Untimely Grievances Satisfy PLRA; $70,000 Beating Verdict Upheld by The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that even an untimely grievance satisfied the exhaustion requirement of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) so long as the prisoner goes through every step of the grievance process. In doing so, the court …
Arrestee Cannot Be Charged With Bringing Drugs Into Jail by The Ohio Second District Court of Appeals has held that an arrestee cannot be charged with knowingly conveying drugs onto the grounds of a detention facility. Stephen Sowry was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. A pat-down …
Ohio County Juvenile Facility Not Immune from Suit in Rape Claim by The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a county juvenile detention center was not entitled to sovereign immunity. S.J., an Ohio juvenile, was referred to the Hillcrest Training Center (Hillcrest) which is a county juvenile facility created …
Ohio Prisoners Not Entitled to Memory Typewriters by The Ohio Supreme Court, affirming an appeals court decision, held that Ohio prisoners have no right to typewriters with more than one line of memory and that prison officials were justified in confiscating a prisoner's typewriter that had a five-page memory capacity, …
Captive Audience: Ohio Wants to Bring Prisoners to Jesus, the Law Be Damned by Kevin Hoffman On August 12, 2003, the Marion Correctional Institution played host to a most unlikely revival. The Promise Keepers, the international men's Christian ministry, put on a four-hour service for about 1,000 men, more than …
Former Ohio Parole Chief, Parole Attorney Alliance Raises Ethical Concerns by Michael Rigby A business partnership between former head of the Ohio Parole Board, Margarette Ghee, and Ohio prisoner-turned-parole attorney, Derek Farmer, has raised ethical concerns in the legal and criminal justice communities. After serving 18 years on a 1974 …
Rape of Women Prisoners Rampant in Ohio by Michael Rigby The sexual assault of female pris-oners at the Ohio Reformatory for Women (ORW) in Marysville, Ohio, is shockingly commonplace, according to a report by Stop Prisoner Rape (SPR) released on December 10, 2003. The 15-page report, titled The Sexual Abuse …
Ohio Supreme Court Holds Some Sex Predators Not Required to Register by Ohio Supreme Court Holds Some Sex Predators Not Required to Register In a unanimous decision, the Ohio Su-preme Court ruled that some persons labeled as sexual predators cannot be required to register with law enforcement authorities. Lawrence J. …
No Summary Judgment for Ohio Guards Who Used Excessive Force, Case Loses At Trial by No Summary Judgment for Ohio Guards Who Used Excessive Force, Case Loses At Trial The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed a district court's grant of summary judgment favoring certain prison guards …
Sanctions Against Ohio Paralegal Firm Upheld by The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part a federal district court's sanctions against National Legal Professional Associates (NLPA) and its leader for unauthorized practice of law. NLPA is a paralegal service that markets directly to criminal …
Innocent Ohio Man Paid $750,000 for 10 Years Imprisonment by In 1991, Jimmy "Spunk" Williams, 32, was convicted of raping a 12 year-old girl, and sentenced to life in prison. Williams was appointed attorney Tom Watkins to represent him at a December 2001 parole hearing. Convinced of Williams' innocence, Watkins …
Ohio Native American Prisoner Granted Injunction to Grow Long Hair by David Reutter Ohio Native American Prisoner Granted Injunction to Grow Long Hair by David M. Reutter An Ohio federal district court has granted a prisoner at Ohio's Madison Correctional Institute (MCI) a preliminary injunction that allows him to grow …
Prisons Nationwide Fail to Treat HCV Epidemic by John E Dannenberg Prisons Nationwide Fail To Treat HCV Epidemic by John E. Dannenberg The JeopardyTM answer is: "The national average treatment rate for HCV-infected prisoners." The winning question is: "What is approximately 1%?" With HCV [Hepatitis-C] infection rates in state prisons …
Sixth Circuit: Claims Against Parole Procedures Cognizable Under § 1983 by Sixth Circuit: Claims Against Parole Procedures Cognizable Under § 1983; U.S. Supreme Court Grants Review Bringing itself into line with its sister circuits, the en banc U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Ohio prisoners may challenge parole …
CCA Closes Oklahoma Prison, Settles Tax Lawsuit Over Ohio Prison by Michael Rigby The turbulent economy of the past decade has led many communities across America to foolishly seek prisons as a recession proof industry and rural welfare program for poor whites. But prisons can be a double edged sword, …
Verdict, Damages in Ohio Prisoner Disciplinary Case Reversed on Appeal by Verdict, Damages in Ohio Prisoner Disciplinary Case Reversed on Appeal The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Ap- peals has reversed and remanded a jury verdict and damages award in favor of an Ohio prisoner who claimed that he had …
Ohio Warrantless Arrestees Must Be Arraigned Within 48 Hours of Arrest by Ohio Warrantless Arrestees Must Be Arraigned Within 48 Hours of Arrest The U.S Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit recently held that the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires warrantless arrestees to be arraigned within 48 …
PHS Redux: Sued In A Dozen States, Contract Losses, Stock Plummets, Business Continues by by John E. Dannenberg Prison Health Services (PHS), a subsidiary of America Service Group, Inc. (ASG), continues to face lawsuits and lose contracts for its deplorable record of prisoner health care gaffes in a dozen states. …
Ohio Jail's Pay-for-Stay Program Unconstitutional, Partial Summary Judgment Granted by Ohio Jail's Pay-for-Stay Program Unconstitutional, Partial Summary Judgment Granted The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio has awarded partial summary judgment to a former pretrial detainee in a case involving seizure of the detainee's funds by the …
Settlement of Hamilton County, Ohio, Jail Booking Fees Case by After protracted negotiations and two court rulings finding the defendants liable, Hamilton County, Ohio, officials finally agreed to settle the claims challenging its Pay-for-Stay program (see mail article). Led by Cincinnati attorney Stephen R. Felson, with attorney Robert B. Newman, …
