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Aramark Discontinues, Loses Prison Food Service Contracts

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Food/Commissary (Private Prisons), Work, Prison Industries, Prison Labor, Prison Rebellion, Food

Aramark Discontinues, Loses Prison Food Service Contracts by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The corporate philosophy of cutting corners to enhance profits is catching up with Aramark Correctional Services, causing the company to lose prison and jail food service contracts and putting other contracts in jeopardy. Aramark has discontinued …

$2.16 Million Settlement in Dauphin Pennsylvania Jail Strip Search Lawsuit

Article • September 15, 2009 • from PLN September, 2009

Filed under: Strip Searches, Arrestee Searches, Civil Procedure, Damages

$2.16 Million Settlement in Dauphin Pennsylvania Jail Strip Search Lawsuit by A class action lawsuit alleging illegal strip searches occurred regularly at Pennsylvania’s Dauphin County Prison (DCP) has been settled for $2.16 million. The class claimed they were arrested on minor charges and strip searched without any particularized suspicion that …

Third Circuit Upholds Pennsylvania DOC Policy Requiring Control Number for Legal Mail

Article • September 15, 2009 • from PLN September, 2009

Filed under: Escapes, Attorney Client, PLRA, Injunctions (PLRA), Legal Mail

Third Circuit Upholds Pennsylvania DOC Policy Requiring Control Number for Legal Mail by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Finding that no legitimate penological interest existed to support a Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PDOC) policy that requires a PDOC-issued control number on correspondence for it to qualify as legal mail, …

Third Circuit Upholds Ban on UCC Materials; Sixth Circuit Disagrees

Article • September 15, 2009 • from PLN September, 2009

Filed under: Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's, Mail, Publications/Books, Mail Regulations

Third Circuit Upholds Ban on UCC Materials; Sixth Circuit Disagrees by Brandon Sample The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PDOC) may lawfully ban the receipt and possession of materials related to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held on July 29, 2008. In a more recent …

Philadelphia Tax Break for Hiring Ex-Prisoners a Bust

Article • September 15, 2009 • from PLN September, 2009

Filed under: Work, Prison Labor, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Tax Law

Philadelphia Tax Break for Hiring Ex-Prisoners a Bust by Giving employers a $10,000 tax break to hire ex-offenders was a good idea. At least until the Philadelphia City Council ruined it. While running for mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter proposed a new way to cut crime: Help ex-cons get jobs …

Seizure of Prisoner’s Manuscript Containing Offensive Writing About Staff Does Not Violate First Amendment

Article • September 15, 2009

Filed under: Prisoner Property, Media, Censorship

Seizure of Prisoner’s Manuscript Containing Offensive Writing About Staff Does Not Violate First Amendment by On December 2, 2008, a non-jury trial was held before a Federal District Court in Pennsylvania on prisoner Wesley Harper §1983 claim against certain officials at the Smithfield State Correctional Institution (SCI) for First Amendment …

Crouse et al v. Rustin et al, PA, Complaint, substance mental illness suicide neglect, 2009

Brief • August 24, 2009

Filed under: Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Drug Treatment/Rehab, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides

Crouse et al v. Rustin et al, PA, Complaint, substance mental illness suicide neglect, 2009

Judge Not: Judges Benched for Personal Misconduct

Article • August 15, 2009 • from PLN August, 2009

Filed under: Sexual Assault by Judges, Judicial Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution, Judiciary, Immunity/Liability, Judicial Immunity

Judge Not: Judges Benched for Personal Misconduct by by Gary Hunter & Alex Friedmann They decide hot-button topics ranging from abortion and racial discrimination to religious freedoms and contested elections. They can put you in prison or vindicate your civil rights. They can even sentence you to death. Who am …

$226,000 Workers’ Comp Settlement for Pennsylvania Guard Scarred by MRSA

Article • July 15, 2009 • from PLN July, 2009

Filed under: Work, Workplace Injury, Work Conditions/Safety, Workers' Compensation, Skin, Employee Litigation

$226,000 Workers’ Comp Settlement for Pennsylvania Guard Scarred by MRSA by A Pennsylvania prison guard who contracted a staph infection that caused facial scarring has settled a workers’ compensation claim for $226,000. While employed at the Graterford Prison in 2003, guard Carol Snyder contracted an infection. She awoke on the …

UNICOR Robs Jobs from Private Sector; Prisoners Sue Over Working Conditions

Article • July 15, 2009 • from PLN July, 2009

Filed under: Work, Prison Industries, Prison Labor, Federal Legislation

UNICOR Robs Jobs from Private Sector; Prisoners Sue Over Working Conditions by Brandon Sample It is already hard enough for free world workers to hold down a job without having to compete with UNICOR, the prison labor arm of the federal Bureau of Prisons. But that is exactly what a …

Pennsylvania County Sex Offender Residency Ordinance Voided

Article • July 15, 2009 • from PLN July, 2009

Filed under: Discrimination, Sex Offender Residence, Injunctions, State Legislation

