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BOP May Lawfully Limit Halfway House Placement Beyond 180 Days

Article • June 15, 2009

Filed under: Work Release, Transfers, Sentencing, Habeas Corpus

BOP May Lawfully Limit Halfway House Placement Beyond 180 Days by The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) may lawfully restrict federal prisoners to no more than 180 days halfway house placement, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit decided May 30, 2008. Gary Miller and several other prisoners at …

South Dakota Jail Prisoner Awarded $1.1 Million for Rape by Guard

Article • May 15, 2009 • from PLN May, 2009

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Immunity/Liability, Supervisory Liability

South Dakota Jail Prisoner Awarded $1.1 Million for Rape by Guard by South Dakota Jail Prisoner Awarded $1.1 Million for Rape by Guard A South Dakota federal jury awarded a former female pretrial detainee $1.1 million in damages for being raped by a guard at the Pennington County Jail. The …

FTCA Claim Fails for Acts Committed Outside Scope of Actor’s Employment

Article • April 15, 2009

Filed under: Guard Brutality/Beatings, Civil Procedure, Standing, Federal Tort Claims Act, Sovereign Immunity, Excessive Force (Police)

FTCA Claim Fails for Acts Committed Outside Scope of Actor’s Employment by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the dismissal of a claim brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), holding the action could not proceed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the Bureau of Indian …

South Dakota Guard Liable for Prisoner’s Electrocution Death

Article • December 15, 2008 • from PLN December, 2008

Filed under: Work, Prison Labor, Workplace Injury, Accidents

South Dakota Guard Liable for Prisoner’s Electrocution Death by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a prison work crew guard was not entitled to qualified immunity in an Eighth Amendment suit alleging he failed to protect a prisoner from death by electrocution due to a downed power …

Don’t Want Out of Prison? Send Threatening Letters

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Criminal Prosecution, Mental Health

Don’t Want Out of Prison? Send Threatening Letters by Two insane prisoners of the South Dakota Penitentiary are facing federal charges for sending threatening letters to a federal judge in Oregon. On June 25, 2007, and July 19, 2007, prisoner Christopher James Austad, 25, mailed threatening communications to federal judge …

South Dakota Statutory Provisions, Immunity Preclude Prisoners' Alleged Unauthorized Sanction Claims

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Legality of Rules, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Writing Implements

South Dakota Statutory Provisions, Immunity Preclude Prisoners' Alleged Unauthorized Sanction Claims by South Dakota state prisoners Leander Clay, James Smith and Kenneth Muetze (plaintiffs) appealed the dismissal of their pro se action for statutory immunity against South Dakota State Penitentiary and Department of Corrections personnel (defendants), which alleged unlawful disciplinary …

Class Certified in Conditions Suit at SD Juvenile Prison

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Gender Discrimination -- Women, Strip Searches, Totality of Conditions, Lockdowns, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Parties, Class Certification, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

Class Certified in Conditions Suit at SD Juvenile Prison by Plaintiffs challenged conditions in a juvenile training school, including the use of mechanical restraints, strip searches by opposite sex guards, excessive force, arbitrary lockdown or isolation, lack of disciplinary due process, etc. The court certifies a class of a present …

Heck Bars Parole Challenge Absent Habeas Relief

Article • May 15, 2008

Filed under: Disciplinary Litigation, Sentencing, Parole

Heck Bars Parole Challenge Absent Habeas Relief by Under Heck v. Humphrey and progeny, the plaintiff cannot challenge his parole revocation via 1983 or 1985 without first obtaining relief in a state forum or via federal habeas corpus. The court observes that a majority in Spencer v. Kemna said that …

BOP Legally Enacted Rules Restricting Early Release for Drug Treated Prisoners

Article • May 15, 2008

Filed under: Sentencing, Good Time, Drug Treatment/Rehab

BOP Legally Enacted Rules Restricting Early Release for Drug Treated Prisoners by The Bureau of Prisons acted within its authority by making prisoners who were convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, or had had their sentences enhanced for possession of a dangerous weapon while committing a …

Prison Magazine Censorship Reversed

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Mail, Sexually Explicit Materials, Mail Regulations, Censorship

