Dismissal of Prisoner's Access to Courts, Due Process Claims Erroneous by The U.S Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that a U.S. District Court improperly dismissed a prisoner's pro se federal civil rights action. Plaintiff, a Georgia state prisoner, brought federal civil rights action against prison officials alleging …
$334,432 Award for Woman Raped In Georgia Jail by In December 1992, a federal jury in Fulton County, Georgia, awarded $334,432 to a woman who claimed she was raped by a guard while imprisoned in the Forest Park city jail. The plaintiff, Mary Isdell, claimed that while imprisoned in the …
Segregation Conditions at Atlanta Federal Penitentiary Not Unconstitutional by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court's order holding the conditions of confinement in the segregation building at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary were not unconstitutional. This action was brought by two prisoners at the Penitentiary and certified as …
Private Possession of Obscene Material Not a Crime by In a case on appeal from the Georgia Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court held the First Amendment, as made applicable to the States by the Fourteenth Amendment, prohibits making mere private possession of obscene material a crime. During a search …
Georgia $892,138 Settlement For Stroke/Brain Damage Caused By Cops by In March 1996, the County of Decatur, Georgia, agreed to pay $892,138 to a man who claimed he was assaulted by deputies while imprisoned in the county jail and suffered a stroke and brain damage as a direct result. Following …
GA Prisoner Gets 5 Years Fed Time for Mailing Threatening Letter to Judge by In March of 2005, Tracey Dudley, a Georgia State prisoner, mailed a threatening letter from the prison to Judge Louisa Abbot. In it was talcum powder which he claimed was anthrax. Half of the courthouse was …
No Immunity For Cop Who Sprays Woman With Pepper Spray in Patrol Car by The plaintiff alleged that a police officer sprayed her with pepper gas while she was under arrest for a minor offense and secured in the back of a patrol car, separated from the officer by a …
$95,000 Settlement in Guards Dropping Prisoner Suit by After being involved in a fight with another prisoner at Georgia's Youth Detention Center in Atlanta, guard intervened and attempted to carry prisoner Mark Thomas back to his cell, carrying him by each guard holding a limb. Two of the guards lost …
Dead GA Prisoner's Family Dismissed in Federal Court, Allowed to Refile in State Court Without Paying Costs by Dead GA Prisoner's Family Dismissed in Federal Court, Allowed to Refile in State Court Without Paying Costs In October of 1997, Alfonso Roberson died of unreported causes in the county jail for …
Jail Failure to Treat Psoriasis Upheld by In this seemingly incompetently litigated case, the plaintiff filed a response to a summary judgment stating that the facts are "voluminous" and incorporating the complaint and brief's statement of facts by reference, instead of complying with the rule requiring a "separate and concise" …
Georgia False Arrest Suit Dismissed by At 1374: This case demonstrates the proclivity of American citizens today to search for legal causes of action to redress every imaginable wrong. As we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Allied's [sic] invasion of Normandy during World War II, the Court must decide …
Georgia Detainee's Excessive Force Suit Dismissed by Allegations that the plaintiff was pushed repeatedly in connection with his arrest do not state a Fourth Amendment claim, since they did not result in injury, even though the alleged pushes were entirely gratuitous. Allegations that a deputy handcuffed the plaintiff without justification …
Class Certified in Suit by Georgia Foster Children by Foster children in state custody sued in state court on behalf of a proposed class alleging a wide range of constitutional and statutory violations. Defendants removed the case to federal court. By removing to federal court, the defendants waived their right …
Class Can be Certified Despite Fact Differences by All doubts regarding the propriety of class certification should be resolved in favor of certification, since certification is conditional. Numerosity does not require impossibility of joinder, only that "it is extremely difficult or inconvenient to join all members of the class." (694, …
HIV in Prison Is Lower Than Believed by Gary Hunter The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released a study showing that the spread of HIV in prison is extremely low. Of 856 males in Georgia?s prisons who tested positive for HIV in 2005, only 76 acquired the virus …
Georgia County Pays $5.1 Million for Community Service Turned Deadly by Michael Rigby On August 21, 2006, a Georgia state court awarded $5.1 Million to the family of a college student who was killed when he fell from a DeKalb County garbage truck while performing community service. Vince Currid, 22, …
Fulton County Reinstates Deputies Fired in Killing Rampage by After the March 11, 2005 killing rampage by Brian G. Nichols at an Atlanta courthouse, Fulton County Sheriff Myron Freeman talked tough about punishing officers who failed to perform their duties or lied during the ensuing investigation. He initially followed through …
Federal Judge Suspends Some Georgia Sex Offender Residency Restrictions by Matthew Clarke by Matthew T. Clarke On June 29, 2006, e federal judge in Georgia granted class-action status and a temporary restraining order (TRO) suspending enforcement of some provisions of Georgias sex offender residency law (SORL), Ga.Code.Ann. § 42-15. The …
Georgia Sheriff Indicted on Corruption Charges, Pleads Guilty by Gary Hunter Coffee County Sheriff Rob Smith was indicted on March 20, 2006 on eight counts of abuse of office. Three counts charged Smith with using prisoner labor to construct campaign election signs. The charges also included two counts of violation …
Georgia Prison Guards Plead to Misdemeanors in Prisoner Beatings by Michael Rigby In mid-April 2006, seven Georgia prison guards were indicted by a Tantall County jury in connection with beatings of prisoners at the Rogers State Prison in Reidsville. As previously reported [see PLN, April 2006, p.1], Rogers is a …
