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Disgruntled Reader Needs Barf Bag

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

Filed under: Sentencing, Parole

Disgruntled Reader Needs Barf Bag by After reading your March 1992 issue of the PLN I was thoroughly disillusioned, disgusted, and very disappointed that PLN would allow a prisoners' news source to be used to propagate something very harmful to everyone incarcerated [in this state]. I am speaking of the …

NJ Prisoner Wins Censorship Suit

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

Filed under: Mail, Publications/Books

NJ Prisoner Wins Censorship Suit by In April, 1991, New Jersey DOC officials at the Trenton prison banned MIM Notes (journal of the Maoist International Movement) because it contained articles on oppression at Trenton. The DOC said all future issues would also be banned. One of the prisoners, Kevin Thomas, …

Federal Cons Needn't Exhaust Administrative Remedies

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

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Administrative Exhaustion

Federal Cons Needn't Exhaust Administrative Remedies by A prisoner in a federal correctional institution filed a civil rights lawsuit seeking damages only for alleged deliberate indifference to his medical needs resulting from a back operation and a history of psychiatric problems. The suit was brought pursuant to Bivens v. Six …

The Pen is Mightier Than The Sword

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

Filed under: Commentary/Reviews

The Pen is Mightier Than The Sword by John Adams By John Adams I'm a prisoner at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla; Washington. I've been incarcerated for more than a decade. In 1984, 1 began studying the law while fighting for my life after stabbing another inmate to …

CBCC Guard Arrested

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

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct

CBCC Guard Arrested by Edward Fulleton, 4-1 guard at the Clallam Bay Corrections Center (CBCC) in Clallam Bay, WA, was arrested at the prison and led away in handcuffs on April 17, 1992. Fulleton was a former foster parent who is charged in Lewis county with one count each of …

Prison Dentist Sues to Hide AIDS

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

Filed under: Medical, HIV/AIDS, Dental Care

Prison Dentist Sues to Hide AIDS by A dentist who has treated patients at the Metropolitan Corrections Center, Chicago's federal prison, recently filed a lawsuit trying to prevent the Bureau of Prisons from disclosing the fact that he has AIDS to anyone except in medically justified cases. In what lawyers …

Toward an Understanding of Today's Economic Terms

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

Filed under: Commentary/Reviews

Toward an Understanding of Today's Economic Terms by Ed Mead By Ed Mead We all hear so much about economic indicators these days, but do any of us really understand anything about them, or what they mean? How important are terms like the Consumer Price Index, Balance of Trade figures, …

Inmate Assaulted by Guard Wins Suit

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

Filed under: Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Municipal Liability

Inmate Assaulted by Guard Wins Suit by An inmate's suit claimed that he was beaten by a number of officers in the presence of the sheriff. The court found that the beating was unprovoked. It was possible that the inmate had been talking loudly, but "that was no justification for …

We Are Making Progress

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

Filed under: Commentary/Reviews

We Are Making Progress by Barbara Dority A year ago, when the HOW board voted to make a donation to Prisoner's Legal News, we wrote to tell you how crucial we believe prison reform is in our country today and how excited we were about your ground breaking work. We …

42% of DC Young Black Men Said to Be in Justice System

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

Filed under: Racial Discrimination, Crime/Demographics, Statistics/Trends

42% of DC Young Black Men Said to Be in Justice System by More then 40 percent of the black men age 18 to 35 in the District of Columbia were "firmly in the grip of the criminal justice system" on an average day last year, according to a study …

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 …

No Room for Police State in America!

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

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Commentary/Reviews, Crime

No Room for Police State in America! by America is again being set adrift upon shifting sand, just when our economy is so fragile. And so the Police State enters its battle cry, "Let's get tough on crime!" Then we watch the prime time results. Anarchy momentarily explodes, then the …

Deaf Inmates Certified as Class

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

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Class Certification

Deaf Inmates Certified as Class by Doris Clarkson is a deaf New York state prisoner who filed suit under 42 U.S.C. F 1983 because the women's prison at Bedford Hills, New York, lacked any type of facilities for deaf prisoners. At this point in the legal process the case primarily …

Involuntary Medication Violates Due Process

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

Filed under: Mental Health, Involuntary Treatment/Drugging

Involuntary Medication Violates Due Process by Christopher Breads is a prisoner in the Erie County Jail in New York state who was forcefully injected with psychotropic drugs by jail officials. He filed suit under § 1983 claiming his right to due process had been violated. The defendants moved for summary …

Offers to Provide Legal Information

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

Filed under: Court Access, Prisoner Legal Assistance

Offers to Provide Legal Information by Frank Wade Offers To Provide Legal Information I'm an incarcerated paralegal and am always on the lookout for new information that can aid me in my efforts to help others that are in this system. As it's well known fact that the system is …

Supreme Court Chides Ninth Circuit on Delays in Harris Execution

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

Filed under: Judiciary, Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty

Supreme Court Chides Ninth Circuit on Delays in Harris Execution by California's execution of Robert Alton Harris - the state's first execution in 25 years - has highlighted tension between the U.S. Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals over the death penalty appeals process. Judges on …

Fully Informed Jury Project

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

Filed under: Commentary/Reviews, Resources, Juries

Fully Informed Jury Project by G J I wanted to write and say your newsletter is alright! I like being able to see the newest decisions that are coming down, to see how much more rights we are loosing, and losing them we are. I have something your readers might …

New Ruling May Impact Prison Law Library Policies

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

Filed under: Hygiene Supplies, Attorney Fee Awards, Court Access, Prisoner Legal Assistance, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Writing Implements, Photocopies, Injunctions, Legal Mail

New Ruling May Impact Prison Law Library Policies by Ed Mead By Ed Mead Arecent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit could have broad implications on policies governing the operation of inmate law libraries. The case addressed the common problems of proper training for …

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 …

Suit Being Filed Over CBCC Conditions

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

Filed under: Prison Rebellion, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints

Suit Being Filed Over CBCC Conditions by JD Enquist On April 1, 1992, Troy Talbot, a prisoner here at the Clallam Bay IMU [Intensive Management Unit], was taken to the shower handcuffed and on a doggie leash. Prison guards had left the supply closet in the shower unlocked and Troy …