Pennsylvania DOC Settles Religious Dietary Suit by On December 26, 2006, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) agreed to provide substitute meals to state prisoner Alfonso Pew whenever pork is served. Pew claimed that while imprisoned in the Restrictive Housing Unit, prison officials refused to provide peanut butter or any …
Threat at Disciplinary Hearing Raises Due Process Issue by The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania held that unresolved factual issues precluded summary judgment. A Pennsylvania prisoner brought a §1983 action alleging violations of his right to due process during a disciplinary hearing in which the disciplinary …
Denial of Compensation to Unemployed Prisoner Doesn't Violate Constitution by The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Pennsylvania federal district court's dismissal of a state prisoner's suit where the prisoner claimed that denial of "idle pay" violated his constitutional rights. Joseph Fidtler sued the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections …
Pennsylvania: $5,442,000 Award For Failure To Treat Ruptured Spleen by On November 11, 1994, a jury in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, awarded $5,442,000 to a prisoner whose ruptured spleen went untreated. On March 4, 1987, while imprisoned at the Philadelphia House of Detention, plaintiff, 37, suffered a fall at the prison …
Attorney Fees Awarded in Partial Victory Gained By Order Setting Forth Settlement by The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a Pennsylvania District Court's order denying the award of attorney fees to the plaintiff in an action settled prior to a hearing for a preliminary injunction. This 42 U.S.C. …
Path Cleared For Construction of Private Pennsylvania Prison by A federal district court in Pennsylvania held that the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) was required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to either prepare a final Environmental Assessment (EA) or a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) prior to awarding …
Notice Required When Converting Dismissal Motion into Summary Judgment by The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that district courts must properly notice parties of their intent to convert motions to dismiss into motions for summary judgment. Four former Montgomery County, PA employees filed separate civil …
Injunctive Relief Reversed Due to Lack of Personal Stake by The U.S. Supreme Court reversed a judgment granting injunctive relief in a §1983 action against Philadelphia police. Respondents brought a §1983 action against Philadelphia officials, including the Mayor and the Police Commissioner, alleging a pervasive pattern of illegal and unconstitutional …
Habeas Corpus Appropriately Challenges 'Fact Or Duration' Of Confinement by The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania held that habeas corpus was not the proper forum for challenging the frequency of segregation review hearings or the limitation of telephone privileges. John Sinde, a federal prisoner at …
Federal Parole Officials Not Entitled To Absolute Immunity by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that a district court erred in dismissing a parolee's claim against probation and parole officials and that the parole officials were not entitled to absolute immunity. Lawrence Wilson, a federal parolee, …
Punishment Over Correspondence Violates First and Fourteenth Amendment, Damages Appropriate by Punishment Over Correspondence Violates First and Fourteenth Amendment, Damages Appropriate The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that prison officials had violated a prisoner's First Amendment rights by disciplining him for writing a letter of complaint …
Protesters' Sentences, Probation Conditions, Upheld; Special Assessments Reversed by The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in a consolidated review of five cases, upheld the sentences and conditions of probation for five persons convicted of disobeying a park ranger's order, but reversed a special assessment levied by the trial court. …
Protesters' Sentences, Probation Conditions, Upheld; Special Assessments Reversed by Protesters' Sentences, Probation Conditions, Upheld; Special Assessments Reversed The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in a consolidated review of five cases, upheld the sentences and conditions of probation for five persons convicted of disobeying a park ranger's order, but reversed …
U. S. Marshals Need Not Transport State Prisoners to Court by The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued writs of habeas corpus ad testificandum for five prisoner witnesses to appear in a civil rights action against Philadelphia County Jail officials. The writs instructed the wardens …
Deceased PA Prisoner's Medical Records Disclosable by Darlene Lucretia Joe was a Pennsylvania state prisoner at the Philadelphia Industrial Correction Center. Between 4/29/97 and 6/30/97 she requested medical care 15 times, to no avail. On 8/4/97 she died of cerebral herniation. Her estate sued the prison medical subcontractors (defendants), who …
State Law Creates Liberty Interest by The Supreme Court found that a state law gave a Pennsylvania prisoner a liberty interest in remaining in general population which could not be taken without due process. They ruled, however, that the limited actions taken by prison authorities constituted due process. After being …
Independent Operator Not Necessary for Tape Recorded Deposition by A federal district court in Pennsylvania has held that to require an independent operator to oversee the tape recorded deposition of a witness is cost prohibitive. The motion for the tape recorded deposition was made by a state prisoner represented by …
PA Jail Immune from Suit in Medical Services Contract Case by Correctional Medical Care, Inc. (CMC) entered into a contract with MHM Services, Inc. (MHM) to jointly bid for a health care contract at a prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. MHM later had secret meetings with the city of Philadelphia and …
PA Long-Arm Statute Reaches Out-of-State Civil Rights Violations in TransCor Suit by PA Long-Arm Statute Reaches Out-of-State Civil Rights Violations in TransCor Suit On May 5, 2000, Jerry Irons, an AIDS patient was arrested in Maryland on an Ohio warrant. On May 17, TransCor, a company that transports prisoners, took …
Pre-Trial Detainees Must Pay Cost of Expert Testimony by The Third Circuit Court of Appeals held, in a medical neglect claim, an expert's medical testimony fees, except in criminal cases, will be paid by the pre-trial detainee. A pre-trial detainee at Pennsylvania Allegheny County Jail (County) suffering from ulna nerve …
