Alabama Diabetic Prisoner Stomped On and Retaliated Against by Guard Awarded $20,000 by John Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg A diabetic Alabama prisoner lying on the floor of his cell due to suffering from his diabetes condition had his leg stomped on by a guard. When the prisoner grieved the …
Alabama Work Release Prisoners Reclassified Following Escapes by In late September 2005, 275 minimum-security Alabama prisoners were moved from work camps to maximum-security prisons pursuant to an order by Governor Bob Riley. The prisoners had done nothing wrong. The move was purely reactionary following the escape of 3 prisoners in …
On Remand From Supreme Court, Sixth Circuit Reverses Judgment on Guard Retaliation Claim by The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, on remand from the United States Supreme Court, reversed a district courts grant of summary judgment to a prison guard on a First Amendment retaliation claim. Michigan prisoner Shakur Muhammad …
Sixth Circuit Requires Total Exhaustion Under PLRA; Decision Conflicts with Hartsfield by A panel of the Sixth Circuit joined the Eighth and Tenth Circuits in holding that the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) requires total exhaustion. One judge dissented, however, criticizing the majority opinion as being invalid for conflicting with …
Michigan Jail's Disproportionate Treatment of Women Results in $855,000 Settlement Agreement by A Michigan federal district court has approved a settlement awarding $855,000 in a class action alleging the conditions of confinement for women at the Livingston County Jail were disproportionate to that of men held at the jail. The …
Sixth Circuit PLRA Fee Set at $169.50 Not $135 by The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals joined the Ninth Circuit in holding that the maximum allowable attorney fees under the [Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA)] should be based on the amounts authorized by the Judicial Conference, not the amount actually …
Sixth Circuit Upholds Michigan Ban On Prisoner Appeals of Discretionary Denials of Parole by The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld Michigan's lately revised statute that forecloses state prisoners from challenging discretionary denials of parole. Because the former availability of such a challenge had led to thousands of mostly …
Michigan Jail Settles Suicide Suit for $280,000 by On June 6, 2004, Wayne County, Michigan, agreed to pay $280,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of a county prisoner who committed suicide days after he was attacked by another prisoner. Jose Perez was arrested on December 27, 2000, …
From the Editor by Paul Wright In addition to PLN's own censorship litigation for prisoners we also undertake advocacy and support for prisoner rights on behalf of prisoners in other court cases. In the current supreme court term, PLN submitted an amicus brief in Goodman v. Georgia, a case involving …
Michigan's Dirty Little Secret: Sexual Abuse of Female Prisoners Pervasive, Ongoing by by Michael Rigby Despite reports of sexual abuse dating back 20 years ... despite a tumultuous decade of lawsuits that cost millions of taxpayer dollars ... and despite a promise by state officials to implement sweeping reforms, the …
Los Angeles County Jail Tests Prisoner Radio ID Tags by by John E. Dannenberg The Los Angeles (L.A.) County Sheriff's Department will spend $1.5 million to install a computerized radio ID tag system in 2006 to monitor the location of 1,900 prisoners at the Pitchess Detention Center (county jail) in …
Hawaii Prisoner Injured In Fight Awarded $25,427 by On February 1, 2005, a Hawaii court awarded $25,427.00 to a prisoner who claimed he was assaulted by another prisoner. Plaintiff Lael Samonte, 47, contended that while imprisoned at the Halawa Correctional Facility on May 22, 2002, he was attacked and knocked …
11th Circuit Finds S.Ct. Overruled Heightened Pleading Standard by The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that the heightened pleading standard is not applicable in a § 1983 action against a non-governmental entity that cannot raise qualified immunity as a defense" pursuant to Leatherman v. Tarrant County Narcotics Intelligence & …
Michigan Jail Settles Unreasonable Use of Force Case for $130,000 by Amanda Hickman On March 1, 2005, the Wayne County jail in Detroit, Michigan settled an excessive use of force case for $130,00. Plaintiff, Victor Walker, alleged that on October 12, 2000, while being held in the Wayne County Jail …
PLRA Limits Prisoner's Attorney Fees Incurred Defending by PLRA Limits Prisoner's Attorney Fees Incurred Defending Appeal of Successful § 1983 Suit by John E. Dannenberg The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that after a prisoner wins a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 lawsuit for damages, the Prison Litigation Reform …
Mason v. Granholm, MI, Complaint, Anti-Civil Rights Amendment Unconstitutional, 2005 5:05-cv-73943-JCO-DAS Doc # 2 Filed 10/20/05 Pg 1 of 50 Pg ID 64 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION NATHEAULEEN MASON, RENEE WILLIAMS, YOLANDA LIMMITT, HELISHA BAILEY, Case No. 05-73943 TAMMY LaCROSS, VELVET FARLEYtons ocT 20 …
Reliance Solely On Guard's Version of Incident Improper by In an unpublished decision, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the summary judgment dismissal of a prisoner's civil rights action against Michigan prison guards holding that the district court had erroneously relied on the guards' version of disputed fats. …
No Qualified Immunity for Michigan Prison Warden in Guard's Murder by The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, held that Tripett, the warden of the Thumb Correctional Facility in Michigan (TCF), was not entitled to qualified immunity, in a suit brought by the estate of a …
Ban On Male Guards In Michigan Women's Prisons Upheld by Michael Rigby The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a Michigan Department of Corrections policy prohibiting male guards from holding certain positions in the state's female prisons did not violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act …
Guard Denied Qualified Immunity in MI Prisoner's Retaliation Claim by The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeal has affirmed a Michigan District Court's order denying a guard's qualified immunity defense in a suit filed by prisoner David J. Scott, a prisoner at Carson City Regional Facility. Scott's complaint alleged guard Philip …
