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Supreme Court: No Right to Counsel or Cross Examination in Disciplinary Hearings

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Self Incrimination, Witnesses (Disciplinary Hearings)

Supreme Court: No Right to Counsel or Cross Examination in Disciplinary Hearings by Baxter v. Palmigiano consolidates two separate actions, 74-1194 & 74-1187, in which state prisoners filed civil rights suits as a result of prison disciplinary procedures. Action no. 74-1194 was filed by prisoners in California's San Quentin prison …

Punitive Damages Cannot be Imposed Against Municipality

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Damages, Jury Instructions, Immunity/Liability, Municipal Liability

Punitive Damages Cannot be Imposed Against Municipality by The U.S. Supreme Court held a municipality may not have punitive damages imposed against it in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action. This action was initiated against city commissioners and the City of New Port, Rhode Island, after the commissioners violated a …

White Police Man's Discrimination Suit Dismissed

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Discrimination, Racial Discrimination, Employee Litigation

White Police Man's Discrimination Suit Dismissed by A white deputy sheriff terminated for excessive force against a black arrestee after a high-speed chase failed to prove racial discrimination absent evidence that he was treated more harshly than others because of his race. The fact that he might have been treated …

BOP Prisoner Can Sue Cornell Run Jail in Rhode Island under § 1983

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Cornell Corrections, Civil Procedure, Complaints, Parties, Service

BOP Prisoner Can Sue Cornell Run Jail in Rhode Island under § 1983 by The plaintiff complained about events at a jail that was constructed by a municipality under state law authorization to provide the U.S. Marshals Service with space for federal pre-trial detainees. The plaintiff initially sued the Detention …

Supreme Court Sets Standard in Establishment Clause Suits

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Religious Freedom, Religion Defined

Supreme Court Sets Standard in Establishment Clause Suits by The United States Supreme Court held that state statutes from Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, which supplemented teacher's salaries in religious schools, violated the religious establishment clause of the First Amendment. A federal district court found that Rhode Island's provision, which provided …

Rhode Island Prisoner Awarded $3,900 for False Imprisonment

Article • April 15, 2005 • from PLN April, 2005

Filed under: Classification, Out of State Transfers, Damages, Wrongful Imprisonment, Probation, Detainers

Rhode Island Prisoner Awarded $3,900 for False Imprisonment by A Rhode Island jury awarded a prisoner $3,900 for false imprisonment on April 21, 2004. In August 1994, William Ross was incarcerated and held by the Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RIDOC) on a minor larceny charge. During his incarceration, the …

Excessive Force and Delaying Medical Treatment Defeats Dismissal

Article • January 15, 2003 • from PLN January, 2003

Filed under: Injury -- Misc., Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Excessive Force and Delaying Medical Treatment Defeats Dismissal by A federal district court in Rhode Island has denied a prison guard's Motion to Dismiss a prisoner's claim that the guard intentionally slammed a cell door on the prisoner's fingers, and waited over an hour to get the prisoner medical treatment. …

Rhode Island Prison Strip Searches Struck Down

Article • September 15, 2001 • from PLN September, 2001

Filed under: Searches, Strip Searches, Arrestee Searches

Rhode Island Prison Strip Searches Struck Down by The Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has held that two Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RIDOC) policies routinely subjecting all males committed to the state prison to strip searches and visual body cavity searches are not reasonable under Bell v …

Inmates of the Boys Training School v. Lindgren, RH, Order and Stipulation, 2000

Brief • October 3, 2000

Filed under: Juveniles

Inmates of the Boys Training School v. Lindgren, RH, Order and Stipulation, 2000 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND 3 4 5 INMATES OF THE BOYS' TRAINING SCHOOL, et a1 6 7 8 9 v. C. A. No. 4529 JAY G.LINDGREN et al. ORDER ~n I1 …

Private Prison Denied Wiretap Exception

Article • September 15, 1999 • from PLN September, 1999

Filed under: Cornell Corrections, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Standing, Telephones, Attorney Calls, Telephone Monitoring

Private Prison Denied Wiretap Exception by A federal district court in Rhode Island held that a private jail is neither a "law enforcement" agency, nor a federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facility, that would shield it from liability under federal wiretapping statutes, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2520 (the Act). The court …

