Discovery Request Petition Prohibited While Another Court Entertains Post conviction Proceedings by Tennessee State pro se prisoner Ronald Waller appealed the 1998 denial of his petition under the Public Records Act to obtain copies of photographs taken in connection with his conviction. The denial was affirmed because he was statutorily …
TN Chancery Court Must Award Reasonable, Rather Than All, Costs and Fees to Winner in Public Records Act Cases by The Pollow family settled a civil rights action against police in Memphis, Tennessee after officers killed Adam Pollow while "restraining" him. The Settlement Agreement (Agreement) netted the Pollows $475,000. Contemporary …
Federal Law Requiring Felons Submit DNA Sample Constitutional by The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a federal statute, 42 U.S.C. § 14135a, that requires persons convicted of federal felonies to submit a DNA sample is constitutional. That ruling comes in the appeal of Bobbie J. Conley, who …
$1.6 Million Settlements by PHS and Hillsborough County in Death of Baby Born in Florida Jail by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Inadequate medical care by Prison Health Services (PHS) has resulted in yet another death and $1.6 million in settlements for the mother of a baby boy who …
Tennessee Parole Rules-Changes as Applied to Old Lifer May Violate Ex Post Facto by The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a double-murderer convicted in 1975, serving life in Tennessee, was entitled to the benefit of 1974 parole rules which conditionally provided that ?... such prisoner shall be …
Tennessee DOC’s Double Standard by G.A. Bowers Tennessee DOC's Double Standard by Greg Bowers The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) applies a double standard to ethical violations committed by its employees and those committed by prisoners. TDOC staff who commit ethical violations are typically reassigned. Even when fired, they have …
Sixth Circuit Rules Tennessee Prisoner Has Liberty Interest in Parole by The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated and remanded a Tennessee Federal District Court's dismissal of a Tennessee prisoner's 42 U.S.C. §1983 suit as having no basis in law or fact. Alvin Seagroves, a Tennessee state prisoner …
No Legal Malpractice Claim Without Post-Conviction Relief by The Supreme Court of Tennessee held that a prisoner could not sue his former defense attorneys for legal malpractice unless he won post-conviction relief. Defendant and numerous co-defendants were arrested and indicted on federal drug charges. Defendant's attorneys asked him to persuade …
Different Standards for Incoming/Outgoing Mail Censorship by The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals noted in a Tennessee case that there are two separate standards to be applied to prisoner mail censorship cases. Incoming mail censorship is governed by the test announced in Thornburgh v. Abbott, 490 U.S. 401, 109 S.Ct. …
PLRA Applies to Private Prisons by Upholding a Tennessee federal district court, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled as meritless and frivolous a Wisconsin prisoner's suit against the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). Jerald Treat, a Wisconsin prisoner incarcerated at the CCA-owned and operated Whiteville Correctional Facility (WCF) …
Norris-LaGuardia Act Trumps State Common Law by The United States Supreme Court held that only when the level of proof in §6 of the Norris-LaGuardia Act is reached can damages for interference be awarded. Paul Gibs filed a federal action against a labor union, The United Mine Workers of America …
Summary Judgment of Tennessee Prisoner's Appeal of Disciplinary Ruling Reversed by Summary Judgment of Tennessee Prisoner's Appeal of Disciplinary Ruling Reversed In this case involving a prison disciplinary proceeding, the Tennessee Court of Appeals held that material factual disputes surrounding a prisoner's waiver of his right to 24-hour notice and …
Tennessee: Fine Imposed on Prisoner for Refusing Drug Test Reversed by In this strongly-worded opinion decrying the state attorney general's litigation practices, the Tennessee Court of Appeals held that a prisoner's petition challenging the imposition of a fine for refusing to take a drug test stated a claim. On October …
Tennessee Prisoner in Private Prison Not "Inmate" by Statutory Definition by Tennessee Prisoner in Private Prison Not "Inmate" by Statutory Definition The Tennessee Court of Appeals held that because a state prisoner housed at a privately operated prison was not an "inmate" within the statutory definition, he was not required …
Tennessee Prisoner Not Responsible for Failure to Prosecute by On May 27, 2003, the Tennessee Court of Appeals reversed an order dismissing for failure to prosecute a prisoner's pro se lawsuit against the state. State prisoner Russell Wellington claimed that while imprisoned at the Riverbend Maximum Security Correctional Facility he …
Paraplegic Prisoner's Medical Neglect Claim Upheld on Appeal by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the judgment of the U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee, in a lawsuit filed by Larry M. Leach, a paraplegic prisoner. Leach sued the Mayor and Sheriff of Shelby County …
PLRA Not Applicable In Habeas Cases by The United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PLRA), 28 U.S.C. § 1915, did not apply to habeas corpus petitions filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Mahamadou Sillah, a native …
Prisoner's Dismissed § 1983 Assault Claim Against TransCor America Reinstated by Prisoner's Dismissed § 1983 Assault Claim Against TransCor America Reinstated The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, vacating a Tennessee federal district dismissal, reinstated a prisoner's civil rights lawsuit against TransCor America for Eighth Amendment violations. Juan Castillo, a …
