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Delaware: Drop in Prison Phone Rates Called a “Drop in the Bucket”

Article • August 31, 2015 • from PLN September, 2015

Filed under: Telephone Rates

Delaware: Drop in Prison Phone Rates Called a “Drop in the Bucket” by Derek Gilna Delaware: Drop in Prison Phone Rates Called a “Drop in the Bucket” by Derek Gilna Delaware’s prison phone rates will be reduced as a result of a new contract entered into between the state Department …

Supreme Court Rules Qualified Immunity Shields Prison Officials from Suicide Claim

Article • August 1, 2015 • from PLN August, 2015

Filed under: Qualified Immunity, Suicides

Supreme Court Rules Qualified Immunity Shields Prison Officials from Suicide Claim by Derek Gilna Supreme Court Rules Qualified Immunity Shields Prison Officials from Suicide Claim by Derek Gilna In what can only be considered a step backward for holding corrections officials accountable for the preventable suicide of prisoners in their …

Bar of the Supreme Court v. Favata, DE, Ruling, disbarment attorney misconduct, 2015

Brief • July 27, 2015

Filed under: Attorney Misconduct, Malpractice (Attorneys)

Bar of the Supreme Court v. Favata, DE, Ruling, disbarment attorney misconduct, 2015 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE In the Matter of a Member Of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware: § § § § R. DAVID FAVATA, ESQUIRE § Respondent …

Delaware Prison Officials Not Entitled to Summary Judgment on Excessive Force Claim

Article • June 10, 2015

Filed under: Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas

Delaware Prison Officials Not Entitled to Summary Judgment on Excessive Force Claim by Delaware Prison Officials Not Entitled to Summary Judgment on Excessive Force Claim The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed an order of a district court granting summary judgment for prison official accused of violating a pretrial …

Community Legal Aid Society v. Coupe - DE DOC, DE, Complaint, solitary confinement mental medical neglect, 2015

Brief • June 6, 2015

Filed under: Systemic Medical Neglect, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

Community Legal Aid Society v. Coupe - DE DOC, DE, Complaint, solitary confinement mental medical neglect, 2015 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE COMMUNITY LEGAL AID SOCIETY, INC., Plaintiff, v. ROBERT M. COUPE, solely in his official capacity as Commissioner of the Delaware Department of …

Third Circuit: No Supervisory Qualified Immunity for Prisoner Suicide

Article • April 9, 2015 • from PLN April, 2015

Filed under: First Correctional Medical, Qualified Immunity, Suicides

Third Circuit: No Supervisory Qualified Immunity for Prisoner Suicide by Mark Wilson Third Circuit: No Supervisory Qualified Immunity for Prisoner Suicide by Mark Wilson On September 5, 2014, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of qualified immunity to supervisory prison officials for inadequate third-party medical care resulting …

Psst, Hey Alan, Need Some Execution Drugs? Delaware DOC Gets Phenobarbital on the Sly

Article • November 1, 2014

Filed under: DOC/BOP misconduct, Medical, Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty

Psst, Hey Alan, Need Some Execution Drugs? Delaware DOC Gets Phenobarbital on the Sly by Delaware officials are so hell-bent on executing prisoners that they've sunk to procuring drugs for lethal injections through secret exchanges and backdoor deals. Emails obtained by the Associated Press show just how the head of …

Drumgo v. Kuschel, DE, Complaint, Sexual Assult, 2014

Brief • September 5, 2014

Filed under: Sexual Assault

Drumgo v. Kuschel, DE, Complaint, Sexual Assult, 2014 Case 1:14-cv-01135-CFC Document 3 Filed 09/05/14 Page 1 of 22 PageID #: 10 (Del. Rev. 5/14) Pro Se Prisoner Civil Rights Complaint \ IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT F~HE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE e-\\\(t\~J CUN\~ \\i\ \'od{ll)&_ rood 5(L -~~issG~ (In the …

Fox v. Boyce, DE, Complaint, Prisoner Assault and Battery, 2014

Brief • January 24, 2014

Filed under: Pain, Brain Injury, Eighth Amendment, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights

Fox v. Boyce, DE, Complaint, Prisoner Assault and Battery, 2014 EFiled: Jan 24 2014 01:38PM EST Transaction ID 54894354 Case No. N14C01214 CLS IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE IN AND FOR NEW CASTLE COUNTY JAKE FOX Plaintiff, v. EBEN BOYCE, Defendant. : : : : : …

Third Circuit Allows Prisoner's Substitution of Deceased Guard’s Estate

Article • December 15, 2013 • from PLN December, 2013

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Failure to Treat, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Civil Procedure, Parties, Service, Qualified Immunity

Third Circuit Allows Prisoner's Substitution of Deceased Guard’s Estate by The Third Circuit Court of Appeals held on October 16, 2012 that a district court had improperly denied a prisoner’s motion to substitute a deceased guard’s estate as a defendant. Delaware prisoner Wardell Leroy Giles filed suit in federal court …

