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Thomas v. Minnesota, MN, Motion to Vacate Sentence, False Arrest, 2010

Brief • June 8, 2010

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Evidence, False Arrest

Thomas v. Minnesota, MN, Motion to Vacate Sentence, False Arrest, 2010 CASE 0:10-cv-02303-MJD-JJG Document 1 Filed 06/09/10 Page 1 of 7 AD 241 PETITION UNDER 28 USC § 2254 FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS BY A PERSON IN STATE CUSTODY (Rev. 5/85) District ~nit.e.o ~tat.e13 JBistrid ([OUr! Prisoner No. Name …

Miranda Violation Leads to Reversal

Article • May 15, 2010

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Self Incrimination, Evidence

Miranda Violation Leads to Reversal by In an initially unpublished opinion filed on August 25, 2009, a Washington appellate court reversed a district court ruling allowing into evidence an incriminating response on a medical questionnaire performed by jail personnel during the booking process. The case involved Virginia Lynn Denney, who …

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rules No Privacy Right Exists for Jail Phone Calls

Article • May 15, 2010

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Self Incrimination, Evidence, Telephone Monitoring

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rules No Privacy Right Exists for Jail Phone Calls by On September 11, 2009, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that jail prisoners had no right to privacy with respect to the recording of the non-legal phone calls they made while in jail, and the …

Judge Recommends Denial of Suppression Motion Related to Recordings Obtained from CCA

Article • May 15, 2010

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Informants (Disciplinary Hearings), Evidence, Telephones, Attorney Calls, Telephone Monitoring

Judge Recommends Denial of Suppression Motion Related to Recordings Obtained from CCA by U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert E. Larsen has recommended the denial of a motion to suppress phone recordings of a plot to harm a federal witness obtained by the government through a Rule 17 subpoena without a court …

Trethewey v. Pekrul, MI, Complaint, Excessive Force, Spoliation of Evidence, 2009

Brief • 2009

Filed under: Evidence, Excessive Force

Trethewey v. Pekrul, MI, Complaint, Excessive Force, Spoliation of Evidence, 2009 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN -SOUTHERN DIVISION- Michael J. Trethewey, Plaintiff, -v- Case No. Honorable: Magistrate: Daniel E. Pekrul, Defendant. / The F.L. Gibson Group, P.C. Fred L. Gibson P39530 Attorney for Plaintiff 17001 …

Seventh Circuit Upholds False Disciplinary Charges; Due Process Violation in Transfer to Supermax Voluntarily Dismissed

Article • February 15, 2009

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Liberty Interests, Informants (Disciplinary Hearings), Notice of Charges, Notice of Hearing, False Charges (Disciplinary Hearings), Written Findings, Evidence, Ad-Seg Hearings

Seventh Circuit Upholds False Disciplinary Charges; Due Process Violation in Transfer to Supermax Voluntarily Dismissed by The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s order dismissing a prisoner’s claim that guards violated his due process rights by fabricating a disciplinary charge and then finding him guilty based upon …

California: Disciplinary Conviction Upheld Where Petitioner Argued Only Violation of Constitutional Rights, Not State Law Rights

Article • September 15, 2007 • from PLN September, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Litigation, Evidence, Searches, Cell Searches

California: Disciplinary Conviction Upheld Where Petitioner Argued Only Violation of Constitutional Rights, Not State Law Rights by John Dannenberg Strictly construing the U.S. Supreme Court's "some evidence" rule, the California Court of Appeal held that where one cellmate had secreted contraband razor blades in his cell property, his cellmate could …

Washington Prisoner Has Right to Due Process at Disciplinary Hearing

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Informants (Disciplinary Hearings), Evidence

Washington Prisoner Has Right to Due Process at Disciplinary Hearing by In an unpublished decision, the Washington Court of Appeals, Division One, held that pro se prisoner, Eric Felton, was denied his due process rights at a prison disciplinary hearing. In 1998, Felton was charged with arranging the assault of …

Unidentified Prisoner Informant's Testimony Not Substantial Evidence

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Hunger Strikes, Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Informants (Disciplinary Hearings), Evidence

Unidentified Prisoner Informant's Testimony Not Substantial Evidence by The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, ordered a prisoner's disciplinary record expunged because the hearing officer's finding of guilt was not supported by substantial evidence. Kenneth Gaston, a New York state prisoner, was charged with organizing a food strike …

Federal Court Clarifies Texas Prisoners' Disciplinary Appeal Rights

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Liberty Interests, Witnesses (Disciplinary Hearings), Evidentiary Ruling (Disciplinary Hearings), Disciplinary Appeals, Prompt Hearings, Disciplinary Strategies, Evidence

Federal Court Clarifies Texas Prisoners' Disciplinary Appeal Rights by by Matthew T. Clarke A federal district court in Austin, Texas, held that: (1) pending administrative remedies toll the 28 U.S.C. §2254(d)(2) one-year limitations period; (2) a prisoner's transfer to another prison is not a valid reason to deny him as …

