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 …
Settlement Agreement Evicts Room and Board Fees From Georgia Jail by Michael Rigby The Sheriff of Clinch County, Georgia, has agreed to end a decades-long practice of charging pretrial detainees for room and board and to return $27,000 to those who paid the fees over a 4-year period. Also pursuant …
Georgia Prisoner Beaten By Guard Awarded $22,000 by On October 19, 2005, a federal jury awarded $22,000 in damages to a Georgia prisoner who was beaten by a guard. Plaintiff Larry Hudson, 45, claimed that on March 7, 2002, while confined in disciplinary segregation, he became involved in a verbal …
$790,000 Settlement In Ulcer Death of Georgia Jail Prisoner by In November 2005, Dekalb County, Georgia, a private medical provider, and a local hospital agreed to pay a combined total of $790,000 to settle with the widow of a prisoner who died from a perforated ulcer. While imprisoned in the …
Forced Masturbation States Privacy Claim by The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has remanded for further proceedings a prisoners civil rights complaint that alleged he was forced to strip and masturbate by a female guard, and was then retaliated against for reporting her nefarious activities. Boxer X, a prisoner at …
Georgia Jail and Its Medical Provider Settle Jail Wrongful Death Suit For $500,000 by Joan G. Crumpler Wilkes County, Georgia and Integrative Detention Health Services, Inc. (IDHS) paid $500,000.00 for settlement of a wrongful death suit alleging negligent medical care, deliberate indifference to serious medical needs, and wrongly allowing a …
Lawyers Bilk Cornell for Millions, San Francisco Jail Scammed by In an attempt to recoup millions of dollars, private prison operator Cornell Companies, Inc., has filed lawsuits against lawyers entrusted to oversee the companys funds for land deals. Cornell, based in Huston filed the latest suit on August 26, 2005, …
Georgia Prisons: A Blight On The Peach State by Michael Rigby During the Civil War, General William Tecumseh Shermans devastating march through the South was a blight on Georgia and all who lived there. Today, the safety of many Georgians particularly the 50,000 confined in the states 37 prisons is …
Former Georgia Parole Chairman Loses Appeal of Corruption Conviction by by Gary Hunter Former Georgia parole board chairman Bobby K. Whitworth launched a last-ditch attempt, in the Georgia Court of Appeals, to thwart his felony conviction for corruption. He failed. Whitworths tenure with the Georgia prison system is replete with …
Georgia Legislature Awards Wrongly Convicted Man $1 Million by In its 2005 session, the Georgia Legislature awarded Clarence Harrison $1 million for loss of liberty, personal injury, lost wages, injury to reputation, emotional distress, and other damages as a result of his nearly 18 years of incarceration and expenses and …
Repercussions from Georgia Courthouse Escape, Shootings Continue by Inadequate security, which had existed for years at Georgia's Fulton County Courthouse, as well as lapses by Sheriff's deputies, are being blamed for the deadly March 11, 2005 escape of Brian Nichols. PLN has previously reported on the many problems afflicting the …
Williams v. Clinch County, GA, Consent Decree, Jail Reimbursement Fees, 2006 Case 7:04-cv-00124-HL Document 71 Filed 04/14/2006 Page 1 of 11 FILED U.S. IJISTR!CT COURT IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURtpDLt: GEORGIA FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEO~PR 14 PH 2: ~ I VALDOSTA DIVISION (1 <~ DEPUTY CLERK • …
Supreme Court: Prisoners' ADA Right to Sue for Damages Trumps State's Sovereign Immunity by by John E. Dannenberg The United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the private cause of action created by the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) (42 U.S.C. § 12131 et seq.), which permits disabled state prisoners …
