Alabama DOC Settles Mental Health Class Action by James Quigley The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama approved a settlement agreement between a class of prisoners, defined as "all acutely or severely mentally ill male inmates who are presently or will in the future be incarcerated in …
The Parents' Project: Parent-Child Prison Visitation Issues Raised by Bazzetta, et. al. v. McGinnis, et. al. by Denise Johnston by Denise Johnston & Michael Carlin In 1999, the Michigan Department of Corrections [MDOC] imposed a broad set of restrictions upon parent-child prison visitation. These restrictions included prohibition of visits to …
Psychologist Not Qualifiedly Immune in Prisoner Suicide Suit by John E Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The Sixth Circuit US Court of Appeals ruled that a prison psychologist's awareness of a prisoner's potential for suicide was sufficient to defeat the psychologist's qualified immunity defense in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 …
Acrimonious Michigan Prisoners' Rights Suit Settled After 15 Years by John E Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg A class-action lawsuit launched by Michigan state prisoners in 1988 which ultimately cost taxpayers $7.5 million in litigation costs was settled on November 4, 2003, resulting in prisoners gaining appropriate classification and psychiatric …
Thaddeus-X Standard Retroactive Except for Qualified Immunity Defense by Bob Williams Thaddeus-X Standard Retroactive Except For Qualified Immunity Defense by Bob Williams A federal district court in Michigan has held that the Thaddeus-X standard, rather than the "shocks the conscience" standard, is applicable to claims of guard retaliation for prisoners …
Summer Uprisings in Three Southern Jails by As temperatures rose last summer, so did tensions in some southern jails. Guards at the Craighead County jail in Jonesboro, Arkansas, used tear gas and stun guns to regain control of a cell block that housed 27 prisoners. Four prisoners received minor injuries …
Prisoner's Estate Survives Summary Judgment on Medical Policy Claims by A federal district court in Michigan held that issues of fact as to whether prison officials adopted a policy discouraging necessary health care precluded summary judgment. Roscoe Young was incarcerated in a prison of the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) …
Alabama Jail Conditions Unconstitutional, County Liable by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Court of Appeals for the Elev-enth Circuit has held, in a case with protracted litigation resulting in three opinions of the Court, that the conditions of the Butler County Jail in Greenville, Alabama are so atrocious …
Alabama DOC Quickly Settles Prison Working Conditions Suit by John E Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg On January 8, 2002, a scant two months after being sued, Alabama Department of Corrections (DOC) officials settled a class action complaint filed on behalf of 200 prison workers at the Elmore Correctional Facility …
Deaf Michigan Prisoner's ADA/RA Suit Survives Dismissal Challenge by A Michigan District Court has granted in part and denied in part Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) officials' motion to dismiss a state prisoner's suit against MDOC under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §12101, et. seq., and the …
Furniture Makers Challenge UNICOR by Gary Hunter The Coalition for Government Procurement brought charges against the Federal Prison Industries alleging nine violations of the Administrative Procedures Act between 1991 and 1995. Legislation on this topic had been pending for several years. On August 18, 2001 the U.S. District Court for …
Rose v. Saginaw County, MI, Complaint, Jail Strip Search, 2001 Case 2:01-cv-10337-DML Document 55 Filed 12/09/2002 Page 1 of 17 Case 2:01-cv-10337-DML Document 55 Filed 12/09/2002 Page 2 of 17 Case 2:01-cv-10337-DML Document 55 Filed 12/09/2002 Page 3 of 17 Case 2:01-cv-10337-DML Document 55 Filed 12/09/2002 Page 4 of 17 …
Prisoners, Politics, Money and the Census by Gary Hunter It's a standing joke that the Texas economy has been grounded in the 3 C's: cattle, crude, and convicts. But while Texas gets most of the publicity for its massive prison build-up, the human-warehousing trend is literally sweeping the countrysideand it …
Michigan Visiting Ruling Upheld by In an opinion as strongly worded as the District Court opinion it reviewed, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a Federal District Court ruling striking down the Michigan Department of Corrections (DOC) severe visiting restrictions as unconstitutional. PLN reported the District Court decision …
Sixth Circuit Upholds Denial of Prison Doctor's Qualified Immunity by The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld denial of qualified immunity to a state prison doctor by the Federal District Court in Michigan. Richard LeMarbe is a Michigan state prisoner. In 1996, he was treated for chronic gallbladder problems …
Sixth Circuit Rules PLRA 150% Fee Cap Constitutional by by Matthew T. Clarke The Sixth Circuit court of appeals has held that 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(d)(2), the section of the Prison Litigation Reform Act, which limits losing civil rights defendants' liability to 150% of the damage award, did not violate …
Girls Sue Alabama Juvenile Prison for Abuse by Five girls who were incarcerated at the Chalkville juvenile lockup in Alabama have filed a massive $171 million lawsuit against the agency that runs the jail, the Department of Youth Services (DYS). The suit charges, among other things, that the girls were …
Multiple Prisoners Proceeding IFP Must Pay Separate Filing Fees by The Eleventh Circuit US Court of Appeals held that multiple prisoners, when asserting in forma pauperis (IFP) status in a federal civil rights action, cannot join their claims to pro-rate a single filing fee among all the plaintiffs. Earnest Hubbard …
$54,750 Damages Awarded Asthmatic Prisoner in Michigan ETS Suit by John E Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The U.S. District Court (E.D..) awarded an asthmatic Michigan state prisoner $36,500 in compensatory damages and $18,250 in punitive damages after a bench trial determination that Michigan Department of Corrections (DOC) wardens had …
States Capitulate on Reading Legal Mail by John E Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The disturbing trend of several states to inspect legal mail outside the presence of the prisoner [see PLN Mar. 2002 "State Prisons Abrogate Attorney Client Privilege"] has begun to crumble under court challenges. Begun under the …
