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Guard Proclaiming Open Season On Prisoner Actionable

Article • May 15, 2000 • from PLN May, 2000

Filed under: Threats by Staff, Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA)

Guard Proclaiming Open Season On Prisoner Actionable by Ronald Young The court of appeals for the Second circuit held that a prisoner, who alleged a guard told the other prisoners that it was "open season" on the prisoner, stated a claim under § 1983 for violation of the prisoner's Eighth …

Grievance Procedure Not Required by PLRA in All Lawsuits

Article • May 15, 2000 • from PLN May, 2000

Filed under: PLRA, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA)

Grievance Procedure Not Required by PLRA in All Lawsuits by The Ninth Circuit court of appeals has held that California state prisoners who seek only monetary damages in federal civil rights suits need not file a prison grievance before filing suit. MacArthur Rumbles, a California state prisoner, filed a civil …

$150,000 Judgment Against Prison Officials Upheld

Article • May 15, 2000 • from PLN May, 2000

Filed under: Disabled Prisoners, Eighth Amendment, Attorney Fee Awards, PLRA, Attorney Fees (PLRA), Damages, Americans with Disabilities Act

$150,000 Judgment Against Prison Officials Upheld by A federal district court in New York upheld a $150,000 jury verdict against prison officials, concluding that the award was not excessive. The court also held, in a separate ruling, that the Prison Litigation Reform Act, (PLRA), cap on attorney's fees does not …

PLRA Applies to Prospective Relief; Fees Are Not Prospective Relief

Article • May 15, 2000 • from PLN May, 2000

Filed under: PLRA, Attorney Fees (PLRA), Consent Decrees (PLRA), Injunctions (PLRA)

PLRA Applies to Prospective Relief; Fees Are Not Prospective Relief by A federal court in Florida held that a provision of the Prison Litigation reform Act (PLRA) automatically staying enforcement of prospective relief under consent decrees applies only to prospective relief engendered within the consent decree, and not to the …

South Dakota Attorney Fee Award of $106,877 Upheld Under PLRA

Article • May 15, 2000 • from PLN May, 2000

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Totality of Conditions, Attorney Fees (PLRA)

South Dakota Attorney Fee Award of $106,877 Upheld Under PLRA by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit has upheld an award of $106,877.74 in attorney fees for work done to enforce a consent decree issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota. The …

Court Modifies Education Plan for Rikers Island Youth

Article • May 15, 2000 • from PLN May, 2000

Filed under: Disabled Prisoners, PLRA, Injunctions (PLRA), Education, Interpreters

Court Modifies Education Plan for Rikers Island Youth by David Reutter by David M. Reutter In continuing its enforcement of an "Education Plan" for the Rikers Island Academies, a New York federal district court has made modifications to the Plan because it is "deficient in many respects." PLN previously reported …

Grievances Exhausted When Prison Officials Fail to Respond

Article • May 15, 2000 • from PLN May, 2000

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA)

Grievances Exhausted When Prison Officials Fail to Respond by The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that when prison officials fail to respond to administrative remedies, those remedies are rendered "unavailable" and deemed exhausted under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA). The court also held that prison officials were not …

Dismissal Reversed for Determination Whether Prisoner Was Misled About Remedies

Article • May 15, 2000 • from PLN May, 2000

Filed under: Failure to Protect (General), Smoking, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Civil Procedure, Defenses

Dismissal Reversed for Determination Whether Prisoner Was Misled About Remedies by Dismissal Reversed for Determination Whether Prisoner Was Misled About Remedies The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a Pennsylvania federal district court's dismissal of a state prisoner's suit. The court ruled that there was a substantial, disputed question …

Wyoming Prisoners Win Summary Judgment for Increased Security

Article • May 15, 2000 • from PLN May, 2000

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Injunctions (PLRA), Summary Judgment, Class Certification, Supervisory Liability

Wyoming Prisoners Win Summary Judgment for Increased Security by John E Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The class of all Wyoming state pris-oners won injunctive relief forcing prison officials to protect them from unprovoked assault, bodily injury and death at the hands of other prisoners, now, and in the future. …

Ninth Circuit Holds Exhaustion of Remedies Mandatory Before Filing Suit

Article • May 15, 2000 • from PLN May, 2000

Filed under: PLRA, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA)

Ninth Circuit Holds Exhaustion of Remedies Mandatory Before Filing Suit by The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Ap-peals joined eight other U.S. Courts of Appeals in holding that the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) mandates, under 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a), that administrative remedies must be exhausted prior to a prisoner …

Inquiry Required Before Dismissal for Failure to Pay Partial Filing Fee

Article • May 15, 2000 • from PLN May, 2000

Filed under: PLRA, Filing Fees (PLRA)

