Texas Guards Who Fought with Juveniles Disciplined but Not Prosecuted by David Reutter Seven guards at a Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJ) facility have been fired or disciplined for assaulting teenage prisoners. Many of the incidents were caught on video. The TJJ established the Phoenix Program in 2012 to calm …
Texas Jail Expansion by another Name on Ballot Passes by David Reutter Jail expansion was unpopular in 2007 with voters in Harris County and the City of Houston. Learning from that defeat, local politicians gained approval of an expansion of the jail, but they called it something else on the …
Thomas v. Williams, TX, Plaintiff's Memo in Support of Opposed Motion, 2016 Case 4:14-cv-02711 Document 110 Filed in TXSD on 01/10/16 Page 1 of 11 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS HOUSTON DIVISION Plaintiffs Defendants. A. INTRODUCTION sua sponte i.e., Case 4:14-cv-02711 Document 110 Filed in TXSD on …
McDaniel v. Tom Green County, TX, Complaint, Wrongful Death Medical Neglect, 2016 Case 6:16-cv-00002-C Document 1 Filed 01/08/16 Page 1 of 14 PageID 1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS SAN ANGELO DIVISION CHARLEY McDANIEL, and CORY WILLIAMS, individually and as heirs at law to the …
Texas Begins Intercepting and Blocking Cell Phone Calls from Prisons by Matthew Clarke By Matt Clarke In April 2013, Texas began intercepting cell phone calls originating in two of its largest prisons. The equipment installed at the Stiles Unit in Beaumont and the McConnell Unit in Beeville is intended to …
Segregation Rate and Segregated Prisoner Suicide Rate High in Texas by Matthew Clarke By Matt Clarke At around 5.5%, the segregation rate in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is over twice the national average of 2.7%. Segregating so many prisoners raises questions about the mental health effects of …
Texas Grand Jury Indicts Two Jailers in Prisoner’s Death; Others Face Discipline by Texas Grand Jury Indicts Two Jailers in Prisoner’s Death; Others Face Discipline On November 23, 2015, a grand jury in Tarrant County, Texas returned an indictment against two Arlington Police Department detention officers for one count each …
Public Information Handbook, Attorney General of Texas, 2016 PUBLIC INFORMATION HANDBOOK 2016 REV 10/15 Dear Fellow Texans: The Texas Public Information Act sets requirements for the ability of citizens to access information on action taken by governmental bodies. This transparency provides Texans with a more complete understanding of how their …
Texas Hospital Settles Suit over Improper Border Patrol Search for $1.1 Million by Matthew Clarke Texas Hospital Settles Suit over Improper Border Patrol Search for $1.1 Million by Matt Clarke The University Medical Center of El Paso and its emergency room physicians settled their part of a federal civil rights …
Brown v Taylor, TX, Plf Brief, prisoner mailbox rule, 2015 Case: 13-10588 Document: 00513301554 Page: 1 Date Filed: 12/09/2015 No. 13-10588 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT CLARENCE D. BROWN, Plaintiff-Appellant v. ALLISON TAYLOR, IN HER OFFICIAL AND INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF …
Texas Enacts Legislation to Reduce Wrongful Convictions by Matthew Clarke Texas Enacts Legislation to Reduce Wrongful Convictions by Matt Clarke Legal experts in Texas are trying to iron out a wrinkle they say is an unintended consequence arising from a new law governing discovery in criminal cases, but despite the …
Federal Court Finds Texas Violates Rights of Muslim Prisoners by Matthew Clarke Federal Court Finds Texas Violates Rights of Muslim Prisoners by Matt Clarke On April 30, 2014, a federal district court held that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) was violating the constitutional rights of Muslim prisoners by …
Texas Prison Escapes Down Since “Texas Seven” by Matthew Clarke Texas Prison Escapes Down Since “Texas Seven” by Matt Clarke Officials with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) say the number of escapes from state prisons dropped sharply after seven prisoners staged a brazen break-out in 2001. Since 2012 …
One of Two Charges Dropped against Former Texas Governor in Abuse-of-Power Case by Matthew Clarke One of Two Charges Dropped against Former Texas Governor in Abuse-of-Power Case by Matt Clarke One criminal charge has been dismissed in an abuse-of-power case filed against ex-Texas Governor Rick Perry, but a second charge …
Texas Information Officer’s Termination Lawsuit Dismissed by Texas Information Officer’s Termination Lawsuit Dismissed A Texas federal district court dismissed a discrimination lawsuit filed by former Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) Public Information Director Michelle Lyons. She appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals following the court’s September 2013 …
Federal Court Improperly Defers Judgment, Allows Discovery on Qualified Immunity Defense by Federal Court Improperly Defers Judgment, Allows Discovery on Qualified Immunity Defense The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a lower court incorrectly deferred judgment on the defendants’ motion seeking qualified immunity and improperly allowed limited discovery. …
$775,000 Settlement for Parents of Student Injured During Incident with Police Deputy by $775,000 Settlement for Parents of Student Injured During Incident with Police Deputy The parents of a Texas high school student have settled their suit against Deputy Dandy McMillan and others for $775,000. The suit raised state and …
At Least $78,000 in Sealed Settlement for Texas Jail Prisoner’s Suicide by Matthew Clarke At Least $78,000 in Sealed Settlement for Texas Jail Prisoner’s Suicide by Matt Clarke On March 11, 2013, a Texas federal court approved the settlement of a lawsuit over the suicide death of a Texas prisoner …
Texas Supreme Court Holds No Compensation for Wrongly-Convicted Prisoner Imprisoned on Other Charges by Matthew Clarke Texas Supreme Court Holds No Compensation for Wrongly-Convicted Prisoner Imprisoned on Other Charges by Matt Clarke On August 23, 2013, the Supreme Court of Texas held that a former death row prisoner who had …
Indictments and Guilty Pleas in Multi-Gang Prison Smuggling Conspiracy in Texas by Matthew Clarke Indictments and Guilty Pleas in Multi-Gang Prison Smuggling Conspiracy in Texas by Matt Clarke On February 26, 2013, a 23-page federal indictment was unsealed. It charged 32 people with involvement in a complex conspiracy to smuggle …
