Three Strikes Doesn't Apply to Pending Cases by Three Strikes Doesn't Apply to Pending Cases: The court of appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), which prohibits In Forma Pauperis (IFP) status for prisoners that have had three prior suits dismissed as frivolous, does not apply …
Prisons Promoting Tourism by Alex Friedmann As states spend an increasing amount of their budgets to expand their prison systems they increasingly seek ways to replenish impoverished state coffers. One major source of revenue is tourism, and some states are well-known for their tourist attractions -- such as Disneyworld and …
Bureau of Prisons Estopped from Denying Sentence Reduction by A federal district court in Colorado granted a habeas corpus petition reducing a federal prisoner's sentence by one year for successfully completing a drug treatment program. The court held the BOP was estopped from denying the sentence reduction having initially granted …
Colorado Prisoners Passing Up Parole by More than 2,500 Colorado state prisoners opted to stay in prison rather than ask for parole during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1997. More than 20 percent of those who waived parole hearings were close to ending their full sentence, usually within six …
Mandamus Appeal Denied as Third Strike by The court of appeals for the tenth circuit held that 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), which bans in forma pauperis civil actions for prisoners that have had three or more actions dismissed as frivolous, malicious or for failing to state a claim, prevents the …
Escaped Prisoner Rides into Sunset by Eight federal prisoners being transported in a van operated by Federal Extradition Agency escaped July 30 near Ordway, Colorado. Two guards working for the private transport firm were driving nine prisoners across Colorado when they stopped to drop one prisoner off at the Crowley …
Sewing Our Own Destruction by Ray Luc Levasseur When I saw Dan Pens' front page PLN article [Oct. '96] on UNICOR production of bullet resistant vests (there's no such animal as "bullet proof" vests) I was struck by the difference in perspective. I read some of the same material he …
$5,000 Verdict for Snitch Jacketing Affirmed by The court of appeals for the tenth circuit affirmed a $5,000 judgment in favor of a jail prisoner who was assaulted after a guard told other prisoners he was a snitch. The court also affirmed an award of $93,649.61 in attorney fees and …
PLRA Fees Don't Apply to Habeas by The court of appeals for the tenth circuit joined every other circuit to consider the issue by holding that the PLRA's fee requirements do not apply to habeas corpus petitions. Thus, indigent prisoners can still seek a waiver of filing fees for habeas …
Private Prison Disciplinary Action Subject to Colorado Court Review by The Colorado court of appeals held that state prison disciplinary codes apply to private prisons and are subject to judicial review. Patrick Murphy, a Colorado state prisoner, was placed in the Bent County Correctional Facility (BCCF), a privately owned and …
Hygiene and Retaliation Claims Require Trial by The court of appeals for the tenth circuit held that a prisoner's retaliation claim and claim that he had been denied hygiene items required a trial. The court affirmed dismissal of claims regarding inadequate law library access and his placement in administrative segregation …
Puerto Rican POW 'Graduated' from ADX Florence to USP Marion by Daniel Burton-Rose On November 8, 1996, Puerto Rican prisoner of war Oscar Lopez Rivera was transferred from ADX Florence to USP Marion after completing the 36-month "step program" at ADX in just 23 months. He received no disciplinary infractions …
Trouble Coming Every Day; ADX-The First Year by Ray Luc Levasseur Society reflects itself in the microcosm of prison. From a class-based, economically driven, racially motivated construct devolves life as a series of Chinese boxes -- a set of boxes decreasing in size so that each box fits inside the …
Filing Fee Requirement Not Retroactive by The court of appeals for the tenth circuit held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) did not have retroactive effect as applied to filing fees for indigent litigants. David White, a Colorado state prisoner, filed suit after he was denied access to a …
Prior Frivolous Suits Count for PLRA by The court of appeals for the tenth circuit held that writs of mandamus fall within the scope of filing fee requirements imposed by the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), Public Law 104-134, 110 Stat. 1321 (April 26, 1996). The court also held that …
Indigents Entitled to Full Credit for Pretrial Detention by The court of appeals for the tenth circuit held that a defendant who is incarcerated prior to trial due to indigency (unable to afford bail) must be given full credit towards the minimum and maximum sentences he is convicted of. James …
Cavity Search in Public States Claim by The court of appeals for the tenth circuit held that strip searches by members of the opposite gender may violate the fourth amendment. Willie Hayes, a Colorado state prisoner, filed suit claiming his fourth, eighth and fourteenth amendment rights were violated when he …
$1.44 Million for Medical Indifference by On April 5, 1996, a Denver, Colorado district court jury awarded former prisoner Arthur Nieto $1.44 million in damages against Colorado state prison officials for showing deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs. According to the evidence proved at trial, Nieto was imprisoned at …
RFRA Applies to Retaliation Claims by A federal district court in Colorado has held that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb(b)(1) applies to prisoners' retaliation claims. John Hall, a Colorado state prisoner, filed suit under the RFRA and § 1983 claiming prison officials retaliated against him …
