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Oregon Passes Pay-to-Stay Law

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

Filed under: Seizure of Prisoner Funds, News, State Legislation

Oregon Passes Pay-to-Stay Law by The 2001 Oregon Legislature unanimously passed Senate Bill (SB) 183, authorizing, but not requiring, the Oregon Department (ODOC) to assess prisoners for costs associated with their imprisonment, including "but . . . not limited to, such items as medical care, room, board, administrative costs and …

Oregon Jail Settles Taser Suit for $197,000

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

Filed under: Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers

Oregon Jail Settles Taser Suit for $197,000 by In December 2000, the Clackamas county jail in Oregon settled a lawsuit with Stephen J. Thom for $197,000. On July 24, 2000, Thom, who suffered brain damage in a 1981 accident, was drunk and brought to the jail's booking section. While he …

$500,000 Settlement in Oregon Jail Self-Mutilation Case

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

Filed under: Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

$500,000 Settlement in Oregon Jail Self-Mutilation Case by In March 2001, the Multnomah county jail in Portland, Oregon, paid over $500,000 to settle a lawsuit by a mentally ill jail prisoner who gouged his eyes out during a psychotic episode. In 1998 Peter Klarquist was found guilty except for insanity …

PLN Awarded $58,059 in Attorneys' Fees in Oregon Bulk Mail Suit; PLRA Doesn't Apply, Injunction Entered

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

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, PLRA, Attorney Fees (PLRA), Injunctions, Publications/Books, Mail Regulations, Due Process, PLN Litigation

PLN Awarded $58,059 in Attorneys' Fees in Oregon Bulk Mail Suit; PLRA Doesn't Apply, Injunction Entered by In the April 2001, issue of PLN we reported Prison Legal News v. Cook , 238 F.3d 1145 (9th Cir. 2001), where the Court struck down as unconstitutional the Oregon Department of Corrections …

Oregon Court of Appeals Vacates IFP Decisions

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

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Filing Fees

Oregon Court of Appeals Vacates IFP Decisions by The Oregon Court of Appeals held that a trial court abused its discretion in denying a prisoner's motion to proceed in forma pauperis . In a separate opinion, the Court held that a trial judge should have ruled on a motion to …

Medical Monitoring Suit Settled for $675,000

Article • December 15, 2001 • from PLN December, 2001

Filed under: Medical Experiments/Exploitation, Systemic Medical Neglect, Civil Procedure, Settlements, State Law Claims

Medical Monitoring Suit Settled for $675,000 by Oregon State Prisoners' Class Action Victory A class action lawsuit by Oregon prisoners involved in radiation experiments from 1963 to 1973 and still living as of December 31, 1997, who were not treated under Oregon's Medical Monitoring Statute (MMS) was settled for $675,000 …

Oregon Radiation Suit Settled for $1.5 Million

Article • December 15, 2001 • from PLN December, 2001

Filed under: Medical, Medical Experiments/Exploitation, Settlements

Oregon Radiation Suit Settled for $1.5 Million by On April 24, 2001, a class action lawsuit by Oregon prisoners who participated in radiation experiments from 1963 to 1973 was settled for $1,517,000 in damages, attorneys' fees, costs and expenses. Sixty_seven prisoners at the Oregon State Penitentiary participated in experiments in …

America's Jails: The Dungeons of the New Millenium

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

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Gang Policies, Systemic Medical Neglect, Respiratory, Criminal Prosecution, Prison/Jail Murders, Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Jail Specific, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Witnesses, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Medical Neglect/Malpractice

America's Jails: The Dungeons of the New Millenium by Sam Rutherford At any given time there are approximately 500,000 people incarcerated in the more than 3,500 city and county jails across the United States. Some of these individuals are confined while awaiting trial, others are serving relatively short sentences for …

Trial Required in Oregon Law Clerk Retaliation Suit

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

Filed under: Retaliation, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Prisoner Legal Assistance, Qualified Immunity

Trial Required in Oregon Law Clerk Retaliation Suit by A federal district court in Oregon denied, in part, prison officials' motion for summary judgment on a claim of retaliatory removal from a prison job. The court also rejected prison officials' defense of qualified immunity. State prisoner Darrick Hunter was removed …

Summary Judgment for Private Physician Reversed

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

Filed under: Private Contractors, Civil Procedure, Defenses, Qualified Immunity, Contractor Liability, Civil Commitment

Summary Judgment for Private Physician Reversed by The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court's grant of summary judgment to a private physician under contract with the county, holding that contract services provided to the county constituted state action. The court also held that qualified immunity was categorically …

