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Seventh Circuit Rejects ETS Claim

Article • January 15, 2001 • from PLN January, 2001

Filed under: Respiratory, Smoking, Eighth Amendment, Civil Procedure, Damages, Injunctions, Mootness

Seventh Circuit Rejects ETS Claim by The U.S. court of appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that a pretrial detainee's injuries from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) were not sufficiently serious to support a due process claim, and that he could not recover for future injuries absent some showing …

No Qualified Immunity from ETS Exposure

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

Filed under: Smoking, Ventilation, Civil Procedure, Costs, Appeals, Qualified Immunity

No Qualified Immunity from ETS Exposure by The U.S. court of appeals for the Second Circuit held that it was clearly established after Helling v. McKinney, 509 U.S. 25 (1993), that prison officials could not be deliberately indifferent to exposure of prisoners to levels of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) that …

Dismissal Reversed for Determination Whether Prisoner Was Misled About Remedies

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

Filed under: Failure to Protect (General), Smoking, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Civil Procedure, Defenses

Dismissal Reversed for Determination Whether Prisoner Was Misled About Remedies by Dismissal Reversed for Determination Whether Prisoner Was Misled About Remedies The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a Pennsylvania federal district court's dismissal of a state prisoner's suit. The court ruled that there was a substantial, disputed question …

Exposure to Second-Hand Smoke States Eighth Amendment Claim

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

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Smoking

Exposure to Second-Hand Smoke States Eighth Amendment Claim by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sec-ond Circuit reversed and remanded a district court's dismissal of a New York prisoner's lawsuit which complained of second-hand tobacco smoke. Samuel Davis, a non-smoker, had been a prisoner at New York's Attica Correctional …

Tobacco Smoke Exposure Requires Trial

Article • September 15, 1999 • from PLN September, 1999

Filed under: Smoking, Administrative Exhaustion, Immunity/Liability, Supervisory Liability

Tobacco Smoke Exposure Requires Trial by A federal district court in New York held that a prisoner's exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) may present a sufficient risk to his future health to implicate Eighth Amendment concerns, and factual disputes regarding the risk precludes summary judgment. The court further recognized …

Warden's Smoking Ban Violates BOP Rules

Article • June 15, 1999 • from PLN June, 1999

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Smoking

Warden's Smoking Ban Violates BOP Rules by The court of appeals for the Ninth circuit held that a warden's ban on smoking in a prison camp violated federal Bureau of Prison (BOP) rules requiring that warden's designate outdoor smoking areas. The warden of the BOP camp in Sheridan, Oregon banned …

Florida Nicotine Addiction Suit Settled

Article • March 15, 1999 • from PLN March, 1999

Filed under: Smoking, Settlements, Costs, Mental Health, Drug Treatment/Rehab

Florida Nicotine Addiction Suit Settled by The cover story in the January, 1998, issue of PLN , "Smoking, Lies and Hypocrisy," by Paul Wright, mentioned the case of Thomas Waugh. Waugh, a Florida prisoner, had sued Florida prison officials for failing to provide him with any type of treatment to …

Colorado Contraband Rule Requires Visitor Notice

Article • February 15, 1999 • from PLN February, 1999

Filed under: Notice of Rules, Criminal Prosecution, Smoking, Attorney Client, Visiting, Attorney Visits

Colorado Contraband Rule Requires Visitor Notice by The Colorado supreme court held that a state statute criminalizing the introduction of contraband into county jails was constitutional but affirmed dismissal of criminal charges because the jail failed to comply with the statute's notice requirements. Thomas Holmes, an attorney, was charged with …

Guard Awarded $300,000 for ETS Exposure in ADA Suit

Article • December 15, 1998 • from PLN December, 1998

Filed under: Medical, Respiratory, Smoking, Damages, Americans with Disabilities Act, Employee Litigation

Guard Awarded $300,000 for ETS Exposure in ADA Suit by Afederal district court in New York held that an asthmatic prison guard was "disabled" under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., but compensation under 42 U.S.C. § 1981a(b)(3) could not exceed $300,000. The court …

D.C. Smoking Injunction Reversed

Article • November 15, 1998 • from PLN November, 1998

Filed under: Smoking, Civil Procedure, Injunctions

D.C. Smoking Injunction Reversed by In the December, 1997, issue of PLN we reported Crowder v. District of Columbia , 959 F. Supp. 6 (D DC 1997), where a district court in the District of Columbia (D.C.) issued an injunction requiring that three prisoners in the D.C. prison system not …

