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 …
Michigan: Money Bilked From Prisoners by Michigan: Money Bilked From Prisoners Used For Bonuses While Michigan was trying to boost its cash-starved budget through spending cuts and tax increases, those in the Attorney General's Office were feasting on money squeezed from state prisoners. In October 2004, Attorney General Mike Cox …
U.S. Supreme Court: Michigan Plea Bargainers Have Right to Counsel On Appeal by by John E. Dannenberg The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Michigan defendants convicted pursuant to a plea of nolo contendre or to a plea bargain are constitutionally entitled to appeal their convictions to the Michigan Court of …
Gibson v. Blankstrom, MI, Wrongful Death, SJ Order 205 Case 1:03-cv-00053-MOB Document 266 Filed 08/04/2005 Page 1 of 25 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION ANTOINETTE GIBSON, Personal Representative of the Estate of OZY VAUGHN, Deceased, Case No. 1:03-CV-53 HON. RICHARD ALAN ENSLEN Plaintiff, v. JILL …
Settlements Reached In Alabama Women Prisoners' Class-Action Suit by by Matthew T. Clarke On August 23, 2004, U. S. District Judge Myron Thompson signed a settlement order in a class-action civil-rights lawsuit brought by prisoners at three Alabama Department of Corrections women's prisons challenging their conditions of confinement. The suit …
U.S. Supreme Court: Michigan Appellate Attorneys Have by U.S. Supreme Court: Michigan Appellate Attorneys Have No Third Party Standing To Sue For Rights Of Future Unrepresented Prisoners by John E. Dannenberg The U.S. Supreme Court, sidestepping the important question of the constitutionality of a Michigan state law that prohibited appointment …
Michigan Guard Who Procured Hit On Prisoner Must Pay $200,000 Damages by by Marvin Mentor A Michigan federal jury returned verdicts of $75,000 in compensatory damages and $125,000 in punitive damages against a Michigan state prison guard who paid one prisoner six cigarettes to viciously pummel another. Michigan prisoner Barton …
Alabama Workers' Comp Act No Bar to Psychological Torts by The Alabama Court of Appeals held that Alabama's Workers' Compensation Act is not an exclusive remedy for tort claims of employees alleging purely psychological injuries. Three female employees of Correctional Medical Services, Inc. (CMS) brought suit against CMS employees of …