Rhode Island Ban on Royalties to Felon Authors Struck Down

Article • February 15, 1998 • from PLN February, 1998

Filed under: Victims, Money/Property, Royalties, Access to Media

Rhode Island Ban on Royalties to Felon Authors Struck Down by The supreme court of Rhode Island held that the state's Criminal Royalties Distribution Act (CRDA) of 1983, Title 12, chapter 25.1 of the general laws of Rhode Island, is unconstitutional. The CRDA requires that any funds felons receive from …

Rhode Island Probation Fee Ruling Reversed

Article • October 15, 1997 • from PLN October, 1997

Filed under: Sentencing, Ex Post Facto, Probation, Seizure of Prisoner Funds

Rhode Island Probation Fee Ruling Reversed by In the September, 1996, issue of PLN we reported Taylor v. Rhode Island, 908 F. Supp. 92 (D RI 1995) where a district court struck down as violating the ex post facto clause and due process a state statute requiring probationers to pay …

Rhode Island Fee Violates Ex Post Facto

Article • September 15, 1996 • from PLN September, 1996

Filed under: Sentencing, Ex Post Facto, Parole, Probation, Seizure of Prisoner Funds

Rhode Island Fee Violates Ex Post Facto by A federal district court in Rhode Island held that a DOC policy imposing a monthly supervision fee on probationers convicted before enactment of the statute allowing assessment of such fees violated the ex post facto provisions of the U.S. and Rhode Island …

Evidence Required to Sustain Disciplinary Ruling

Article • May 15, 1994 • from PLN May, 1994

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Disciplinary Hearings, Notice of Rules, Legality of Rules, Retaliatory Discipline, Standard of Proof, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Evidence Required to Sustain Disciplinary Ruling by Robert Nicholson is a Rhode Island state prisoner. In 1988 he told prison officials and state police investigators that he had been assaulted by two prison guards. His complaint was later investigated by the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ concluded …

Incompetent Medical Exam Violates 8th Amendment

Article • July 15, 1993 • from PLN July, 1993

Filed under: Medical, Appendicitis, Qualified Immunity, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Incompetent Medical Exam Violates 8th Amendment by Eugene Souza was a Rhode Island state prisoner. He developed acute appendicitis and sought treatment from prison doctors. The prison did not provide direct access to doctors; instead, sick prisoners were screened by a guard/nurse who would schedule doctor visits if they felt …

Guard Convicted of Beating Prisoner

Article • May 15, 1993 • from PLN May, 1993

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Guard Convicted of Beating Prisoner by As a general rule PLN doesn't report criminal cases. This is an exception because it directly pertains to prisoner civil rights and because its so unusual for prison staff to be charged, much less convicted, of assaulting prisoners. Michael Newman was a jail guard …

Prison Visitor May Not Be Unreasonably Searched

Article • March 15, 1992 • from PLN March, 1992

Filed under: Searches, Strip Searches, Visitor Searches, Costs

Prison Visitor May Not Be Unreasonably Searched by Dawn Cochrane filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 claiming her fourth amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches was violated when she was told to submit to a strip search or she would never be allowed to visit her father in …

Consent Decree Creates a Liberty Interest

Article • December 15, 1991 • from PLN December, 1991

Filed under: Consent Decrees, Qualified Immunity, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Ad-Seg Hearings

Consent Decree Creates a Liberty Interest by Consent Decree Creates A Liberty Interest Stephen Rodi, a Rhode Island state prisoner filed suit under § 1983 claiming he had been put in administrative segregation without cause, notice or opportunity to be heard. The district court dismissed the complaint for failure to …

RI 2007 Contract with GTL Extended Through 2013

Kickback publication

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

RI 2007 Contract with GTL Extended Through 2013 I • i ( • • < ',' " " - Page 1 of, 1 . RI purchase Agreement Amendment '"Re,port STATE OF RHODEISLAfliD AND, PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS OtliE CAPITOL HILL PROVIDENCE RI 02908 . .' , Amendment· Date: 0:?·DEC-10 Original Award Date: …

RI Contract Request for Proposal 1997

Kickback publication

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

RI Contract Request for Proposal 1997 BOND REQUIRED. SfATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS ~epartment of Administration DMSION OF PURCHASES One capitol Hill Pro~dence. FU 02908-5855 OffiCE (401) 2n-2317 FAX (401) zn~ mo· # (401) 2n-l228 BID/PROPOSAL TELEPHONE SYSTEM DATE: ,1/22/97 DBPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS FORMAL BID NO. DAm & …