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Ohio Jail's Pay-for-Stay Program Unconstitutional, Partial Summary Judgment Granted

Article • August 15, 2003 • from PLN August, 2003

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Standing, Class Certification, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Municipal Liability

Ohio Jail's Pay-for-Stay Program Unconstitutional, Partial Summary Judgment Granted by Ohio Jail's Pay-for-Stay Program Unconstitutional, Partial Summary Judgment Granted The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio has awarded partial summary judgment to a former pretrial detainee in a case involving seizure of the detainee's funds by the …

Georgia Supreme Court Bans Use of the Electric Chair

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

Filed under: Stun Guns/Tasers, Civil Procedure, Standing, Death Penalty

Georgia Supreme Court Bans Use of the Electric Chair by In a 4-to-3 decision, the Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a trial court and ruled that death by electrocution violated the state's constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment. The high court ordered that all future executions in Georgia will …

Unnamed Class Members Can Object to Settlement

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

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Standing, Class Notice

Unnamed Class Members Can Object to Settlement by Robert Devlin, a pensioner and unnamed class member in a class action suit involving his company pension, attempted to intervene to block a proposed class settlement. The Maryland Federal District Court barred intervention as untimely and accepted the settlement. Devlin appealed, and …

$275,000 Awarded in Stun Belt Settlement

Article • November 15, 2002 • from PLN November, 2002

Filed under: Stun Guns/Tasers, Restraints, Court Access, Court Appearances, Standing, Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's, Class Certification, Mootness

$275,000 Awarded in Stun Belt Settlement by The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals partially reversed a preliminary injunction order that had enjoined the Los Angeles County Sheriff from using a stun belt on prisoners. After remand, a settlement for $275,000 and a change in policy was reached. Ronnie Hawkins, a …

PLRA Allows California Religious Preliminary Injunction

Article • September 15, 2002 • from PLN September, 2002

Filed under: Prison Labor, Legality of Rules, Injunctions (PLRA), Standing, Preliminary Injunctions/TRO's, Appeals, Religious Freedom, Denial of Religious Services, Sabbaths

PLRA Allows California Religious Preliminary Injunction by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has upheld the grant of a preliminary injunction to California Muslim prisoners .See: Mayweathers v. Terhune, 136 F. Supp. 2d 1152 (E.D. Cal. 2001). Prison officials appealed the injunction …

High Cost of Prison Telephone Calls Goes to Illinois State Court

Article • May 15, 2002 • from PLN May, 2002

Filed under: Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Civil Procedure, State Law Claims, Standing, Telephone Rates, Qualified Immunity

High Cost of Prison Telephone Calls Goes to Illinois State Court by In a characteristically colorful opinion from Judge Richard Posner, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit breathed new life into an otherwise moribund lawsuit where plaintiffs sought relief from the exorbitant charges for collect telephone calls …

New York Court Limits "Son of Sam" Law

Article • March 15, 2002 • from PLN March, 2002

Filed under: Victims, Standing, Money/Property, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Royalties, Access to Media

New York Court Limits "Son of Sam" Law by New York Court Limits "Son of Sam" Law A New York appellate court affirmed a trial court ruling that, absent a state felony conviction and a complaint by the victim, the Crime Victims Board lacked authority to compel criminals to forfeit …

Minnesota Cost-of-Confinement Surcharge Upheld

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

Filed under: Civil Procedure, State Law Claims, Standing, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Administrative Procedures Act (State)

Minnesota Cost-of-Confinement Surcharge Upheld by The Court of Appeals of Minnesota has upheld a surcharge imposed on prisoners in custody of the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC). The case had been filed as a class-action suit in a Minnesota district court challenging a DOC rule imposing a 10% cost-of-confinement surcharge, …

Damages Awarded in Ohio Disciplinary Suit

Article • January 15, 2002 • from PLN January, 2002

Filed under: Disciplinary Litigation, Informants (Disciplinary Hearings), Witnesses (Disciplinary Hearings), Drug Testing, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Civil Procedure, Injunctions, Standing