Cigarette Health Hazards

Article • September 15, 1998 • from PLN September, 1998

Filed under: Reviews, Medical, Cardiovascular, Smoking

Cigarette Health Hazards by Paul Wright Cigarette Health Hazards: The January 14, 1998, Volume 279, No. 2, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) contains an article on the risks of cigarette smoke in increasing the risk of heart disease. Title "Cigarette Smoking and Progression of Athero …

No Immunity for Smoke Exposure

Article • April 15, 1998 • from PLN April, 1998

Filed under: Smoking, Immunity/Liability, Qualified Immunity

No Immunity for Smoke Exposure by The court of appeals for the fifth circuit held that prison officials were not entitled to qualified immunity for exposing a prisoner to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS, AKA second hand smoke). Raymond Rochon, a Louisiana state prisoner, filed suit claiming various prison, state and …

Attorney Fee Award in Smoking Suit Affirmed

Article • March 15, 1998 • from PLN March, 1998

Filed under: Smoking, PLRA, Attorney Fees (PLRA), Eleventh Amendment Immunity

Attorney Fee Award in Smoking Suit Affirmed by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit affirmed an award of $11,299.17 in attorney fees to a prisoner who sued over being exposed to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS, AKA second hand smoke). In the December, 1996, issue of PLN we reported …

Resources for Smoking Litigation: Health Effects of Smoking; Legal Cases on Smoking

Article • February 15, 1998 • from PLN February, 1998

Filed under: Commentary/Reviews, Resources, Smoking

Resources for Smoking Litigation: Health Effects of Smoking; Legal Cases on Smoking by Health Effects of Smoking: The American Lung Association offers a detailed, comprehensive series of booklets and reports which detail the negative health effects of smoking, exposure to second hand smoke, etc. Contact: ALA, 1740 Broadway, New York, …

Where to Now For Prison Smoking?

Article • February 15, 1998 • from PLN February, 1998

Filed under: Smoking, Civil Procedure, Damages, Employee Litigation

Where to Now For Prison Smoking? by Paul Wright Where To Now For Prison Smoking? By Paul Wright As noted in last month's article, "Smoking, Lies and Hypocrisy," notes, the tobacco settlement between the states and the tobacco industry will have no impact on prisoners, assuming it is actually implemented. …

Smoking, Lies and Hypocrisy

Article • January 15, 1998 • from PLN January, 1998

Filed under: Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Smoking, Immunity/Liability, Product Liability

Smoking, Lies and Hypocrisy by Paul Wright By Paul Wright The recent settlement proposal between the tobacco industry and the attorney general's of 41 states has been in the news a lot lately. I share a home with 158 other men, 90% of whom smoke. The walls literally weep nicotine. …

D.C. Prisoners Win No Smoking Injunction

Article • December 15, 1997 • from PLN December, 1997

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, DOC/BOP misconduct, Smoking, Damages, Injunctions

D.C. Prisoners Win No Smoking Injunction by In the May, 1996, issue of PLN we reported Crowder v. Kelly, 928 F. Supp. 2 (D DC 1996) where the district court granted a preliminary injunction ordering District of Columbia prison officials to place the prisoner plaintiffs in non smoking living quarters …

New York Smoking Suit Set for Trial

Article • July 15, 1997 • from PLN July, 1997

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Smoking, Ventilation, Qualified Immunity

New York Smoking Suit Set for Trial by A federal district court in New York held that prison officials were not entitled to qualified immunity for exposing prisoners to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS), also known as second hand smoke, and scheduled a trial to determine prison officials' liability. Several New …

TRO Granted in DC Smoking Suit

Article • May 15, 1997 • from PLN May, 1997

Filed under: Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Smoking, Eighth Amendment, Attorney Fee Awards, PLRA, Injunctions (PLRA), Settlements, Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's, Special Masters

TRO Granted in DC Smoking Suit by A federal district court in the District of Columbia granted a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) requiring non-smoking D.C. prisoners to be moved to non-smoking quarters and for D.C. DOC officials to enforce prison no smoking policies by disciplining guards and prisoners who violate …

Attorney Fees Awarded in Smoking Suit

Article • December 15, 1996 • from PLN December, 1996

Filed under: Smoking, PLRA, Attorney Fees (PLRA), Costs

Attorney Fees Awarded in Smoking Suit by A federal district court in Nebraska awarded a prisoner plaintiff $8,346 in attorney fees and $2,952 in expenses in a suit challenging Nebraska state prisoners' exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS, also known an second hand smoke). This to the first published case …