Philadelphia Women Prisoners Sue for Being Housed with a Man by Four women have sued the City and County of Philadelphia, its prison system, several of its divisions and officials, and Prison Health Services (PHS, now known as Corizon) for forcing them to share a jail cell with a man …
States Create Special Commissions to Study Flat-Fee Indigent Defense by Joe Watson Some states may soon be doing more to guarantee the Sixth Amendment right to counsel for indigent criminal defend-ants. Special commissions have been convened in Nevada, Idaho, Michigan and Pennsylvania to investigate how flat-fee contracts with private defense …
Pennsylvania Jail Major Pleads Guilty to Beating Prisoner After Escape Attempt by On October 29, 2011, James M. Donis, 50, who had been major of the guards and the fourth-highest-ranking official at the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was fired from his $68,631-a-year position. He had worked at the …
Pennsylvania Guards Charged with Physical, Sexual Abuse of Prisoners by A Pennsylvania state prison guard was arrested on September 27, 2011 and charged with 89 counts of physically and sexually abusing prisoners at State Correctional Institution (SCI) Pittsburgh. Seven other guards were initially suspended, and three face related charges. Before …
Galarza v. Szalczyk, PA, Settlement - Allentown, ICE Detention US Citizen, 2012 JOINT TORTFEASOR RELEASE AND INDEMNITY AGREEMENT KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESElNTS, that the undersigned, ERNESTO GALARZA (hereinafter "RELEASqR") intending to be legally bound, for and in consideration of the full sum of T1"'ENTY FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($25,000.00) …
PHS Hit with $312,000 Verdict for Inadequate Care of Pennsylvania Prisoner by PHS Hit with $312,000 Verdict for Inadequate Care of Pennsylvania Prisoner On February 17, 2012, a Pennsylvania state jury slapped Prison Health Services (PHS) with a $400,000 verdict for inadequate medical care of a prisoner at State Correctional …
U.S. Supreme Court Holds AG Rules Required Before SORNA Sex Offender Law is Applied Retroactively by Derek Gilna On January 23, 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision written by Justice Stephen Breyer, reversed the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which had held that the federal Sex Offender …
Tainted Chicken Sickens Hundreds of Prisoners, Staff at Pennsylvania BOP Facility by In late June 2011, around 320 prisoners and employees at USP Canaan in Pennsylvania, north of Philadelphia, became sick due to salmonella poisoning after eating “tainted chicken” used to make fajitas. Four prisoners were ill enough to require …
Pennsylvania Jail Detainee's Complaint over Tight Ankle Monitor Survives Motion for Summary Judgment by In April 2009, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled that "so many genuine disputes of material fact" existed with respect to a jail detainee's complaint alleging violations of his First and …
Class-Action Settlement Cures Constitutional Violations at Pennsylvania Prison by A settlement has been reached in a class-action lawsuit challenging conditions at Pennsylvania’s Northumberland County Prison (NCP). Since the suit was filed in February 2008 on behalf of 12 prisoners by the Lewisburg Prison Project, NCP officials had disputed claims that …
Pennsylvania Prison Guard Convicted in Drug Probe, Testifies Against Coworkers by Former Luzerne County Correctional Facility guard John Gonda, known as “G-Unit,” was the subject of an investigation called Operation Avalanche after authorities received tips he was selling “large quantities [of drugs] in the Wilkes-Barre area.” The probe targeted the …
Judge, Not Jury, Must Resolve Questions about Administrative Exhaustion by Factual disputes surrounding whether a prisoner properly exhausted administrative remedies under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) prior to filing suit must be resolved by the court, not a jury, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held …
$500,000 Settlement in Pennsylvania Jail Prisoner’s Medical-Related Death by A $500,000 settlement has been reached in a federal lawsuit involving the death of a prisoner at Pennsylvania’s Fayette County Prison. Terry Johnson, 48, died in his cell in February 2007 after he was denied medical care. The suit, filed by …
Pennsylvania County Prisons Not Reporting Critical Incidents by The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PDOC) requires county prisons to submit monthly “extraordinary occurrence” reports as part of the department’s duty to inspect local lock-ups and identify deficiencies. However, the accuracy of the self-reported data has been faulty in some cases and …
Pennsylvania Businessman Sentenced to 18 Months in “Kids for Cash” Kickback Scandal by In November 2011, a Pennsylvania U.S. District Court sentenced the former owner of two for-profit juvenile detention centers to 18 months in prison for his role in a kickback scheme that included two judges. The scandal, involving …
Pennsylvania Prisoner’s $185,000 Jury Award Reduced to $75,005 by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On June 7, 2011, a Pennsylvania federal judge issued an order reducing a prisoner’s jury award for destruction of legal materials to $75,005. The award had previously been reduced from $185,000 to $115,000. Andre Jacobs, a …
Third Circuit: § 2241 is Proper Vehicle for BOP IFRP Challenges by Mark Wilson Third Circuit: § 2241 is Proper Vehicle for BOP IFRP Challenges by Mark Wilson The Third Circuit Court of Appeals held on December 2, 2010 that a federal habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 …
