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South Dakota Prisons' Conditions of Confinement Are Unconstitutional

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Totality of Conditions, Eighth Amendment, Civil Procedure, Injunctions

South Dakota Prisons' Conditions of Confinement Are Unconstitutional by The U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota, in a class action suit, found that the totality of conditions at the South Dakota State Penitentiary (SDSP) and in the Women's Correctional Facility (WCF) were so bad as to violate …

Eighth Circuit Reverses South Dakota Prison Conditions Decision on Double Celling

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Overcrowding

Eighth Circuit Reverses South Dakota Prison Conditions Decision on Double Celling by The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, reversed the U.S. District Court of South Dakota on the district court's order to end double celling at the South Dakota State Penitentiary (SDSP). Two classes of prisoners …

Under "Compelling Circumstances" Government Must Issue Subpoenas for Free

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Costs, Filing Fees, Witnesses

Under "Compelling Circumstances" Government Must Issue Subpoenas for Free by Under "Compelling Circumstances" Government Must Issue Subpoenas for Free The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, held that the United States may be compelled to pay fees and expenses of witnesses subpoenaed by indigent civil litigants in cases …

Sheriff Deliberately Indifferent to Detainee Suicide Risk

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Mental Health, Suicides

Sheriff Deliberately Indifferent to Detainee Suicide Risk by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Bennett County, South Dakota, Sheriff Russell Waterbury was deliberately indifferent to the known suicide risk of a jail detainee. In October, 2001, Bill Turney was arrested on an outstanding warrant and lodged in the …

South Dakota Prisoners' Dismissed Access to Courts Claims Partly Reversed

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Computers, Court Access, Legal Property, Legal Materials, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Writing Implements, Supervisory Liability

South Dakota Prisoners' Dismissed Access to Courts Claims Partly Reversed by The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has partly reversed the dismissal of South Dakota prisoners' claims that the South Dakota Department of Corrections (SDDC) and officials of the South Dakota State Penitentiary (SDSP) engaged in policies and practices …

South Dakota Prison Conditions Unconstitutional

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Totality of Conditions, Overcrowding, Guards/Staff, ACA, American Correctional Association

South Dakota Prison Conditions Unconstitutional by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that double ceiling may violate the Eighth Amendment in light of other serious deficient conditions of confinement, and a district court may use expert testimony to set prison maximum capacity. This was a class action filed by …

SD Prisoner's 1983 Action Dismissed for Not Moving to Add Parties Within the Allotted Time

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Failure to Protect (General), Civil Procedure, Parties, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death)

SD Prisoner's 1983 Action Dismissed for Not Moving to Add Parties Within the Allotted Time by SD Prisoner's 1983 Action Dismissed for Not Moving to Add Parties Within the Allotted Time On April 26, 2000 Gregory Kaubisch, a South Dakota prisoner, was beaten by his cellmate. George Kaubisch, as his …

Prisoners In 13 States Allowed Work-Access To Social Security Numbers

Article • April 15, 2007 • from PLN April, 2007

Filed under: Prison Industries, Prison Labor, News, Federal Legislation

Prisoners In 13 States Allowed Work-Access To Social Security Numbers by John Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The U.S. Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reported that prisoners in thirteen states had access to Social Security numbers (SSNs) during the course of their prison employment. Following a nationwide survey, the …

Failure to Protect from HIV-Positive Prisoner Negates Qualified Immunity Defense

Article • June 15, 2005 • from PLN June, 2005

Filed under: Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Prison Labor, Medical, HIV/AIDS, Failure to Protect (General), Qualified Immunity

Failure to Protect from HIV-Positive Prisoner Negates Qualified Immunity Defense by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that prison officials are not entitled to qualified immunity in a civil rights action filed by three prisoners at South Dakota's Mike Durfee State Prison. The prisoners alleged that prison officials …

Qualified Immunity Granted to Doctor Who Failed to Order Interferon Treatments for HCV+ Prisoner

Article • May 15, 2005 • from PLN May, 2005

Filed under: Hepatitis, Immunity/Liability, Qualified Immunity

Qualified Immunity Granted to Doctor Who Failed to Order Interferon Treatments for HCV+ Prisoner by The Eight Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a doctor was not deliberately indifferent to a prisoner's medical condition by failing to order interferon treatments for his Hepatitis C virus (HCV). While imprisoned within …

