Pennsylvania Jail Suit for Failure to Treat Broken Jaw Dismissed by The plaintiff was punched in the jaw by another prisoner and was given pain medication and cotton to bite on by medical staff. He went back five of the next six days complaining of continued severe pain, numbness, and …
BOP Prisoner Wins Habeas in Work Release Challenge by Contrary to the Department of Prisons' abrupt change in policy declaring that prisoners could not be placed in a community corrections center for more than 10 per cent of their sentences, a CCC is a "penal or correctional facility" under the …
Sex Offender Treatment for Release Claim Rejected by The plaintiff complained that denial of parole because of his refusal to participate in a sex offender program violated the Ex Post Facto Clause. His claim is rejected. His term of incarceration has not yet expired, so he is not being subjected …
Punishment of Mentally Ill Prisoner Upheld by The plaintiff state prisoner, who has schizophrenia with a history of violent behavior and fire starting, was subjected to disciplinary sanctions for his misbehavior. He was not disciplined for refusing his medication, though he was once threatened with discipline. At 625: "Plaintiff had …
Municipality May Be Liable Even Absent Employee Liability by Notwithstanding Heller, at 482: "It is possible for a municipality to be held independently liable for a substantive due process violation even in situations where none of its employees are liable." Id. n.3: the court notes that some circuits have rejected …
Third Circuit Rejects Implied Class Certification by Third Circuit Rejects Implied Class Certification Suit was filed in 1972 and a consent decree entered in 1974. This appeal from denial of a motion to vacate is dismissed as moot because the named plaintiffs moved out of public housing even before the …
Court Denies Jail Staff Motion to Dismiss in Death Suit by The plaintiff sued over the decedent's death in jail. A nurse, a doctor, and a private medical provider moved for a more definitive (sic) statement, asserting that language in the complaint such as "inter alia" and "is not limited …
Third Circuit Invalidates BOP's 2005 CCC Regs. by In the latest chapter of the saga previously reported in PLN concerning Bureau of Prison (BOP) Community Correction Center (CCC) eligibility, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated BOP regulations adopted in 2005 that restricted CCC placement, finding the regulations were contrary …
Moving Case off Active Docket Not a Dismissal by The parties advised the court that the case would be settled, and hearing nothing to the contrary seven weeks later, it ordered the case "closed." However, the case really wasn't settled. When the parties reported that fact, the court declared that …
Third Circuit Terminates Prison Paralegal Clinic Injunction by Prison officials moved to terminate an injunction requiring a prisoner-run law clinic. Plaintiffs conceded that there was no current and ongoing constitutional violation, but said if the judgment is terminated there will be because the defendants will shut down the clinic. At …
Segregation for Complaining about Jail Conditions Struck Down by Segregation for Complaining About Jail Conditions Struck Down The court of appeals for the Third circuit held that it is unconstitutional to place a jail prisoner in segregation, without a hearing, in retaliation for the prisoner complaining about conditions to the …
Double Celling Unconstitutional by The court of appeals for the Third circuit affirmed a district court's order, at 719 F. Supp. 126 (WD PA 1989), which held that double celling in Pennsylvania prisons violated the Eighth amendment under a "totality of conditions" analysis. The overall prison conditions consisted of dilapidated, …
Jail Detainees Have Right to Meet with Counsel by The court of appeals for the Third Circuit held that a district court erred in dismissing a Pennsylvania jail prisoner's claim that he was denied an adequate opportunity to meet with his trial lawyer to prepare his defense. The appeals court …
Pre-operative Transsexual "Deliberate Indifference" Claims Set for Trial by Pre-operative Transsexual "Deliberate Indifference" Claims Set for Trial A Federal District Court in Pennsylvania has partially denied summary judgment in a case in which a transsexual Pennsylvania prisoner claimed that prison doctors and administrators ignored serious medical needs related to gender …
Expert Testimony Required in Medical Claims by A Pennsylvania prisoner survived a motion for summary judgment by prison health care providers after a U.S. District Court ruled that expert testimony was not required to establish the severity of his medical need nor the defendants' indifference to it. William McCabe, complaining …
Pennsylvania Prisoners Counted as Residents of States in Which Prison Is Located by Pennsylvania Prisoners Counted as Residents of States in Which Prison is Located The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania did not err when …
Pennsylvania Prisoner's Disciplinary Actions Held Not Retaliation for Jailhouse Lawyering by Pennsylvania Prisoner's Disciplinary Actions Held Not Retaliation for Jailhouse Lawyering Affirming the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on other grounds, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that the disciplinary actions to which a …
Statutes Permitting Repossession Without Hearing Violated Due Process by The U.S. Supreme Court held that Pennsylvania and Florida prejudgment replevin statutes, which allowed private parties to repossess goods without first giving the possessors an opportunity to be heard, violated the Fourteenth Amendment. Appellants, most of whom had purchased household goods …
BOP Must Obey Judge's Sentencing Order by The Third Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals vacated a district court decision on a federal prisoner's petition for writ of habeas corpus where the prisoner argued that the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) had ignored the sentencing judge's order and consequently …
Psychological Evaluation and Consent to Release Required for Hepatitis C Treatment by Psychological Evaluation and Consent to Release Required for Hepatitis C Treatment A Pennsylvania Federal District Court denied a prisoner's motion for a preliminary injunction to compel treatment for his Hepatitis C infection without requiring him to submit to …
