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Qualified Immunity, Collateral Orders Not Reviewable on Interlocutory Appeal

Article • July 15, 2002 • from PLN July, 2002

Filed under: Medical, Injury -- Misc., Surgery, Appeals, Discovery, Qualified Immunity

Qualified Immunity, Collateral Orders Not Reviewable on Interlocutory Appeal by For want of jurisdiction, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed the interlocutory appeal of a Bureau of Prisons (BOP) medical director from a district court's denial to the director of summary judgment based on qualified immunity and a …

Tenth Circuit Says "Snitch" Label States Eighth Amendment Claim

Article • July 15, 2002 • from PLN July, 2002

Filed under: Snitch Jacketing, PLRA, Physical Injury Rule, Damages, Qualified Immunity

Tenth Circuit Says "Snitch" Label States Eighth Amendment Claim by Tenth Circuit Says "Snitch" Label States Eighth Amendment Claim Finding that a guard deliberately labeled a prisoner as a snitch, the Tenth Circuit held the prisoner's Eighth Amendment rights were violated, the prisoner's fear of assault stated an Eighth Amendment …

Colorado Parole Board Member Busted for Child Porn

Article • July 15, 2002 • from PLN July, 2002

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Parole Board Misconduct

Colorado Parole Board Member Busted for Child Porn by The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Custer County (Colorado) sheriff launched an investigation in early December, 2001, into allegations that Larry Schwarz, a former Colorado Congressman and parole board member, dealt child pornography out of his home. Schwarz was …

Tenth Circuit Discusses Religious Rights in BOP

Article • May 15, 2002 • from PLN May, 2002

Filed under: Injunctions, Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's, Federal Statutory Law, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, RLUIPA, Qualified Immunity, Clergy

Tenth Circuit Discusses Religious Rights in BOP by Yu Kikumura is a federal political prisoner and member of the Japanese Red Army, who has been greatly harassed by authorities during his incarceration. His religious practices mix Buddhism and Christianity. Beginning in 1997, Kikumura tried to obtain pastoral visits from Reverend …

Section 2241 May Not Be Used to Challenge BOP Prison Placement

Article • May 15, 2002 • from PLN May, 2002

Filed under: Transfers, Retaliation for Media Contact, Habeas Corpus, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

Section 2241 May Not Be Used to Challenge BOP Prison Placement by by Matthew T. Clarke The Tenth Circuit court of appeals has held that a federal prisoner may not use 28 U.S.C. § 2241 to challenge placement in a certain prison or the conditions in that prison. Christopher John …

PLRA Protects Lawless Guards Accused in Prisoner Beating

Article • April 15, 2002 • from PLN April, 2002

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Disciplinary Hearings, Malicious Prosecution, Physical Injury Rule, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Limitations, Failure to Train/Supervise

PLRA Protects Lawless Guards Accused in Prisoner Beating by A lawsuit filed by a federal prisoner in Colorado provides a clear example of how the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) protects lawless prison guards from the consequences of their blatantly illegal actions. William Vance Turner is a Federal Bureau of …

Qualified Immunity Upheld for Probation Officer in HIV Privacy Action

Article • March 15, 2002 • from PLN March, 2002

Filed under: Medical, HIV/AIDS, Medical Records, Disclosure of Records, Probation, Qualified Immunity

Qualified Immunity Upheld for Probation Officer in HIV Privacy Action by The Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has found that there is a right to privacy in non-disclosure of HIV status by government employees but granted qualified immunity to a probation officer since the law was not clearly …

Claims Dismissed in First Challenge to BOP Communications Ban

Article • March 15, 2002 • from PLN March, 2002

Filed under: Political Prisoners, Attorney Client, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Telephones, Telephone Access, Mail Regulations, Ad-Seg Hearings

Claims Dismissed in First Challenge to BOP Communications Ban by by Matthew T .Clarke The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered the claims in the first published challenge to the implementation of Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) by the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) dismissed without prejudice for failure to …

Turner v. Schultz, CO, Opinion and Order, Guard Assault in Prison, 2002

Brief • February 20, 2002

Filed under: Guard Brutality/Beatings

Turner v. Schultz, CO, Opinion and Order, Guard Assault in Prison, 2002 187 F.Supp.2d 1288 (2002) William Vance TURNER, Plaintiff, v. Officer Roderick SCHULTZ, Officer Michael Lavallee, Officer James Bond, Lieutenant David D. Armstrong, Lieutenant FNU King, Captain M. Mooneyham, Assistant Warden Greco, Warden Joel H. Knowles, Lieutenant Rowe, Lieutenant …