Inquiry Required Before Dismissal for Failure to Pay Partial Filing Fee by Inquiry Required Before Dismissal for Failure to Pay Partial Filing Fee The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held a district court must inquire into why a prisoner failed to pay an initial partial filing fee as ordered …

Class Action Prisoners Must Show Actual Injury to Maintain Access to Courts Relief

Article • April 15, 2000 • from PLN April, 2000

Filed under: Injunctions (PLRA), Court Access, Class Certification

Class Action Prisoners Must Show Actual Injury to Maintain Access to Courts Relief by by Matthew T. Clarke The Sixth Circuit has held that prisoner plaintiffs in a class action access to courts lawsuit must show widespread actual injury to maintain an injunction previously ordered by the federal district court. …

Seventh Circuit Prisoners Must Exhaust Futile Grievance Remedies

Article • April 15, 2000 • from PLN April, 2000

Filed under: Medical, Injury -- Misc., Hernias, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Defenses, Complaints

Seventh Circuit Prisoners Must Exhaust Futile Grievance Remedies by In two separate rulings, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that prisoners must exhaust administrative remedies before filing suit, regardless of the relief sought and no matter how ineffectual the prison grievance system may be. Eduardo Perez, a Wisconsin …

Youngstown Case Reveals New Legal Issues for Prisoner Advocates, State Correctional Agencies and Private Prison Companies

Article • March 15, 2000 • from PLN March, 2000

Filed under: Out of State Transfers, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, HIV/AIDS, Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Records, Escapes, Failure to Protect (General), Eighth Amendment, Attorney Fee Awards, Injunctions (PLRA), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Civil Procedure, Damages, Settlements, Defenses, State Law Claims, Standing, Parties, Qualified Immunity, Contractor Liability, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death)

Youngstown Case Reveals New Legal Issues for Prisoner Advocates, State Correctional Agencies and Private Prison Companies by Al Gerhardstein As the number of prisoners in private lock-ups continue to increase, lawsuits filed by them, not unexpectedly, are also on the rise. While that is no surprise to corrections professionals and …

Hearing Required Prior to Automatic Termination Under PLRA

Article • March 15, 2000 • from PLN March, 2000

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Totality of Conditions, Overcrowding, Consent Decrees (PLRA), Injunctions (PLRA)

Hearing Required Prior to Automatic Termination Under PLRA by The Eleventh Circuit has held that a federal district court must hold a hearing on the current conditions at the prison and the scope of the prospective relief to be terminated before terminating prospective relief in a prison conditions lawsuit under …

PLRA Attorney Fees Cap Violates Equal Protection Clause

Article • March 15, 2000 • from PLN March, 2000

Filed under: Retaliation for Litigating, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, PLRA, Attorney Fees (PLRA), Damages

PLRA Attorney Fees Cap Violates Equal Protection Clause by by Matthew T. Clarke A federal district court in Michigan has held that the attorney fees cap in the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(d), violates the equal protection component of the Due Process Clause of …

Third Circuit Evenly Split on PLRA Attorney Fee Cap

Article • March 15, 2000 • from PLN March, 2000

Filed under: Attorney Fees (PLRA), Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Dogs, Damages

Third Circuit Evenly Split on PLRA Attorney Fee Cap by Circuit has barely upheld the constitutionallity of the Attorney Fee Cap Provision of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(d). Michael Collins brought suit alleging the defendants violated his constitutional rights when he was attacked by a …

Judicial Screening Applies Only to IFP Suits

Article • February 15, 2000 • from PLN February, 2000

Filed under: PLRA, Filing Fees (PLRA)

Judicial Screening Applies Only to IFP Suits by The court of appeals for the Sixth circuit held that 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2), which requires judicial screening of lawsuits and dismissal under certain conditions, applies only to suits filed in forma pauperis (IFP), or without the pre-payment of the filing fees. …

"Three Strikes" Provision of PLRA Unconstitutional

Article • February 15, 2000 • from PLN February, 2000

Filed under: Filing Fees (PLRA), Frivolous Litigation (PLRA), Civil Procedure, Standing, Parole

"Three Strikes" Provision of PLRA Unconstitutional by A federal district court in Arkansas held that a prisoner had standing to challenge the "three strikes" provision of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) on equal protection grounds, and that "strict scrutiny" analysis applied. As a result, the provision was declared unconstitutional. …

Filing Fee Refunded in Habeas Case

Article • February 15, 2000 • from PLN February, 2000

Filed under: PLRA, Filing Fees (PLRA), Habeas Corpus

Filing Fee Refunded in Habeas Case by A federal district court in Massachusetts held that a habeas petitioner had incorrectly been required to pay the appellate filing fee. Because the Prison Litigation Reform Act's (PLRA) filing fee requirements do not apply to habeas petitions the court ordered the filing fee …