Damages Awarded in Ohio Disciplinary Suit by A federal district court in Ohio held that a trial was required to determine if a prisoner was improperly denied the right to call witnesses at a disciplinary hearing. The Court also held that the suit was not barred by the PLRA or …

Tarrant County (Texas) Jail's 'God Pod' Unconstitutional

Article • January 15, 2002 • from PLN January, 2002

Filed under: Discrimination, Religious Discrimination, Damages, Injunctions, State Law Claims, Standing, Required Religious Programming

Tarrant County (Texas) Jail's 'God Pod' Unconstitutional by by Matthew T. Clarke The Texas Supreme Court has held that the Chaplain's Education Unit (CEU) at the Tarrant County Jail unconstitutionally violates the separation of church and state. In 1992, former Tarrant County (Texas) Sheriff David Williams initiated the CEU program, …

Ohio Death Row Prisoners Sue Over Last Words

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

Filed under: Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Civil Procedure, Standing, Mootness, Death Row, Access to Media, Censorship

Ohio Death Row Prisoners Sue Over Last Words by An Ohio federal district court refused to dismiss a challenge to an Ohio policy prohibiting condemned prisoners from giving last statements. The Court also discussed the PLRA's administrative exhaustion requirements and mootness concerns. Ohio Death Row prisoner Fred Treesh and another …

PLRA Physical Injury Rule Does Not Apply to Mail Claims

Article • December 15, 2000 • from PLN December, 2000

Filed under: Physical Injury Rule, Civil Procedure, Standing, Mail Regulations

PLRA Physical Injury Rule Does Not Apply to Mail Claims by The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit held that prefiling screening under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) applies to all prisoner lawsuits, regardless of their fee status and the PLRA's physical injury requirement does not apply to …

Sex Offender Label May Require Due Process

Article • September 15, 2000 • from PLN September, 2000

Filed under: Discrimination, Sex Offender Registration, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Standing

Sex Offender Label May Require Due Process by The Eleventh Circuit ruled that absent a conviction for a sex related crime, classification of a state prisoner as a sex offender (and requiring him to register as a sex offender) implicates a liberty interest under the Due Process Clause. Jeffery Kirby …

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 …

Out-of-State Prisoner Housing Contracts Subject to Long-Arm Jurisdiction

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

Filed under: Out of State Transfers, Private Prisons, Bobby Ross Group, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Standing, Venue, Municipal Liability, Contractor Liability

Out-of-State Prisoner Housing Contracts Subject to Long-Arm Jurisdiction by A federal court in Missouri has held that Missouri prisoners whose incarceration was contracted to Brazoria County, Texas, could sue Brazoria County in Missouri. This is a lawsuit filed in Missouri federal district court by Missouri state prisoners who were abused …

"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. …

Lack of Standing Eviscerates Court Access Class Action

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

Filed under: Court Access, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Standing, Class Certification

Lack of Standing Eviscerates Court Access Class Action by The U.S. court of appeals of the Seventh Circuit held that the two nominal prisoner/plaintiffs in a long-running class action lacked standing to assert a denial of their right of access-to-the-courts. Without standing, the district court was without jurisdiction, and the …

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 …

Individual Legislators May Intervene to Terminate Prison Suits

Article • May 15, 1999 • from PLN May, 1999

Filed under: Consent Decrees (PLRA), Civil Procedure, Standing

Individual Legislators May Intervene to Terminate Prison Suits by Individual Legislators May Intervene To Terminate Prison Suits by Matthew Clarke The court of appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that, under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), individual state legislators could intervene in prison release litigation. In 1972, David Ruiz, …

Arizona Jail Porn Ban Struck Down

Article • February 15, 1999 • from PLN February, 1999

Filed under: Standing, Municipal Liability, Mail, Publications/Books, Sexually Explicit Materials, Mail Regulations

Arizona Jail Porn Ban Struck Down by The court of appeals for the Ninth circuit held that a jail rule banning all sexually explicit materials was unconstitutional. In 1993 the Maricopa county jail in Phoenix, Arizona, adopted rules banning all sexually explicit materials from receipt or possession by Jail prisoners. …