Pennsylvania County Sex Offender Residency Ordinance Voided by by David M. Reutter On March 20, 2009, a Pennsylvania federal district court held that an Allegheny County ordinance which restricted where sex offenders could live was in conflict with state law, and thus was invalid. The plaintiffs in this case were …

Pennsylvania Prisoner Properly Exhausted Claims in Medical Diet Case

Article • July 15, 2009

Filed under: Cardiovascular, Diabetes, Food, PLRA, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA)

Pennsylvania Prisoner Properly Exhausted Claims in Medical Diet Case by On November 4, 2008, a Pennsylvania district court denied summary judgment in the case of Pennsylvania prisoner, Richard Young. Young, represented by Meghan E. Jones-Rolla of Meyer, Darragh, Buckler, Bebenek, and Eck in Pittsburgh, filed a Section 1983 claim alleging …

Medicare Is “Victim” Under Pennsylvania Restitution Statute

Article • July 15, 2009

Filed under: Medical, Medical Expenses, Restitution

Medicare Is “Victim” Under Pennsylvania Restitution Statute by Medicare is a “victim” for the purpose of receiving restitution under Pennsylvania law, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania decided July 16, 2008. Gregory Ricky Brown was ordered to pay $509.65 to Medicare as restitution for a criminal offense. Brown appealed, arguing that …

Court Rejects Self-Analysis Privilege; Orders Jail Officials to Comply with Subpoena

Article • July 15, 2009

Filed under: Systemic Medical Neglect, Jail Specific, Civil Procedure, Discovery, Sanctions

Court Rejects Self-Analysis Privilege; Orders Jail Officials to Comply with Subpoena by U.S. Magistrate Judge Diane Welsh has granted a motion to enforce a subpoena for records in a class action suit challenging the adequacy of medical care at the Bucks County Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania. The plaintiffs served a …

Doran v. Philadelphia, PA, Complaint, Police Brutality Erratic Driving Nickel Ride, 2009

Brief • July 10, 2009

Doran v. Philadelphia, PA, Complaint, Police Brutality Erratic Driving Nickel Ride, 2009 Case 2:09-cv-03090-LDD Document 1 Filed 07/10/09 Page 1 of 17 .CIVIL COVER SHEET ...IS 44 (Rev. 12107) The JS 44 civil cover sheet and the infonnation contained herein neither replace nor supplement the filing and service ofpleadings orotherpapers …

Joseph v Scranton Times, PA, Ruling for New Trial, 2009

Brief • 2009

Joseph v Scranton Times, PA, Ruling for New Trial, 2009 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA MIDDLE DISTRICT THOMAS A. JOSEPH, THOMAS J. JOSEPH, ACUMARK, INC., AIRPORT LIMOUSINE AND TAXI SERVICE, INC, AND AIRPORT TAXI, LIMOUSINE AND COURIER SERVICE OF LEHIGH VALLEY, INC. v. THE SCRANTON TIMES L.P., THE TIMES …

Sexual Abuse by Prison and Jail Staff Proves Persistent, Pandemic

Article • May 15, 2009 • from PLN May, 2009

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Private Prisons, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Cornell Corrections, GRW Corp., Staff-Prisoner Harassment, Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution

Sexual Abuse by Prison and Jail Staff Proves Persistent, Pandemic by Gary Hunter Sexual assault, rape, indecency, deviance. These terms represent reprehensible behavior in our society. They also represent recurring themes in our nation’s prisons – not only by prisoners, but also by guards and other staff members. PLN’s August …

Caging Kids for Cash: Two Pennsylvania Judges Guilty of Selling Out Juvenile Justice System

Article • May 15, 2009 • from PLN May, 2009

Filed under: Private Prisons, Financing, PA Child Care, Contractor Misconduct, Judicial Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution, Judiciary, Juvenile Prisons

Caging Kids for Cash: Two Pennsylvania Judges Guilty of Selling Out Juvenile Justice System by Matthew Clarke Caging Kids for Cash: Two Pennsylvania Judges Guilty of Selling Out Juvenile Justice System by Matt Clarke Judges are supposed to be the protectors of our constitutional rights. They are expected to be …

Summary Judgment Denied To United States In FTCA Suit Alleging Sexual Assault By BOP Staff Member

Article • May 15, 2009

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Civil Procedure, Summary Judgment, Federal Tort Claims Act

Summary Judgment Denied To United States In FTCA Suit Alleging Sexual Assault By BOP Staff Member by U.S. District Judge Petrese B. Tucker has denied summary judgment to the United States in a Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) suit alleging sexual assault by a former BOP staff member. Kimberley Yates, …

Ex-Convict Demoted After Mismanaging Reentry Program

Article • May 15, 2009 • from PLN May, 2009

Filed under: Government Misconduct, Prisoner Privileges, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Tax Law

Ex-Convict Demoted After Mismanaging Reentry Program by Before his release in 2003, Ronald L. Cuie had served almost three years in Pennsylvania prisons for aggravated assault, robbery and criminal conspiracy. However, it was his successful work under two previous Philadelphia mayors that convinced Mayor Mike Nutter to appoint him over …