Intentional Delay to Prevent Prisoner's Suicide Precludes Qualified Immunity

Article • August 15, 2004 • from PLN August, 2004

Filed under: Appeals, Qualified Immunity, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Suicides

Intentional Delay to Prevent Prisoner's Suicide Precludes Qualified Immunity by Intentional Delay to Prevent Prisoner's Suicide Precludes Qualified Immunity The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held a guard's delay to prevent a prisoner's suicide is deliberate indifference to serious medical needs. This action was brought by the mother of South …

Private Settlement Agreement Prohibits Award of Attorney Fees and Costs

Article • May 15, 2004 • from PLN May, 2004

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

Private Settlement Agreement Prohibits Award of Attorney Fees and Costs by David Reutter Private Settlement Agreement Prohibits Award of Attorney Fees and Costs by David M. Reutter In a case of great importance to lawyers litigating prisoner actions where private settlement agreements are a consideration, the Eighth Circuit Court of …

PLRA Does Not Apply to Juvenile Facilities; $379,000 Attorney Fees and Costs Awarded

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

Filed under: Prison/Jail Murders, Conditions of Confinement, Totality of Conditions, Attorney Fee Awards, Attorney Fees (PLRA), Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Settlements, Costs, Mail Regulations, Ad-Seg Hearings, Suicides

PLRA Does Not Apply to Juvenile Facilities; $379,000 Attorney Fees and Costs Awarded by David Reutter by David M. Reutter A federal district court in South Dakota has held the PLRA attorney fees provision does not apply to juvenile facilities, and awarded $379,000 in attorney fees and costs. The court …

Dismissal of Legal Mail and Retaliation Claims Reversed

Article • December 15, 2002 • from PLN December, 2002

Filed under: Retaliation for Litigating, Attorney Client, Court Access, Legal Mail

Dismissal of Legal Mail and Retaliation Claims Reversed by by Matthew T. Clarke The Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has reversed the district court's dismissal of claims that prison officials violated a prisoner's right of access to courts and retaliated against him for litigating against them. William R. …

Parole Revoked for Refusing Medication

Article • February 15, 2002 • from PLN February, 2002

Filed under: Parole, Habeas Corpus, Mental Health, Involuntary Treatment/Drugging

Parole Revoked for Refusing Medication by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that parole can be revoked if the parolee refuses medication as part of an agreed mental health treatment plan. Randy Closs, who has a long-term diagnosis of schizophrenia, was granted conditional parole from the South Dakota …

South Dakota Prison Conditions Class Action Settled

Article • November 15, 2001 • from PLN November, 2001

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

South Dakota Prison Conditions Class Action Settled by The federal district court in South Dakota has dissolved a state prison conditions consent decree and approved a class action settlement, ending two decades of litigation. State prisoners filed a §1983 suit challenging prison conditions, certified as a class action in 1982. …

US Supreme Court Allows BOP Limit on Early Release Statute

Article • May 15, 2001 • from PLN May, 2001

Filed under: Good Time, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Mental Health, Drug Treatment/Rehab

US Supreme Court Allows BOP Limit on Early Release Statute by Roger Smith The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld 28 C.F.R. § 550.58(a)(1) (vi)(B) (Regulation), a federal Bureau Of Prisons (BOP) regulation modifying 18 U.S.C. § 3621(e)(2)(B) (Statute). The Statute provides that federal prisoners with nonviolent convictions may receive up …

Deadly Nostalgia: The Politics of Boot Camps

Article • March 15, 2001 • from PLN March, 2001

Filed under: Private Prisons, Racial Discrimination, Boot Camps, Strip Cells, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Damages, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Deadly Nostalgia: The Politics of Boot Camps by Christian Parenti The short, stout eighth grader Gina Score, was never much of an athlete. But that didn't matter to the staff at South Dakota's Plankinton boot camp for girls, where militarystyle discipline and calisthenics were the modus operandi and, as staff …

Jail Discrimination Violates Equal Protection

Article • August 15, 2000 • from PLN August, 2000

Filed under: Racial Discrimination, PLRA, Frivolous Litigation (PLRA), Legal Mail

Jail Discrimination Violates Equal Protection by The Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that different treatment of similarly situated prisoners because of their race, states an equal protection claim. In 1998, Ricky L. Powells, a black prisoner, filed three separate lawsuits alleging that several defendants violated his rights …

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 …