Supreme Court Addresses Mail, Good-Time, Legal Aid, Disciplinary Issues

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Liberty Interests, Witnesses (Disciplinary Hearings), Notice of Charges, Sanctions (Disciplinary Hearings), Notice of Hearing, Standard of Proof, Written Findings, Confrontation, Counsel, Evidence, Appointment of Counsel, Attorney Client, Prisoner Legal Assistance, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Damages, Injunctions, Retroactivity, Good Time, Habeas Corpus, Mail Regulations, Legal Mail

Supreme Court Addresses Mail, Good-Time, Legal Aid, Disciplinary Issues by The U.S. Supreme Court held that restoration of good-time was unavailable under § 1983; some constitutional rights are retained in prison disciplinary proceedings; minimal due process is required if loss of good-time is a possibility; disciplinary due process procedures ordered …

Some Evidence Required In "Some Evidence" Standard

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: False Charges (Disciplinary Hearings), Evidence, Crime/Demographics, Escapes

Some Evidence Required In "Some Evidence" Standard by Bob Williams Some Evidence Required In "Some Evidence" Standard by Bob Williams The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has reversed a prison disciplinary conviction for failure to meet the some evidence" standard. New Mexico state prisoner Peter Aquiar …

Crawford Inapplicable to Washington Sentence Modification Hearings; Good Cause Must be Established for Hearsay Admission

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Evidence, Parole Conditions

Crawford Inapplicable to Washington Sentence Modification Hearings; Good Cause Must be Established for Hearsay Admission by Crawford Inapplicable to Washington Sentence Modification Hearings; Good Cause Must be Established for Hearsay Admission The Washington State Supreme Court, sitting en banc, held that Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 124 S.Ct. 1354 …

Disciplinary Hearing Requires Fact Finding

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Evidence, Cell Searches

Disciplinary Hearing Requires Fact Finding by The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit upheld the dismissal of an Illinois state prisoner's lawsuit over searches of his cell for refusing to pay a guard's extortion demand and that the guard planted false evidence in his cell as a result. The …

Infraction Finding Must State Evidence Relied On

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Notice of Charges, Evidence

Infraction Finding Must State Evidence Relied On by A federal district court in Illinois held that the due process rights of an Illinois state prisoner were violated when the infraction report stated he was guilty of the charged offenses but did not state the evidence relied on for that finding. …

INS Detainee Entitled to Wolff Protections in Disciplinary Action

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Witnesses (Disciplinary Hearings), Notice of Charges, Evidence, Immigration

INS Detainee Entitled to Wolff Protections in Disciplinary Action by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held a detainee of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) is entitled to the same due process rights of a prisoner in a disciplinary action. The detainee arrived in the United States as a …

Intentional Destruction of Evidence Requires Sanction

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Evidence, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Discovery

Intentional Destruction of Evidence Requires Sanction by The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, reversed a Court of Claims' denial of a motion for sanctions where prison officials destroyed video tapes showing that a prisoner was beaten. The Attica Correctional Facility prisoner sought damages for injuries caused by guards beating …

Prisoners Have Right to Impartial Hearing Officer and to be Informed of Adverse Evidence in Disciplinary Hearings

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Witnesses (Disciplinary Hearings), Hearing Officers, Evidence, Ad-Seg Hearings

Prisoners Have Right to Impartial Hearing Officer and to be Informed of Adverse Evidence in Disciplinary Hearings by Prisoners Have Right to Impartial Hearing Officer and to be Informed of Adverse Evidence in Disciplinary Hearings The Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that prisoners have the right to a hearing …

U.S. Citizen Labeled Enemy Combatant Has Detention Examined Under Prison "Some Evidence" Standard.

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Political Prisoners, Counsel, Evidence, Appointment of Counsel, International, Terrorism

U.S. Citizen Labeled Enemy Combatant Has Detention Examined Under Prison "Some Evidence" Standard. by U.S. Citizen Labeled Enemy Combatant Has Detention Examined Under Prison "Some Evidence" Standard. A federal District Court in New York has held that a U.S. citizen detained in the United States, and labeled an enemy combatant …

WA Prisoner Gets Major Infractions Expunged And Good Time Restored After Filing PRP

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Notice of Charges, Notice of Hearing, False Charges (Disciplinary Hearings), Disciplinary Appeals, Evidence, Civil Procedure, Costs, Ad-Seg Hearings

WA Prisoner Gets Major Infractions Expunged And Good Time Restored After Filing PRP by The Washington State Court of Appeals, Division 3., dismissed the Personal Restraint Petition (PRP), of Waldo E. Waldron-Ramsey, after the Washington Department of Corrections (WDOC), expunged the infraction's he had been found guilty of, and restored …