Appeals Court Upholds $250,000 Damage Award in Federal Worker's Civil Rights Case, Expert Testimony Not Required to Corroborate Claim of Emotional Distress by The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld the award of $250,001 to Russell Bolden, who was discharged from his position at Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, …
City of Chester Agrees to Settle Police Juvenile Abuse Suit for $57,000 by By Brandon Sample On August 31, 2010, the city of Chester, Pennsylvania, agreed to pay $57,000 to a minor who was unlawfully arrested and beaten by Chester police. On January 17th, 2007, Rickia Reese, a minor at …
Unsafe Working Conditions Suit Allowed to Proceed Against Pennsylvania Prison Officials by U.S. Magistrate Judge Martin C. Carlson has granted in part and denied in part a motion for summary judgment filed by prison officials accused of deliberate indifferent and negligence. Keith Petry sued various Pennsylvania prison officials alleging 8th …
Report Finds Federal Prisoners Exposed to Toxic Metals in Recycling Jobs by A four-year study by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG), released in October 2010, found that prisoners and employees at ten federal prisons were exposed to hazardous metals and materials while handling electronic …
Pennsylvania Councilman Takes Private Prison Company’s Donation, then Opposes Detention Center by A $3,000 campaign contribution from private prison firm GEO Group has put a spotlight on a county councilman in Pennsylvania. The contribution was made only days after Ron Angle, president of the Northampton County Council, urged his colleagues …
Gartrell v. FBOP, PA, Order denying of Def MTD, RFRA Bivens Action Muslim prayer times and locations, 2011 Case 1:10-cv-02160-WWC Document 39 Filed 10/12/11 Page 1 of 5 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA ISADORE GARTRELL, Plaintiff v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS, et al., …
Third Circuit: Local Occupation Restrictions on Fraudulent "Attorney" Allowed by Third Circuit: Local Occupation Restrictions on Fraudulent "Attorney" Allowed On April 19, 2006, the Third Circuit upheld occupational restrictions placed on a former federal prisoner that prohibited him from working for an attorney of law firm while on three years …
Third Circuit Upholds Pennsylvania Sex Offender Treatment Parole Requirement by Mark Wilson The Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that a sex offender treatment requirement did not violate a Pennsylvania prisoner’s constitutional rights. In 1987, Clifford Newman was convicted of several sex offenses and sentenced to 20 years in prison. …
$85,000 Settlement in Philadelphia Wrongful Imprisonment Suit by The City of Philadelphia has agreed to pay $85,000 to a man who was wrongfully arrested and imprisoned for a year for a crime he didn’t commit. When Eugene Robinson saw his photo in the Week’s Most Wanted section of the Philadelphia …
Third Circuit Upholds Unanimity Requirement for Pennsylvania Pardon Recommendations by The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a Pennsylvania law requiring a unanimous vote on pardon and commutation recommendations. Article IV § 9(a) of Pennsylvania’s constitution authorizes the governor to commute or pardon a prisoner. Such authority is exercised …
Shelton v. Kane, PA, Complaint, Violence in Special Management Units, 2011 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA NORMAN SHELTON, Plaintiff, v. CIVIL ACTION THOMAS R. KANE, JOSEPH NORWOOD, BRIAN A. BLEDSOE, CHUCK MAIORANA, DARRELL YOUNG, KRISTA REAR, J. DUNKELBERGER, JOHN ADAMI, J. FOSNOT, F. …
American “Corrections” by Mumia Abu-Jamal At SCI Pittsburgh in Woods Run, Pennsylvania, prisoners and guards alike made the phenomenon of imprisonment more hellish than usual. That’s because, according to at least one broadcast report, men at the medium- to minimum-security lock-up, particularly those convicted of sexual assaults against children, were …
Prison Records Officer Entitled to Qualified Immunity; No Evidence of Deliberate Indifference to Sentencing Errors by Mark Wilson On April 22, 2010, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that a Pennsylvania prison records officer was entitled to qualified immunity for a prisoner allegedly being confined 10 months beyond his …
Gifts Not “Income” for Pennsylvania Child Support Orders by The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania held that the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) applied an erroneous definition of “income,” to withdraw funds from a prisoner’s trust account. On May 26, 2005, a trial court issued an order to withhold income for …
Reporter Cannot be Compelled to Disclose Source Under Pennsylvania Law by David Reutter By David M. Reutter The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has held the state’s media shield law prohibits the compelled disclosure of a confidential source’s identity, or any information that could expose the source’s identity, rejecting an invitation to …
Pennsylvania DOC Agrees to Comply with Clean Air Act at Four Prisons by David Reutter by David M. Reutter A settlement agreement to remedy violations of the federal Clean Air Act at four Pennsylvania state prisons was announced on January 4, 2011. The settlement between the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections …
No Refund or Waiver of Appellate Filing Fee by Mark Wilson By Mark Wilson In three consolidated cases, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that voluntary dismissal of appeals does not result in refunds of the Appellants’ $455 filing fees. The court also held that it has no authority …
No Time Limit for Defendants to Raise a PLRA Defense by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On May 17, 2010, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court’s grant of summary judgment to prison officials on the eve of trial, holding it was an abuse of discretion …
Jacobs v. PA DOC, PA, Court Order, Conspiracy Due Process, 2011 Case 2:04-cv-01366-JFC Document 230 Filed 06/07/11 Page 1 of 59 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA ANDRE JACOBS, Plaintiff, v. PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTONS, JEFFERY A. BEARD, et al., Defendants. ) ) ) …
Lancaster County Prison Settlements, Todd B. Spidle of Sunday News, 2011 Recent settlements of lawsuits filed against Lancaster County Prison PRISON INMATE James Hodapp Paul Barbacano Vance Laughman Strip search suit Luis Rivera Marquez James Wilson Felix Nieves Jon Eichelman TOTAL SETTLEMENT COSTS OF DEFENSE TOTAL COUNTY PAYOUT $122,500 $75,000 …
