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Audit Criticizes Management of ODOC Financial Computer System

Article • October 15, 2006 • from PLN October, 2006

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, DOC/BOP misconduct, Computers

Audit Criticizes Management of ODOC Financial Computer System by An Audit found that the main financial accounting system of the Oregon Department of Corrections(ODOC), was in a general state of disrepair and the...project to upgrade [the system] was in jeopardy of failure. Additionally, approximately $177,000 in contract payments...were made contrary …

Ninth Circuit Holds Prisons Not Immune In ADA and RA Suit

Article • August 15, 2006 • from PLN August, 2006

Filed under: Federal Statutory Law, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act

Ninth Circuit Holds Prisons Not Immune In ADA and RA Suit by The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that state prisons are not entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity from suits brought by prisoners under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Billy Ray Phiffer, an Oregon state prisoner, filed suit …

$1,250 Settlement in Oregon Retaliation, Court Access Claims

Article • April 15, 2006 • from PLN April, 2006

Filed under: Retaliation for Litigating, Disciplinary Hearings, Retaliatory Discipline, Qualified Immunity

$1,250 Settlement in Oregon Retaliation, Court Access Claims by A federal court in Oregon denied prison officials qualified immunity on a prisoners freedom of association, access to courts and retaliation claims. The association and retaliation claims were later settled for $1,250 and a transfer to another prison. On December 21, …

Washington State Forensic Scientist Helps Convict the Innocent, FBI Assists

Article • March 15, 2006 • from PLN March, 2006

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Police Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Crime Labs, Wrongful Conviction

Washington State Forensic Scientist Helps Convict the Innocent, FBI Assists by by Matthew T. Clarke Washington State Patrol crime lab forensic scientist Charles Vaughan had no problem finding new employment after he helped convict two innocent Oregon State men of murder when he worked as a state forensic scientist in …

Oregon Criminalizes Sex with Prisoners; & Other Legislative Developments

Article • February 15, 2006 • from PLN February, 2006

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Administrative Exhaustion, News, State Legislation

Oregon Criminalizes Sex with Prisoners; & Other Legislative Developments by In the wake of a huge scandal involving several high ranking, veteran prison officials engaging in sexual activity with female prisoners of the Coffee Creek Correctional Institution, Oregon has enacted legislation criminalizing custodial sexual misconduct. The law, which became effective …

Jury Trial in Prison Violates Oregon Constitution

Article • August 15, 2005 • from PLN August, 2005

Filed under: Court Appearances, Juries, Guards/Staff, Assaults on Staff

Jury Trial in Prison Violates Oregon Constitution by The Oregon Supreme Court held that conducting a prisoner's jury trial within a prison violates the impartial jury guarantee of the Oregon Constitution. Gary Cavan, a prisoner at the Snake River Correctional Institution (SRCI) was charged with several crimes stemming from his …

$150,000 for Inadequate Oregon Sex Offender Supervision Resulting in Death of Child

Article • June 15, 2005 • from PLN June, 2005

Filed under: Immunity/Liability, Municipal Liability, Parole Liability, Murder by Parolees

$150,000 for Inadequate Oregon Sex Offender Supervision Resulting in Death of Child by On July 15, 2004, the Multnomah County, Oregon, Board of Commissions voted unanimously to pay $150,000 to settle a wrongful death action filed by the family of a teenage girl who was raped and murdered by a …

Harsher Oregon Parole Statute Cannot Be Applied Retroactively

Article • March 15, 2005 • from PLN March, 2005

Filed under: Sentencing, Ex Post Facto, Parole

Harsher Oregon Parole Statute Cannot Be Applied Retroactively by by John E. Dannenberg A divided panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Oregon's Revised Statute § 144.125(3)(a) (1993) was an ex post facto law as applied to denying parole to an Oregon prisoner whose crime predated …

NO FTCA or IIED Claims Stated in Oregon Testicular Radiation Case

Article • March 15, 2005 • from PLN March, 2005

Filed under: Medical Experiments/Exploitation, State Law Claims, Federal Statutory Law, Federal Tort Claims Act

NO FTCA or IIED Claims Stated in Oregon Testicular Radiation Case by The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a prisoner who voluntarily participated in testicular radiation experiments while in prison did not establish a Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) violation. The court also held that the prisoner did …

Oregon Ban On Sexually Explicit Mail, Fantasy Games Upheld, State Law Claims Remanded

Article • March 15, 2005 • from PLN March, 2005

Filed under: Mail, Publications/Books, Mail Regulations, Postage

Oregon Ban On Sexually Explicit Mail, Fantasy Games Upheld, State Law Claims Remanded by The Ninth Circuit federal Court of Appeals held that Oregon prison officials did not violate a prisoner's rights to freedom of speech and due process by refusing to deliver publications purportedly containing sexually explicit and role-playing …