Colorado Sovereign Immunity from Prisoner Suits Upheld; Medical Claim Remanded

Article • February 15, 2002 • from PLN February, 2002

Filed under: Systemic Medical Neglect, Cardiovascular, Civil Procedure, State Law Claims, Sovereign Immunity

Colorado Sovereign Immunity from Prisoner Suits Upheld; Medical Claim Remanded by The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a Colorado statute which excludes from waiver of state sovereign immunity those actions brought by prisoners. The Court also reversed summary judgment for a guard who delayed medical treatment for a …

PLRA Screening Applies Regardless of Fee Status

Article • January 15, 2002 • from PLN January, 2002

Filed under: PLRA, Filing Fees (PLRA), Frivolous Litigation (PLRA), Complaints

PLRA Screening Applies Regardless of Fee Status by The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) screening and dismissal provisions apply even when the prisoner is not proceeding in forma pauperis . Federal prisoner Gerald Plunk filed a Bivens action alleging that he was …

Colorado ACLU Settles Restraint Board Suit

Article • January 15, 2002 • from PLN January, 2002

Filed under: Toilets, Excessive Force, Restraints

Colorado ACLU Settles Restraint Board Suit by Ronald Young A monitoring agreement was reached between the ACLU Foundation of Colorado, the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), and the El Paso County Sheriff's Office (EPSO) regarding EPSO's use of a restraint board and Level 3 restraints on jail …

Colorado Restraint Board Death Case Settled

Article • January 15, 2002 • from PLN January, 2002

Filed under: CMS, Medication, Excessive Force, Restraints, Damages, Contractor Liability, Failure to Train/Supervise, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

Colorado Restraint Board Death Case Settled by Bill Trine by Bill Trine, esq. A§ 1983 civil rights lawsuit and medical/healthcare negligence lawsuit was brought by the mother of 54 year old Michael Lewis, who died on May 7, 1998, after being placed on a "restrainer board" while incarcerated as a …

Ex-Prisoner Awarded $2.7 Million on Remand in Medical Neglect Suit

Article • November 15, 2001 • from PLN November, 2001

Filed under: Brain Injury, ENT, Civil Procedure, State Law Claims

Ex-Prisoner Awarded $2.7 Million on Remand in Medical Neglect Suit by On April 20, 2001, a Denver jury awarded former Colorado prisoner Arthur Nieto, 44, damages totalling $2.7 million in a medical neglect suit against Colorado prison officials and medical staff. In 1991, while imprisoned at the Delta County Correctional …

Federal Appellate Rule 4(a)(6) Trumps Civil Rule 60(b)

Article • October 15, 2001 • from PLN October, 2001

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Appeals

Federal Appellate Rule 4(a)(6) Trumps Civil Rule 60(b) by The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure (FRAP) 4(a)(6) trumps Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 60(b). Ernest Clark, a federal prisoner, filed suit in the U.S. District Court of Colorado. Before his case …

Cowboys and Prisoners

Article • September 15, 2001 • from PLN September, 2001

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Guard Unions

Cowboys and Prisoners by Willie Wisely Trumpeted as the pinnacle of high-tech prison architecture when it opened in 1993, the Federal Correctional Complex in Florence, Colorado, contains two lower security facilities, one maximum security prison, and, since 1994, the Clockwork Orange inspired U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum. The steel and concrete …

Former BOP Prisoner Settles Medical Suit for $355,000

Article • September 15, 2001 • from PLN September, 2001

Filed under: Medical, Medication, Cardiovascular

Former BOP Prisoner Settles Medical Suit for $355,000 by Lonnie Burton The federal government wrote Terry Dean Scearce a check for $355,000 in November, 2000, to settle his claim that he suffered a stroke in 1998 because prison officials did not give him the medicine prescribed to treat his high …

Defendants' Attorney Fee Award Must Be Supported by Record

Article • July 15, 2001 • from PLN July, 2001

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, Civil Procedure, Frivolous Litigation, Costs

Defendants' Attorney Fee Award Must Be Supported by Record by The court of appeals for the Tenth circuit held that district courts who award civil rights defendants attorney fees must explain the basis for the award. G. Sam Houston is a Colorado prisoner convicted of assorted sex crimes against children. …

Celestine v. US, CO, Settlement, Excessive Force, 2001

Brief • May 8, 2001

Filed under: Excessive Force

Celestine v. US, CO, Settlement, Excessive Force, 2001

Colorado Prisoner Challenges 'Sex Offender' Label

Article • March 15, 2001 • from PLN March, 2001

Filed under: Classification, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Good Time, Sex Offender Treatment

Colorado Prisoner Challenges 'Sex Offender' Label by The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a Colorado prisoner's classification as a "sex offender" is subject to due process considerations. In 1985, the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) modified its Administrative Regulation governing classification to include a Sex Offender Component in …