adequacy

Waupun Law Library Declared Unconstitutional by Adrian Lomax By Adrian Lomax In the late 1980's, administrators at Waupun, Wisconsin's largest prison, devised a grand scheme to increase the difficulties facing any prisoner attempting to vindicate his rights in court. In May, 1988, the keep disbanded the Paralegal Base Committee (PBC), …

Wisconsin Lockdown

Article • August 15, 1992 • from PLN August, 1992

Filed under: Prison Rebellion, Lockdowns, Prisoner Property, Guards/Staff, Guard Unions

Wisconsin Lockdown by Adrian Lomax In the middle of May, 1992, the Wisconsin DOC distributed a new set of property rules to all prisoners. It contained a lot of new restrictions but the most significant is that the total amount of property a prisoner may possess must fit into a …

Classification Does Not Violate Eighth Amendment

Article • July 15, 1992 • from PLN July, 1992

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General)

Classification Does Not Violate Eighth Amendment by Frank James was a probation violator in the Milwaukee County Jail in Wisconsin. He was attacked by a parole violator over a gambling debt and had his neck broken rendering him a quadriplegic. James filed suit under § 1983 claiming that jail officials …

Confiscation of Legal Papers States Claim

Article • July 15, 1992 • from PLN July, 1992

Filed under: Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Dental Care, Court Access, Legal Property, Frivolous Litigation, Complaints

Confiscation of Legal Papers States Claim by Charles Brownlee, a Wisconsin pretrial detainee filed a civil rights complaint, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, after jail officials confiscated legal documents relevant to a law suit he had filed. That suit claimed he'd been denied access to a dentist for treatment …

Pleas for Medical Attention Ignored

Article • June 15, 1992 • from PLN June, 1992

Filed under: Brain Injury, Wrongful Death, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Pleas for Medical Attention Ignored by Adrian Lomax Pleas For Medical Attention Ignored By Adrian Lomax [Editorial Note :While medical neglect by our captors is nothing new, we are printing this piece because of the commonness of the events described, not because it is "news " to those of us …

Prison Officials Assault Public Records Law

Article • June 15, 1992 • from PLN June, 1992

Filed under: Disclosure of Records, News, State Legislation

Prison Officials Assault Public Records Law by Adrian Lomax By Adrian Lomax Ayear ago bills were introduced in both houses of the Wisconsin legislature that would have changed the state's public records law so that prisoners would no longer have any right to inspect government records, including those maintained by …

Not All Are Frivolous

Article • May 15, 1992 • from PLN May, 1992

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Frivolous Litigation

Not All Are Frivolous by A L I wanted to write about something in the March issue of the PLN. On page 6, an article addressing an absurdly frivolous lawsuit filed by a couple of idiots here about lottery tickets, says: "Wisconsin prisoners answered the question by filing suit alleging …

Constitutional Right for Cons to Buy Lottery Tickets? Federal Court Says Nyet

Article • March 15, 1992 • from PLN March, 1992

Filed under: Frivolous Litigation, Mail, Mail Regulations

Constitutional Right for Cons to Buy Lottery Tickets? Federal Court Says Nyet by Robert Pierce By Robert Pierce To file or not to file, frivolousness is the question. Wisconsin prisoners answered the question by filing a lawsuit alleging that they were constitutionally entitled to purchase lottery tickets. The action stated …

WI Phone Kickbacks 2007

Kickback publication

Filed under: Telephones

WI Phone Kickbacks 2007 Commissions Received from Embarq Inmate Telephone Contract Month Jan. 07 Total Calls 157,197 Total Minutes 2,652,144 State General Fund Commission $148,430.35 DOC Commission $74,215.17 Feb. 07 159,605 2,708,730 $148,210.45 $74,105.23 Mar. 07 176,367 2,972,865 $159,535.18 $79,767.59 April. 07 168,624 2,749,237 $146,353.43 $73,176.72 May. 07 182,502 2,954,161 …

WI Phone Rates 2009

Kickback publication

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

WI Phone Rates 2009 INMATE TELEPHONE SYSTEM RATES 7/1/2009 EMBARQ (NEW CONTRACT) VS EMBARQ (EXPIRING CONTRACT) Call Type Carrier Set-up Charge Per Minute Rate Local New Expiring $0.00 $1.25 $0.12 $0.00 IntraLATA New Expiring $0.00 $1.25 $0.12 $0.22 InterLATA New Expiring $0.00 $1.25 $0.12 $0.28 Interstate New Expiring $0.00 $2.00 …