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Alaska Scope-of-Employment Certification Reviewable; State Immune from Guards' Excessive Force

Article • May 15, 2012

Filed under: Guard Brutality/Beatings, Immunity/Liability, Sovereign Immunity, Failure to Train/Supervise

Alaska Scope-of-Employment Certification Reviewable; State Immune from Guards' Excessive Force by The Alaska Supreme Court held that the Attorney General's certification that Defendant prison guards were acting within the scope of their employment is subject to judicial review. The Court also held that the State was immune for a prisoner's …

Alaska Supreme Court Resolves Jail Funding Fight

Article • May 15, 2012

Filed under: DOC/BOP misconduct, Conditions of Confinement, Jail Specific, Transportation

Alaska Supreme Court Resolves Jail Funding Fight by The Alaska Supreme Court held that the State's duty to house prisoners in the Kotzebue Regional Jail ceased when the contract between the City and State expired, but it owed a continuing duty to transport prisoners to court. "Built in 1988, the …

Alaska Medical Care Reimbursement Statute Extends to Former Prisoners; State Refuses to Pay Part of Medical Malpractice Judgment

Article • February 15, 2012 • from PLN February, 2012

Filed under: Medical, Medical Expenses, Malpractice

Alaska Medical Care Reimbursement Statute Extends to Former Prisoners; State Refuses to Pay Part of Medical Malpractice Judgment by Mark Wilson On June 24, 2011, the Alaska Supreme Court held that state law allows the Alaska Department of Corrections (ADOC) to seek reimbursement of medical costs from former prisoners. Dewell …

Alaskan Private Prison Promoter Arrested in Mexico, Extradited to U.S. on Child Sexual Abuse Charges

Article • February 15, 2012 • from PLN February, 2012

Filed under: Contractor Misconduct, Elections, Lobbying, Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution

Alaskan Private Prison Promoter Arrested in Mexico, Extradited to U.S. on Child Sexual Abuse Charges by In the 1980s, Bill Weimar became a rich man when his company, Allvest Corporation, owned and operated a chain of private halfway houses in Alaska. He heavily promoted building a private prison in Alaska, …

Parole Violator Leaps to Death at Alaskan Jail

Article • September 15, 2011 • from PLN September, 2011

Filed under: Mental Health, Suicides

Parole Violator Leaps to Death at Alaskan Jail by Just hours after being arrested, an Alaskan parole violator jumped to his death inside an Anchorage jail. Ralph Kosbruk, 44, was convicted of sexually abusing a minor in 2005, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety’s sex offender registry. On …

Alaska Prisoner’s Action to Overturn DR Not Moot if Relief Sought Greater than Obtained

Article • April 15, 2011

Filed under: Work, Work Conditions/Safety, Disciplinary Litigation, Witnesses (Disciplinary Hearings)

Alaska Prisoner’s Action to Overturn DR Not Moot if Relief Sought Greater than Obtained by David Reutter By David M. Reutter The Alaska Supreme Court has held that a prisoner’s action to reverse a disciplinary charge is not moot where the relief sought is greater than that afforded by prison …

Time Spent In Alaska Residential Treatment Not Credited Against Suspended Sentences

Article • April 15, 2011

Filed under: Sentencing, Parole, Probation

Time Spent In Alaska Residential Treatment Not Credited Against Suspended Sentences by In a memorandum decision, the Alaska Court of Appeals held that time spent in a residential treatment program may not be credited against a suspended sentence later served. This time is not time served “pending trial, sentencing, or …

Native American Firms Reap Large Profits from Immigrant Detention Contracts

Article • November 15, 2010 • from PLN November, 2010

Filed under: International, Immigration

Native American Firms Reap Large Profits from Immigrant Detention Contracts by Derek Gilna Native American companies, many of which have no experience in prison management, are earning large sums of money as conduits for Department of Homeland Security contracts which are then subcontracted out to other firms. Although apparently legal …

Thou Shalt Not: Sexual Misconduct by Prison and Jail Chaplains

Article • September 15, 2010 • from PLN September, 2010

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Staff-Staff Assault, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Staff-Prisoner Harassment, Staff-Staff Harassment, Supervisor-Staff Harassment, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Clergy, Failure to Protect (Juveniles), Juvenile Prisons

Thou Shalt Not: Sexual Misconduct by Prison and Jail Chaplains by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Traditionally, the role of a chaplain in the correctional setting is to serve as a spiritual advisor to prisoners and help them meet the requirements of their religious faiths. Equally traditionally, chaplains have …

Cornell Wins $19.5 Million Alaska Contract; CCA Protest Denied

Article • May 15, 2010 • from PLN May, 2010

Filed under: Private Prisons, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Financing, Cornell Corrections

Cornell Wins $19.5 Million Alaska Contract; CCA Protest Denied by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In September 2009, Alaskan officials denied a protest filed by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), which was the final hurdle before awarding Cornell Corrections of Alaska (a subsidiary of Cornell Corrections) a contract worth $19,446,000 …

