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 …
Court Criticizes PLRA Attorney Fee Cap by David Reutter by David M. Reutter ( A federal district court for the Eastern District of Michigan (EDM) has held the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) caps attorney fees in prisoner civil rights cases, but criticized that holding. Michigan prisoner Blaine Sallier was …
Alabama Jail Enjoined for "Uncivilized and Hazardous Conditions" by Chief Judge Clemon of the Federal District Court, Northern District of Alabama, has preliminarily enjoined the Morgan County Jail, its sheriff, administrator, and commissioners, and the commissioner and transfer director of the Alabama Department of Corrections (DOC) because of conditions described …
$540,000 Settlement in Minnesota Jail Beating by Robert Woodman In October 2001, Hennepin County, Minnesota, agreed to pay $540,000 to settle a brutality suit against the county jail. It is believed to be the largest brutality settlement in county history. On September 4, 2000, Derek Martin, 43, was arrested on …
Pubic Hair Search by Medical Personnel Constitutional by The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has overturned a district court's order that held as unconstitutional a Sheriff's policy of searching a prisoner's pubic hair prior to release. PLN previously reported the district court's order. (See: Skurstenis v. Jones , …
Detainee's Strip Search Unconstitutional, But Qualified Immunity Granted by The court of appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has held that a jail strip search of an arrestee without reasonable suspicion violates the Fourth Amendment, but granted qualified immunity. DeAngela Wilson was arrested at a checkpoint for driving under the influence …
State Prisons Abrogate Attorney-Client Mail Privilege by Just as the federal government has seized on the events of September 11, 2001, to push for a long list of previously desired powers and restrictions on civil liberties, state prison systems have done the same. Several states, including Massachusetts, Virginia, New Jersey, …
Michigan Disciplinary Hearing Class Action Settled by A federal district court in Michigan has approved a proposed settlement agreement in a classaction lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC). The Court also modified class representation. In 1996, Richard Heit and two others filed a complaint on behalf of themselves …
Michigan Prisoners Awarded Nearly $7,000 for Retaliatory Transfers by Lonnie Burton In February 2001, a federal judge ruled that two Michigan prisoners are entitled to almost $7,000 in damages after they were unjustly punished by the state Department of Corrections when they were transferred to highersecurity prisons. The transfers came …
Denial of Clothing to Arrestees States Claim for Relief; Suit Settles for $31,500 by A Michigan Federal District Court has ruled that arrestees detained in a city jail without any clothing or covering for between six and eighteen hours as a suicide prevention method, with limited exposure to viewing by …
U.S. Supreme Court Holds Violation of IAD's Anti-Shuttling Provisions Requires Dismissal by The United States Supreme Court held that the "anti-shuttling" provision of Article IV(e) of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers (IAD) requires dismissal of the pending criminal charge(s) in the receiving state when the prisoner is returned to the …
Denial of Treatment for Two Hours Defeats Qualified Immunity by Denial Of Treatment For Two Hours Defeats Qualified Immunity Afederal district court in Alabama has held a detainee's allegations that guards failed to take action on his complaints of chest pains for over two hours defeats qualified immunity. After being …
Staff Shortage in Nation's Prisons by Gary Hunter Across the nation, states are plagued by a shortage of prison guards. A decade of building prisons has created an industry that employs more people than General Electric, and costs taxpayers in excess of $40 billion a year. To fill the shortage …