Delaware Supreme Court Reverses Escape Conviction

Article • August 15, 2013

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Escapes, Wrongful Conviction

Delaware Supreme Court Reverses Escape Conviction by In December 2012, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed an escape conviction because the prisoner’s request to represent himself was improperly denied. While serving a sentence for robbery at the Plummer Center in Wilmington, Delaware, prisoner Maurice Williams requested and received a medical pass …

Delaware Court Decides Financial Dispute Involving Prison Healthcare Company

Article • April 15, 2013 • from PLN April, 2013

Filed under: Private Prisons, GEO Group/Wackenhut, Private Contractors, Medical Expenses, Disclosure of Records

Delaware Court Decides Financial Dispute Involving Prison Healthcare Company by Derek Gilna A complaint brought in the Court of Chancery of Delaware to appraise the value of a prison healthcare company inadvertently shed light on the big business of providing contracted correctional services. Certain shareholders of Just Care, Inc., a …

Delaware Supreme Court Reverses Lawyer "Fast One"

Article • April 15, 2013

Filed under: Attorneys, Attorney Misconduct

Delaware Supreme Court Reverses Lawyer "Fast One" by Delaware Supreme Court Reverses Lawyer "Fast One" The Supreme Court of Delaware reversed and remanded in July 2012 the lower court’s order denying motion to vacate judgment in a case involving one lawyer’s “manipulation of court processes” to prevail over another lawyer. …

Former Delaware Prisoner Settles Sexual Assault Suit for $287,500 and Policy Changes

Article • October 15, 2012 • from PLN October, 2012

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Retaliation, Retaliation for Filing Grievances

Former Delaware Prisoner Settles Sexual Assault Suit for $287,500 and Policy Changes by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna and Brandon Sample Former Delaware state prisoner Michelle Bloothoofd has settled a federal lawsuit filed against the Delaware Department of Correction (DOC), the Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution (BWCI), Warden Patrick Ryan, guard …

$80,000 Award Reinstated in Illegal Seizure, Equal Protection Claim

Article • November 15, 2011

Filed under: Police, False Arrest, Racial Profiling

$80,000 Award Reinstated in Illegal Seizure, Equal Protection Claim by The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a Delaware federal district court’s overturning of a jury’s verdict in a civil rights case that alleged Gregory Spence of the Delaware State Police falsely arrested, illegally seized, and maliciously prosecuted Courtland …

Prolonged Sitting On Steel Stools Claim Survives Summary Judgment

Article • September 15, 2011

Filed under: Private Prisons, CMS

Prolonged Sitting On Steel Stools Claim Survives Summary Judgment by Prolonged Sitting on Steel Stools Claim Survives Summary Judgment Gabriel B. Nock, a prisoner at the Dover Community Correctional Center (DCC) in Dover, Delaware, filed suit in federal district court against Correctional Medical Services (CMS), the health services provider at …

Manuel v. Atkins, DE, Demand for Jury Trial, Injury while Incarcerated, 2011

Brief • April 25, 2011

Filed under: Retaliation, Work Conditions/Safety, Medical, Failure to Treat, Eighth Amendment, Attorneys, Grievances, Mental Health, Staff Training

Manuel v. Atkins, DE, Demand for Jury Trial, Injury while Incarcerated, 2011 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE KARL B. MANUEL, SBI NUMBER 00332040 Plaintiff, v. SERGEANT ATKINS, an employee at Sussex Violation of Probation Center (SVOP) 23207 Dupont Boulevard, Georgetown, Delaware 19947 WARDEN WILLIAM OETTEL, an …

Delaware’s Parole Board Suffers from Infighting

Article • January 15, 2011 • from PLN January, 2011

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Parole Board Misconduct

Delaware’s Parole Board Suffers from Infighting by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Internal strife within Delaware’s Board of Parole (Board) has provided ammunition to a move by the governor to abolish the Board. The squabble has resulted in claims that the Board’s chairman is acting without legal authority and …

$850,000 Award in Delaware Prisoner’s Suicide; State Declines to Renew CMS Contract

Article • September 15, 2010 • from PLN September, 2010

Filed under: CMS, Private Contractors, Mental Health, Suicides

$850,000 Award in Delaware Prisoner’s Suicide; State Declines to Renew CMS Contract by A federal district court has awarded $850,000 to the family of a Delaware prisoner who hanged himself, after entering default judgment against First Correctional Medical, Inc. (FCM). In other Delaware news, the state’s prison system did not …

Only Three States in Compliance with Unfunded Federal Sex Offender Mandates

Article • July 15, 2010 • from PLN July, 2010

Filed under: Sex Offender Registration, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Federal Statutory Law, Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act

Only Three States in Compliance with Unfunded Federal Sex Offender Mandates by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In 2006 Congress enacted the Adam Walsh Act, which requires states to institute stricter monitoring of sex offenders or face losing 10% of their federal crime-prevention grants. Although all states were supposed to …