Oregon Prisoner's Allegation of Economic Damages States Sufficient Claim

Article • February 15, 2005 • from PLN February, 2005

Filed under: Medical, Medical Records, Damages, Complaints

Oregon Prisoner's Allegation of Economic Damages States Sufficient Claim by Oregon Prisoner's Allegation Of Economic Damages States Sufficient Claim The Oregon Court of Appeals held that a state prisoner's allegation of economic damages stemming from the purported improper release of his medical records and substandard medical care stated a claim …

Oregon Parole Increase Following Appeal Violates Due Process, Presumption of Vindictiveness Applies

Article • February 15, 2005 • from PLN February, 2005

Filed under: Sentencing, Parole

Oregon Parole Increase Following Appeal Violates Due Process, Presumption of Vindictiveness Applies by The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the imposition of a longer sentence imposed on remand after a successful appeal of an order of the Oregon Parole Board (Board) was presumptively vindictive and the Board failed …

Oregon HCV Class Action Settled; Limitations Period for Individual Damages Actions Tolled

Article • February 15, 2005 • from PLN February, 2005

Filed under: Medical, Systemic Medical Neglect, Hepatitis, Damages, Settlements, Class Certification, Limitations

Oregon HCV Class Action Settled; Limitations Period for Individual Damages Actions Tolled by Mark Wilson Oregon HCV Class Action Settled; Limitations Period for Individual Damages Actions Tolled by Mark Wilson On April 6, 2004, the Class Action suit against the Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) for failing to properly diagnose …

Expert Panel Significantly Revises Oregon's HCV Guidelines

Article • February 15, 2005 • from PLN February, 2005

Filed under: Medical, Hepatitis

Expert Panel Significantly Revises Oregon's HCV Guidelines by A panel of hepatitis experts has significantly revised the hepatitis C virus (HCV) guidelines of the Oregon Department of Corrections. Pursuant to the terms of the settlement resolving Oregon's Class Action HCV suit of Anstett v. State of Oregon , a Medical …

Qualified Immunity Denied to Supervising Driver's License Examiner in Oklahoma Prisoner's Rape

Article • January 15, 2005 • from PLN January, 2005

Filed under: Work Release, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Work, Prison Labor, Qualified Immunity

Qualified Immunity Denied to Supervising Driver's License Examiner in Oklahoma Prisoner's Rape by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a state driver's license examiner who exercised supervisory control over a prisoner acted as a state actor and can be held liable …

BOP Fires Prison Guard Accused of Rape, Attempted Murder

Article • December 15, 2004 • from PLN December, 2004

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution

BOP Fires Prison Guard Accused of Rape, Attempted Murder by BOP Fires Prison Guard Accused Of Rape, Attempted Murder A federal prison guard charged with the kidnapping, rape, and attempted murder of an 18-year-old woman has been fired from the Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan, Oregon. Robert James Stamper Jr.'s …

Death Exposes Inadequate Mental Health Care in Oregon Prisons

Article • December 15, 2004 • from PLN December, 2004

Filed under: Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Guard Unions

Death Exposes Inadequate Mental Health Care in Oregon Prisons by Mark Wilson On April 29, 2002, the tormented life of 45-year-old Oregon prisoner William Owens came to a tragic end in the Disciplinary Segregation Unit (DSU) of the Snake River Correctional Institution (SRCI). His death exposed numerous problems with the …

Oregon Trial in Prison Did Not Violate Constitution

Article • July 15, 2004 • from PLN July, 2004

Filed under: Criminal Prosecution, Judiciary, Civil Procedure, Trials

Oregon Trial in Prison Did Not Violate Constitution by Oregon Trial in Prison Did Not Violate Constitution In two opinions issued the same day, the Oregon Court of Appeals held that holding criminal trials of prisoners in a courtroom inside a prison did not violate the Oregon or United States …

DOJ Oregon, Interviewing Guidelines of Child Victims, 2004

Publication • 2004

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Victims

DOJ Oregon, Interviewing Guidelines of Child Victims, 2004 OREGON INTERVIEWING GUIDELINES SECOND EDITION 2004 Written by Sherry Bohannan, LCSW Terry Chianello, LCSW Robin Flagor, BSW Jane Gallagher, Supervisor Doug Kettner, Officer Carl Sieg, Detective, Retired Charles Sparks, JD Penny Van Ness, LCSW Oregon Department of Justice Crime Victims’ Assistance Section …

BOP Rule Denying Early Release Eligibility Violates APA

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

Filed under: Good Time, Administrative Procedures Act (Federal), Mental Health, Drug Treatment/Rehab

BOP Rule Denying Early Release Eligibility Violates APA by A federal court in Oregon held that Bureau of Prisons (BOP) drug treatment rules violate the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). "18 U.S.C. § 3621(b) directs the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to provide substance abuse treatment to those prisoners who have a …