Washington State Court of Appeals Holds Payments to Class II Prison Workers Are “Wages” for Time-Loss Compensation Calculations by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On April 13, 2011, a Washington state Court of Appeals held that money paid to Class II prison workers counted as “wages” for purposes of calculating …
Washington Cop Retaliation Nets $1.65 Million by On September 4, 2008, Vancouver, Washington officials agreed to pay a nationally decorated police officer $1,650,000 to settle racial discrimination and retaliation claims. In 2000, Officer Navin Sharma of the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) filed a racial discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment …
Washington DOC Can Collect Incarceration Fees Waived by Trial Court by The Washington State Supreme Court has held that the Department of Corrections (DOC) “has independent statutory authority to collect costs of incarceration regardless of the trial court’s waiver of costs of incarceration in the judgment and sentence.” Additionally, it …
Washington Force-Feeding Interests Outweigh Prisoner's Privacy Rights by The En Banc Washington State Supreme Court held that the State's interests in force feeding a prisoner outweighed his constitutional right to refuse artificial means of nutrition and hydration. In July 2004, Charles R. McNabb was transferred from the Spokane County Jail …
Washington SVP Commitment Reversed for Improper Impeachment Evidence by The Washington State Court of Appeals reversed a lower court's civil commitment order under the State's Sexually Violent Predator Act (SVP). The Court held that the lower court erred in allowing an expert witness to be impeached by findings of fact …
PLN Lawsuit Ends No-Publication Policy at Washington Jail, Results in $180,000 Settlement by Less than 90 days after PLN filed suit challenging a no-publication mail policy at Washington State’s Chelan County Regional Justice Center (RJC), the defendants conceded the policy was unconstitutional and agreed to the entry of a consent …
Washington State Court Holds Requester Has the Right to Joinder in Suit Seeking to Bar Disclosure of Public Records by Washington State Court Holds Requester Has the Right to Joinder in Suit Seeking to Bar Disclosure of Public Records The Division Three Court of Appeals for the State of Washington …
Washington Prison Video Surveillance Recordings Exempt from Disclosure Under Public Records Act by Michael Brodheim by Mike Brodheim In an unpublished opinion, the Court of Appeals of the State of Washington affirmed a trial court’s order dismissing an action filed by a state prisoner who alleged that the Department of …
Failure to Advise Defendant of Ineligibility for Early Release Credits Renders Guilty Plea Invalid by A trial court’s failure to advise a defendant of his or her ineligibility for early release credits renders a guilty plea unknowing and involuntary, the Division Three Court of Appeals for the State of Washington …
Ninth Circuit Rules that Washington DOC Religious Contractor Not a “State Actor” by Congregation Pidyon Shevuyim, N.A., a private Jewish organization that contracted with the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC), may not be sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 or the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), the …
Washington Prisoners Have No Right to Inspect Records Under Public Records Act by Brandon Sample Prisoners who request records from the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) under the Public Records Act (PRA) do not have a right to inspect records without cost, the Court of Appeals, Division II held in …
Brewer v. Spokane County, WA, Settlement, Unlawful Arrest, 2012 RELEASE AND SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT 1.· Release For and in consideration of the sum of TWENTY thousand dollars ($20,000.00), and Reasonable Attorneys fees and costs in the amount of FIFTY thousand dollars ($50,000.00); for a total settlement of SEVENTY thousand dollars ($70,000.00); …
Washington DOC - JPay Amendment #2 2012-2013 State of Washington Department of Corrections Contract No. K8262 Amendment No. 2 This Amendment is made by the state of Washington, Department of Corrections, hereinafter referred to as Department, and JPay, Inc., hereinafter referred to as the Contractor, for the purpose of amending …
Seattle Federal Halfway House Case Manager’s Reentry Plan for Prisoner Allegedly Included Sex, Heroin by Derek Gilna A former case manager at Pioneer Fellowship House, a halfway house in Seattle, Washington, has been accused of having a sexual relationship with one of the released prisoners she supervised and providing him …
New Washington State Law Eliminates Tolling of Community Custody upon Violation by The Washington State Court of Appeals, Division Three, has ruled that a 2011 state law “eliminates tolling of the term of community custody while the offender is serving a sanction for violation of the conditions of that community …
Washington State Corrections Secretary Resigns Due to Affair with Subordinate by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Eldon Vail, the Secretary for the Washington Department of Corrections, submitted a letter of resignation on July 1, 2011 when it was publicly revealed that he had been having an affair with a subordinate. …
Federal Court Certifies Class in Lawsuit Challenging Adequacy of Safeguards Provided To Mentally Incompetent Aliens in Immigration Proceedings by In November 2011, the Honorable Dolly M. Gee, U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California, certified a class in a suit alleging a systemic failure on the part of …
Washington Impound Law Does Not Bar Conversion Action by The En Banc Washington State Supreme Court held that the statutory process for redeeming impounded vehicles is not an exclusive remedy. As such, the court held that a person whose vehicle is unlawfully impounded may bring a conversion action against the …
Washington Public Records Act Dismissal Reversed by The Washington state Court of Appeals reversed a trial court's dismissal of a claimed Public Records Act (PRA) violation. The court also held that Plaintiff was entitled to costs and penalties for the County's failure to timely produce the requested records. Relying on …
Washington Sentence May Not Exceed Statutory Maximum; Court Determines Sentence Length, Not DOC by The Washington state Court of Appeals held that the sentencing court must ensure that the sentence imposed does not exceed the statutory maximum sentence. Randy Linerud pled guilty to failing to register as a sex offender …
