Prison Ban on Writing Religious Leaders Invalidated, Muslim Magazine Allowed by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an Atlanta federal penitentiary policy of not allowing prisoners to correspond with religious leaders was unconstitutional and remanded for an order allowing such correspondence. The court also held that Black Muslim …
Gender is not BFOQ for Georgia Deputy Sheriff Job by The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that gender is not a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) for the job of Deputy Sheriff I at Atlanta's Fulton County Jail. After the Sheriff posted advertisements for the deputy sheriff positions, a …
Hunger Striking GA Prisoner Has Right to Privacy to Refuse Forced Feeding. by Anthony Prevatte, a prisoner at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Center in Butts, Georgia, began a hunger strike on October 29, 1981 and on November 21 refused to allows doctors to examine him. Prevatte's hunger strike was …
Expert Testimony Fails to Prove Subjective Mental Intent of Psychiatrist by The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that expert testimony does not establish a psychiatrist's subjective mental intent in a prisoner's 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging an Eighth Amendment claim for deliberate indifference to serious medical needs. This …
No SJ in § 1983 Claim Over GA Prisoner's Death by No SJ in § 1983 Claim Over GA Prisoner's Death The Court of Appeals of Georgia held that genuine issues of material fact precluded summary judgment in a civil rights action brought by a deceased prisoner's daughter and administrator …
Parole Board Decision One Time Act That Fails to Toll Statute of Limitations by Parole Board Decision One Time Act That Fails to Toll Statute of Limitations The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held a parole board's setting of a parole date is a one time act and not a …
Georgia: Sheriff, Jail Personnel Not Liable in Prisoner's Suicide by In this civil rights action brought by the parents of a county prisoner who committed suicide, the Court of Appeals of Georgia affirmed a superior court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the sheriff and jail officials. After confessing …
Prisoner Convicted of Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound by Georgia's Fourth Division Court of Appeals has confirmed a conviction against Deiante Walton for possession of a weapon and criminal use of a firearm with an altered identification number. While detained at Georgia's Wilkes County Jail, Walton conceived a plan he hoped would …
$5,040 Awarded in Federal Prison Stabbing by A Georgia federal district court, after a non-jury trial, held the United States Government was liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act in a prisoner on prisoner stabbing. The stabbing was committed by Steve Rollins, a prisoner of the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, who …
Counsel Cannot Direct Witness Not to Answer Questions by A federal district court in Georgia granted a plaintiff's Motion to Compel answers to deposition questions where counsel advised the witness not to answer the questions. The Court held there was no claim of privilege, and the questions were not harassing …
GA Prisoners Seeking to Appeal the Denial of a Motion to Intervene Must Apply for Interlocutory Review by GA Prisoners Seeking to Appeal the Denial of a Motion to Intervene Must Apply for Interlocutory Review Prison Health Services, Inc. (PHS) was awarded a contract to provide health care to prisoners …
$70,000 Verdict in Georgia Prisoner's Assault by Guards by After he was escorted to his cell for disciplinary segregation, Georgia prisoner Ernest D. Johnson was beat unconscious by guards Brian Breeden and Sgt. Rudolph Gomez. Once inside the cell, the guards attacked Johnson. They choked, stomped, and struck him with …
Ten-Day Limit to Appeal Denial of Class Certification by Plaintiffs' discretionary appeal of denial of class certification under Rule 23(f), amended 1998, is governed by a ten-day time limit which (a) is tolled during the pendency of a motion for reconsideration, and (b) means ten days exclusive of weekends and …
Georgia Appeals Court Upholds $600,000 Judgment Against CMS by On July 5, 2001, the Court of Appeals of Georgia Upheld a trial court's $600,000 award to Stephanie Stitt, a former state prisoner, who suffered permanent nerve damage as a result of Correctional Medical Service's (CMS) egregiously inadequate treatment of her …
12 Day Delay Between Arrest, First Court Appearance Illegal by The law is clearly established that a pre-trial detainee cannot be held for 12 days before being brought before a judge or allowed to pay bail. This is another case where the plaintiff was picked up on a warrant, there …
General Compensatory Damages Upheld by 11th Circuit by A memorandum from the county counsel containing legal advice, but not designated "privileged" or "confidential," was properly admitted into evidence notwithstanding a claim of attorney-client privilege, absent evidence regarding who, if anyone, received it other than its addressees, or what the addressees …
Prison and CMS Liable for Prisoner's Asthma Death by The court of appeals for the Eleventh circuit held that Georgia prison officials were liable for a prisoner's death from asthma. The prison officials were deliberately indifferent to the prisoner's health and the prison lacked adequate medical facilities. That the Georgia …
Atlanta Jail Conditions Unconstitutional by A federal district court in Georgia approved a consent decree against the Fulton county jail in Atlanta, GA, due to inhumane conditions. Court held that medical care was substandard, detainees were exposed to communicable diseases. Due to vermin infestation there was no clean place to …
Jim Crow Segregation Laws Illegal by A three judge district court struck down as unconstitutional Georgia statutes requiring the racial segregation of state prisons and local jails. Court also held prisoners lacked standing to demand prisons and jails to hire black staff. Interesting historical description of Jim Crow prisons. See: …
Prisoner Organizers Transferred for Safety from Staff by The court of appeals for the Fifth circuit affirmed a district court injunction ordering two prisoner activists transferred to another prison for protection from prison staff. The plaintiffs were accused of inciting the burning of prison buildings and that their lives would …
