$17.75 Million Settlement for Victims of Pennsylvania “Kids for Cash” Scandal by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Several of the defendants in a “widespread scheme and subversion of the Luzerne County juvenile justice system” in Pennsylvania have agreed to a $17.75 million settlement to resolve a class-action federal lawsuit. …
Hearst Television Wins Right to Know Case against Pennsylvania Coroner by Hearst Television, Inc., through its television affiliate WGAL-TV and reporter, Daniel O'Donnell, finally prevailed on its appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that it was entitled to obtain information responsive to a records request with the Cumberland County Coroner, …
Pennsylvania: USDC Grants Habeas Bond Hearing for Alien by On May 24, 2012 the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania granted in part the habeas petition of Robert A. Bautista seeking release from Department of Homeland Security custody, which was not granted, and a bond hearing, …
Pennsylvania: Public Records Requests Under Right-to-Know Law Should Not be Derailed by Technicalities by In June 2012, a divided Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania affirmed a decision of the Office of Open Records that a request for public records is governed by the Commonwealth’s Right-to-Know Law (RTKL), 65 P.S. §§67.101-67.3104, even …
Gartrell v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, PA, Settlement Agreement - Releasing RFRA and Equal Protection Claims - Prayer Accommodations (2013) AGREEMENT FOR COMPROMISE, SETTLEMENT AND RELEASE OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM RESTORATION ACT AND EQUAL PROTECTION CLAIMS It is hereby agreed by and between Plaintiff, ISADORE GARTRELL, and Defendant, Federal Bureau of …
Shoatz v. Wetzel et al, PA, Complaint, 8th Am escape prolonged isolation, 2013 !aaassseee 222:::000555---mmmccc---000222000222555 DDDooocccuuummmeeennnttt 666333555 FFFiiillleeeddd 000555///000888///111333 PPPaaagggeee 111 ooofff 111333 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA RUSSELL SHOATZ, a/k/a RUSSELL SHOATS Plaintiff, v. JOHN E. WETZEL, in his official capacity as …
Shoatz v. Wetzel, PA, Complaint, Prolonged Solitary Confinement, 2013 !aaassseee 222:::000555---mmmccc---000222000222555 DDDooocccuuummmeeennnttt 666333555 FFFiiillleeeddd 000555///000888///111333 PPPaaagggeee 111 ooofff 111333 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA RUSSELL SHOATZ, a/k/a RUSSELL SHOATS Plaintiff, v. JOHN E. WETZEL, in his official capacity as Secretary of the Pennsylvania …
Aughenbaugh v. DeJulia, PA, Amended Complaint, Wrongful Death Suicide, 2013 Case 3:09-cv-00159-KRG Document 148 Filed 04/25/13 Page 1 of 25 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA DONNA R. AUGHENBAUGH, individually and as Administratrix of the Estate of NATHAN AUGHENBAUGH, and JAMES C. AUGHENBAUGH, Plaintiffs, …
Lawsuit Filed Against Solitary Confinement of 800 “Seriously Mentally Ill” Prisoners in Pennsylvania by Sal Rodriquez On March 11, 2013, the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania (DRNP) filed a lawsuit against John E. Wetzel, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, charging that the confinement of prisoners in Restricted Housing …
Former Pennsylvania DOC Director Hired to Run CDCR by Anne-Marie Cusac Jeffrey A. Beard, an almost 40-year old veteran of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, and most recently that state’s Corrections Secretary, was hired by California Governor Jerry Brown in December 2012 to become the new head of the California …
Pennsylvania Officials Link Halfway House Payments to Recidivism Rates by Derek Gilna Community corrections centers, also known as halfway houses, receive a great deal of money to help prepare prisoners to reenter society. Unfortunately, according to a recent study in Pennsylvania, the state’s 38 halfway houses with 4,313 beds have …
Third Circuit Holds No RLUIPA Damages by The Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a judgment for prison officials on a Pennsylvania prisoner's religious freedom claims. Pennsylvania prisoner Shawn Sharp is a Sunni Muslim who "identifies himself as a member of the Habashi sect." "Jumah is a group prayer service …
Third Circuit: Prison Disciplinary Hearing Officer Must Examine Potentially Exculpatory Evidence by The Third Circuit held, twice in the same case, that it is a due process violation for a prison hearing officer not to examine documentary evidence that a prisoner charged with a disciplinary infraction believes will exonerate him, …
Fifth Amendment Right Waived, If Not Invoked During Polygraph Test by Pennsylvania parolee David S. Knoble served his sentence for endangering the welfare of a child, conspiring with his wife for her to engage in sexual intercourse with his 14-year old son and then placed on four-year probation. He was …
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Reinstates Homeless Man's Failure-to-Register Conviction by In 1998, William Howard Wilgus was convicted of aggravated indecent assault. Because he was a sexually violent predator, he was required to register under the Megan's Law 42 Pa. C.S. § 9795.1 (6) (4). His five years to life imprisonment sentence …
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Upholds Right-to-Know Law on Public Records by On May 29, 2012, Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the Right-to-Know Law (RTKL), which generally provides access to public records of a Commonwealth or local agency. Gretchen Wintermantel, a reporter for the Scranton Times Tribune, used the RTKL to have access …
Third Circuit: Non-Sex-Offender Prisoners Entitled to Due Process Before Prison Requires Sex Offender Treatment by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On October 4, 2010, the Third Circuit held that a prisoner who has not been charged with or convicted of a sex offense may not be compelled to participate in …
Pennsylvania DOC Settles Accommodation Suit by Brandon Sample On July 19, 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) agreed to pay $2,000 to a Pennsylvania state prisoner who sued after he was denied access to certain religious publications. Basil Allah Yates, a member of the Nation of Islam, sued the …
Why Are Prisoners Committing Suicide in Pennsylvania? by Matt Stroud By the time John McClellan, Jr. was found dead inside Pennsylvania’s State Correctional Institution (SCI) at Cresson in May 2011, he had long been categorized as “special needs” for his history of addiction and mental instability. Yet prisoners and staff …
Equitable Tolling of AEDPA Includes Non-English Speaking Petitioners by The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a language inability, when combined with denial of legal or translation assistance, can be an extraordinary circumstance for equitable tolling purposes in habeas cases. The issue was before the Third Circuit following …