Supreme Court: No Due Process Right to Post-Conviction DNA Testing

Article • January 15, 2010

Filed under: DNA Testing/Samples, Crime/Demographics, Crime Labs, Wrongful Conviction, Habeas Corpus

Supreme Court: No Due Process Right to Post-Conviction DNA Testing by On March 2, 2009, the United States Supreme Court ruled that there is no federal substantive due process right to post-conviction DNA testing. William G. Osborne, an Alaska state prisoner, was convicted of a 1993 kidnapping, assault and sexual …

“Habeas Hints”

Article • October 15, 2009 • from PLN October, 2009

Filed under: Confrontation, DNA Testing/Samples, Sentencing, Habeas Corpus

“Habeas Hints” by Kent A. Russell by Kent Russell This column provides “habeas hints” to prisoners who are considering or handling habeas corpus petitions as their own attorneys (“in pro per”). The focus of the column is on habeas corpus under AEDPA, the 1996 habeas corpus law which now governs …

Alaska Prisoners May Assert Third-Party Beneficiary Claim Against Contract Medical Provider

Article • June 15, 2009

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Malpractice, State Law Claims, Immunity/Liability, Contractor Liability

Alaska Prisoners May Assert Third-Party Beneficiary Claim Against Contract Medical Provider by Alaska prisoners may bring a third-party breach of contract claim against contract medical providers for medical negligence, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided August 28, 2007. Joseph Miller, an Alaska prisoner, sued Corrections Corporation …

$1.4 Million Settlement in Three-Day Long Sexual Assaults of Alaska Prisoners

Article • June 15, 2009 • from PLN June, 2009

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General)

$1.4 Million Settlement in Three-Day Long Sexual Assaults of Alaska Prisoners by David Reutter $1.4 Million Settlement in Three-Day Long Sexual Assaults of Alaska Prisoners by David M. Reutter Two male Alaska prisoners who were sexually assaulted by other prisoners have reached a $1.4 million settlement in a lawsuit filed …

City Agrees to Pay $2,500,000 to Private Prison Company

Article • April 15, 2009

Filed under: Private Prisons, Delta Corrections Group, Contractor Liability, Premises Liability

City Agrees to Pay $2,500,000 to Private Prison Company by On April 16, 2001, the City of Delta Junction, Alaska agreed to settle a suit brought by prison officials over a failed attempt to construct a private prison at Fort Greely, Alaska. After Fort Greely was slated for closing by …

Alaska Pays $575,000 in Excessive Force Case

Article • April 15, 2009

Filed under: Stun Guns/Tasers, Restraints, Damages, Settlements, Police, Excessive Force (Police)

Alaska Pays $575,000 in Excessive Force Case by $575,000 Settlement in Alaska Prisoner Abuse Alaska prisoner Kevin Patrick brought suit against the state and State Trooper Eric Spitzer after allegedly being Tasered seven times while handcuffed in December 2002. Troopers believed that Patrick had attacked a village policeman with a …

Obama Administration Contends Prisoner Has No Right to DNA Testing

Article • March 15, 2009

Filed under: DNA Testing/Samples, Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

Obama Administration Contends Prisoner Has No Right to DNA Testing by David C Fathi By David C. Fathi DNA testing is a uniquely powerful crime-solving tool. Testing crime scene evidence using new and advanced techniques has solved many previously unsolved crimes, leading to the arrest and conviction of rapists and …

Ted Stevens' Charges Dropped: A Tale of Two Justice Systems

Article • March 15, 2009

Filed under: Government Misconduct, Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution, Attorneys General, Prosecutors, Sentencing, Wrongful Conviction

Ted Stevens' Charges Dropped: A Tale of Two Justice Systems by Joshua Holland By Joshua Holland, AlterNet Posted on April 1, 2009, Printed on April 1, 2009 Editor's note: this originally appeared on AlterNet's blog, PEEK. It's immaterial that former Alaska senator Ted Stevens was a loathsome, quasi-corrupt slug of …

Alaskan Prisoner in Arizona Can Enforce CCA Contract

Article • February 15, 2009 • from PLN February, 2009

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Drug Testing, Consent Decrees (PLRA), Civil Procedure, State Law Claims

Alaskan Prisoner in Arizona Can Enforce CCA Contract by The Supreme Court of Alaska held that state prisoners incarcerated at a private prison in Arizona can enforce portions of the contract between the Alaska Department of Corrections (DOC) and Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) that incorporate provisions of Smith v. …

Alaska Cops' Personnel Files not Confidential

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Disclosure of Records, Discovery, Police, Excessive Force (Police)

Alaska Cops' Personnel Files not Confidential by James Jennings, a former Alaska state prisoner, sued police in state court under state law and 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988 for damages, claiming excessive force, false imprisonment and unconstitutional application of force. The trial court ordered the city of Anchorage to …