Prison Legal News v. Cook, OR, Motion for Attorney's Fees, Censorship, 2001

Brief • June 7, 2001

Filed under: PLN Litigation, Censorship, PLN related

Prison Legal News v. Cook, OR, Motion for Attorney's Fees, Censorship, 2001 Iol ~ c I~J '\II ~ \Q) \ri\ JUH0110m Arthur E. Sc hmi dt, ass 87401 OREGON LAW CENTER SAMUEL J. Sl\LlNEA 813 SW Alder, #500 Portland, OR 97205 Tel: (503) 295· 2760 Fax: ( 503) 295-0676 Allolney …

PLN Strikes Down Oregon Bulk Mail Ban

Article • April 15, 2001 • from PLN April, 2001

Filed under: Qualified Immunity, Mail, Publications/Books, Due Process, PLN Litigation

PLN Strikes Down Oregon Bulk Mail Ban by Paul Wright The court of appeals for the Ninth circuit held that the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) ban on third class standard non-profit mail (AKA bulk mail) was unconstitutional and violated the First amendment rights of publishers and prisoners alike. The …

Coalition for Prisoners' Rights?

Article • April 15, 2001 • from PLN April, 2001

Filed under: Organizing, Attorney Client, Mail Regulations, PLN Litigation

Coalition for Prisoners' Rights? by Paul Wright The Coalition for Prisoners' Rights (CPR) is based in Santa Fe, New Mexico and since 1981 has published a small newsletter by the same name. After PLN had recruited counsel to litigate the Oregon bulk mail case, PLN v. Cook [see accompanying article] …

Oregon Compelled Parole Statute Not Retroactive

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

Filed under: Sentencing, Ex Post Facto, Parole

Oregon Compelled Parole Statute Not Retroactive by The Oregon Supreme Court affirmed a lower court decision, which held that the retroactive application of a 1985 "compelled parole" statute violated the constitutional prohibition against ex post facto laws. In 1985 the Oregon legislature enacted ORS 144.245(3) that mandates: "In no case …

Irradiation Limitation Remains Unsettled

Article • November 15, 2000 • from PLN November, 2000

Filed under: Medical, Medical Experiments/Exploitation, Male Reproductive, Limitations, Qualified Immunity

Irradiation Limitation Remains Unsettled by James Quigley By James Quigley The U.S. court of appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that factual issues, as to when a former prisoner was, or should have been, aware of his injuries from radiation experiments, precluded summary judgment on statute of limitation grounds. The …

The Restraint Chair: Safe and Humane?

Article • September 15, 2000 • from PLN September, 2000

Filed under: DOC/BOP misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Damages, Settlements, Mental Health

The Restraint Chair: Safe and Humane? by Anne-Marie Cusac Jail and prison employees call it the "strap-o-lounger," the "barcalounger," the "we care chair," and the "be sweet chair." Prisoners and their lawyers have other names for the device: "torture chair," "slave chair," and "devil's chair." They are not referring to …

$1.75 Million in Oregon Excessive Force Jail Settlement

Article • August 15, 2000 • from PLN August, 2000

Filed under: Brain Injury, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Damages, Settlements

$1.75 Million in Oregon Excessive Force Jail Settlement by On March 29, 2000, the Klamath County Jail in Medford, Oregon, paid $1.75 million to settle an excessive force lawsuit filed by a former jail detainee. In 1997 Dana Lecomte was in the Klamath county jail on charges of driving with …

The Western Prison Project

Article • July 15, 2000 • from PLN July, 2000

Filed under: Resources, Organizing

The Western Prison Project by The Western Prison Project exists to help build a movement for progressive prison and criminal justice reform in our region (OR, WA, ID, MT, WY, UT, NV). We help support grassroots organizations work¬ing on prison issues (through research, coordination of joint projects, and tech¬nical assistance), …

Oregon Execution Viewing Rules Invalidated

Article • June 15, 2000 • from PLN June, 2000

Filed under: Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty, Access to Media

Oregon Execution Viewing Rules Invalidated by The Oregon Supreme Court invalidated several administrative rules of the Oregon Department of Corrections, (ODOC), regarding the witnessing of executions. The Court held that the challenged rules exceeded the ODOC's rulemaking authority. The Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association and several other members of the media …

PLN in Court

Article • May 15, 2000 • from PLN May, 2000

Filed under: Damages, Settlements, Disclosure of Records, Parole, Publications/Books, Media, PLN Litigation, Prisoner Media

PLN in Court by Paul Wright Since PLN started in 1990 we have been censored in prisons and jails around the country. We have always attempted to resolve censorship issues administratively, but in cases where the goal was to keep PLN out of prison at any cost, that obviously wasn't …