Prison Magazine Censorship Reversed by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that prison officials violated a South Dakota prisoner's constitutional rights by refusing to allow him to receive a magazine entitled Mature. In rejecting the magazine prison officials stated: "the magazine has absolutely no rehabilitative value. It is nothing …

South Dakota Juvenile Strip Searches Enjoined

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Strip Searches, Arrestee Searches, Qualified Immunity, Juveniles, Juvenile Prisons

South Dakota Juvenile Strip Searches Enjoined by Former juvenile detainees challenged the policy of strip-searching all juveniles admitted to the detention center regardless of the nature of their charges or the existence of reasonable suspicion. The policy is unconstitutional. An expert's conclusions that the policies and procedures were "neither unconstitutional …

Administrative Hearing on Forced Medication Requires Due Process

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Mental Health, Involuntary Treatment/Drugging

Administrative Hearing on Forced Medication Requires Due Process by A federal district court in South Dakota has ordered the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to conduct again an administrative hearing on whether a prisoner should be forcibly medicated and instructed BOP to guarantee due process to the prisoner in the hearing. …

SD Conviction for Spitting on Prison Guard Affirmed

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Assaults on Staff

SD Conviction for Spitting on Prison Guard Affirmed by Brian Schouten, a state prisoner, spat on a guard at the South Dakota State Penitentiary. He was convicted of a class 6 felony under SDCL 22-18-26 for the spitting incident, without being allowed to present evidence of his diminished capacity. On …

South Dakota Juvenile Detention Center's Blanket Strip Search Policy Unconstitutional

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Strip Searches, Arrestee Searches, Juveniles, Juvenile Prisons

South Dakota Juvenile Detention Center's Blanket Strip Search Policy Unconstitutional by A South Dakota federal district court has held that the strip-searching of juveniles held for minor offenses violates the Fourth Amendment and denied the defendants qualified immunity. This class action suit was brought to challenge institution policies at South …

SD Prison Officials Not Liable for Suicide

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Qualified Immunity, Mental Health, Suicides

SD Prison Officials Not Liable for Suicide by The decedent committed suicide. About 10:30 that morning, he asked his case manager if he could make a phone call, but he wasn't on the authorized list for that day. He made an unauthorized call to his ex-wife and said he was …

Injunction, Damages in Prison Rape Affirmed

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Damages, Injunctions, Jury Instructions, Mootness

Injunction, Damages in Prison Rape Affirmed by The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit affirmed a jury's aware of damages and a court's injunction in a South Dakota prisoner's rape suit. Plaintiff was raped by other prisoners at the South Dakota State penitentiary and filed suit. At trial, a …

South Dakota Prisons' Conditions of Confinement Are Unconstitutional

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Totality of Conditions, Eighth Amendment, Civil Procedure, Injunctions

South Dakota Prisons' Conditions of Confinement Are Unconstitutional by The U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota, in a class action suit, found that the totality of conditions at the South Dakota State Penitentiary (SDSP) and in the Women's Correctional Facility (WCF) were so bad as to violate …

Eighth Circuit Reverses South Dakota Prison Conditions Decision on Double Celling

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Overcrowding

Eighth Circuit Reverses South Dakota Prison Conditions Decision on Double Celling by The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, reversed the U.S. District Court of South Dakota on the district court's order to end double celling at the South Dakota State Penitentiary (SDSP). Two classes of prisoners …

Under "Compelling Circumstances" Government Must Issue Subpoenas for Free

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Costs, Filing Fees, Witnesses

Under "Compelling Circumstances" Government Must Issue Subpoenas for Free by Under "Compelling Circumstances" Government Must Issue Subpoenas for Free The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, held that the United States may be compelled to pay fees and expenses of witnesses subpoenaed by indigent civil litigants in cases …

Sheriff Deliberately Indifferent to Detainee Suicide Risk

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Mental Health, Suicides

Sheriff Deliberately Indifferent to Detainee Suicide Risk by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Bennett County, South Dakota, Sheriff Russell Waterbury was deliberately indifferent to the known suicide risk of a jail detainee. In October, 2001, Bill Turney was arrested on an outstanding warrant and lodged in the …