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 …
Diabetic Prisoner's Deliberate Indifference Claim to Proceed to Trial by A federal district court in Alabama held that a diabetic pretrial detainee's medical neglect claim required a trial to resolve, overruling the defendants' motion for summary judgment. Wendi Flowers, a severe diabetic, was arrested and booked in the St. Clair …
Sixth Circuit Upholds PLRA Attorneys' Fees Cap by The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the cap on attorneys' fees imposed by the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(d)(3), does not violate the equal protection provision of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This …
Michigan DOC Sex Abuse Suit Nets Nearly $4 Million by Roger Smith On February 7, 2000, Michigan DOC officials agreed to settle a lawsuit with 32 women prisoners for $3,787,000 in damages, costs, and attorney fees. The women sued in a Michigan federal district court after being sexually abused by …
Michigan Prison Visitor Forced to Wet Pants Wins $40,000 in Damages and Fees by Michigan Prison Visitor Forced To Wet Pants Wins $40,000 in Damages and Fees On February 12, 2001, James Glaspy was awarded $10,000 in damages at a bench trial in a Michigan federal district court. He sued …
INS Force-Feeds Long-Term Detainee by Mark Dow Nabil Soliman believes that "accepting a tray of food" from his jailers means accepting what he calls his "illegal detention" by the Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS). Soliman has argued that it is a violation of his First Amendment right to expression and …
Supreme Court Restricts ADA by Roger Smith The U.S. Supreme Court overruled an Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision allowing disabled persons to sue State employers for money damages in federal court under Title I of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). 42 U.S.C. § 12112. The 54 majority held …
Arbitrary Denial of Michigan Appeal Bond Enjoined by A federal District Court in Michigan has enjoined prison officials from incarcerating Joseph Puertas for drug convictions. Puertas obtained the preliminary injunction in a habeas corpus action under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 after state courts arbitrarily denied his request to remain free …
Due Process Violation, Plain Error Reverse Marijuana Conviction by The Michigan Supreme Court reversed a state prisoner's conviction for possession of marijuana after finding that the prosecution had improperly introduced inculpatory statements made by the defendant at an earlier prison disciplinary hearing. Raymond Wyngaard was a prisoner of Michigan's Kinross …
$330,000 Verdict in MI Beating by On October 8, 1999, a federal jury deliberated four hours before returning a $330,000 verdict in favor of Richard Johnson. Johnson, a Michigan state prisoner, had been imprisoned at the Ionia Correctional Facility. While being moved to a different cell, Johnson was shoved from …
No Qualified Immunity for Alabama Blanket Strip-Search Policy by A federal district court in Alabama held that a County Sheriff was not entitled to qualified immunity for a policy of strip-searching all jail admittees, regardless of personal circumstances. DeAngela Wilson, an 18-year-old high school student, was arrested at a drivers' …
Alabama Ad Seg Publication Ban Struck Down by On March 20, 2000, a Federal Magistrate recommended declaratory relief striking down a ban on subscription publications in the Alabama Department of Corrections' (DOC) Administrative Segregation (Ad Seg) unit. This recommendation follows a previous ruling where the Court held, after a bench …
Pubic Hair Search of Released Jail Detainee Unconstitutional by A federal district court in Alabama held that a sheriff's policy of searching prisoners' pubic hair as they were released from jail was unconstitutional. The court also held that jail officials were entitled to qualified immunity from money damages for strip …
En Banc Sixth Circuit Addresses Mental Health Care by By Matthew T. Clarke Anthony Wade was a Michigan state prisoner who committed suicide by taking an overdose of anti-depressant Sinequan (Doxepine) pills. During the year Wade was in presentencing incarceration at the Wayne County Jail (WCJ), he suffered from depression …
Alabama Officials Guilty in Phone Scam by A former Alabama state auditor, County commissioner and another man pleaded guilty in July 1999 to federal charges stemming from a prison pay phone scam operated in Alabama and Louisiana by Global Tel*Link, a Mobile-based company. Former state auditor Terry Ellis pleaded guilty …
MI Hearing Officer Fired for Following Law by The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that fact issues existed as to whether a major misconduct decision maker employed by the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) was retaliated against and fired, for failing to maintain a 90% misconduct conviction rate and …
