Pennsylvania Prison Legal Mail Policy Unconstitutional, Enjoined by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On May 3, 2007, a federal court in Pennsylvania found unconstitutional the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) mail policy allowing legal mail to be opened outside the presence of prisoners if the pail does not display a …
Pennsylvania DNA Act Not Ex Post Facto by The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that the state?s mandatory DNA collection law does not violate state or federal ex post facto prohibitions. The court upheld application of the law to one defendant, finding that she was convicted of a predicate offense. It …
Prison Privatization Launders Taxpayer Dollars into Political Contributions by David Reutter by David M. Reutter If you know a company is not saving you money or performing its contractual obligations, why would you continue to use that company? The normal consumer would end the relationship quickly. When it comes to …
Drunk PA DOC Attorney Charged in Hit-and-Run by Michael Farnan, 40, chief counsel for the Pennsylvania DOC, resigned from his job after he was involved in a hit-and-run accident in his state car. Farnan had been drinking heavily when he ran into the back of Tamara Hughes? minivan on November …
$27,500 Settlement for Rape of Four Women Prisoners in Pittsburgh Jail by There have been settlements in four separate lawsuits involving the Allegheny County (Pennsylvania) Jail. The suits alleged that seven Allegheny County Jail guards sexually assaulted four women prisoners. In May 2006, Allegheny County began settling a series of …
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 …
