Court Lacks Jurisdiction to Enforce Settlement by An order which said that the case had been settled and was dismissed without prejudice to reinstate it if the settlement was not consummated did not confer jurisdiction on the district court in Pennsylvania to enforce the settlement. The court notes that it …
Third Circuit Embraces Administrative Exhaustion Procedural Default by The defendants argued that the plaintiff had failed to exhaust because he did not ask for money damages in the administrative process and because he did not name a particular defendant in his grievance. In this windy opinion, the court embraces a …
Pennsylvania PLRA Unconstitutional; Obscenity Ban Upheld by The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that two provisions of the Pennsylvania Prison Litigation Reform Act (PaPLRA) violate the Pennsylvania Constitution and are, therefore, invalid. In 1998 the Pennsylvania Legislature amended 18 Pa. C.S. § 5903(a)(7)-(9), the state's obscenity law, to make it a …
Prison Officials May Require Visitors to Submit to Vehicle Searches by The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has held that prison officials may require visitors to submit to a vehicle search prior to entering prison grounds. This action was brought pro se by Teresa and Larry Neumeyer, residents of Michigan …
Georgia DNA Testing Statute Upheld by The court upholds a statute requiring DNA sampling of all convicted felons. It does not violate the Fourth Amendment. The bodily intrusion is minimal, and the state's compelling interest in obtaining reliable and accurate identifying characteristics of persons convicted of felonies outweighs it. The …
EPA Fines Pennsylvania DOC $37,000 for Air Violations by For a violation of federal environmental laws, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PDOC) has been fined $37,510. That penalty came in a settlement agreement between PDOC and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The agreement resulted from an administrative complaint for …
Pennsylvania Prisoner Wins $10,000 On Excessive Force Claim by A Pennsylvania state prisoner who was injured when a guard slammed the cell slot door on his arm after the prisoner didn?t retract his arm soon enough was awarded $10,000 in punitive damages by a federal jury on January 28, 2006. …
Prison Officials Liable for Holding Prisoner Past Release Date by The court of appeals for the Third circuit affirmed in part, reversed and remanded in part, a district court's ruling in favor of a Pennsylvania prisoner who was held nine months past his release date. The district court awarded $3,520 …
BOP Liable for Medical Neglect under State Tort Law by BOP Liable for Medical Neglect Under State Tort Law A federal district court in Pennsylvania held that the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) was liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act for injuries a federal prisoner suffered as a result of …
No Chain of Custody Required for Urine Samples by The court of appeals for the Third circuit held in this class action suit by Pennsylvania prisoners, that due process was not violated when prison officials did not maintain a chain of custody record for urine samples purporting to show drug …
Punishment for Publishing Newsletter Unconstitutional by The court of appeals for the Third circuit held that a district court erred when it dismissed a suit filed by Pennsylvania prisoners who were placed in segregation for publishing a prison newsletter. In reversing, the appeals court held that it is unconstitutional to …
Visitation Denial Based on Race States Claim by The court of appeals for the Third circuit held that a district court erred when it dismissed as frivolous a Pennsylvania prisoner's lawsuit claiming he was denied visits solely because of his race. See: Thomas v. Brierly, 481 F.2d 660 (3rd Cir. …
Disciplinary Hearing Officer Cannot Be Related to Infracting Guard by Disciplinary Hearing Officer Cannot be Related to Infracting Guard A federal district court in Pennsylvania granted summary judgment to a Pennsylvania state prisoner holding that a prison disciplinary hearing officer cannot be the father of the guard who wrote the …
BOP Ordered to Provide Kosher Diet by A federal district court in Pennsylvania issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) requiring the federal Bureau of Prisons to provide a Hassidic Jewish prisoner with a kosher meal during Passover. The court found the BOP's attempt at providing kosher meals deficient and ordered …
No Subpoena Required to Record Prison Phone Calls by The court of appeals for the Second circuit held that federal prisoners at the USP in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, had received adequate notice that their phone calls were monitored and recorded. In this criminal prosecution for prison drug trafficking, the court held …
Prisoner Has Right to call Disciplinary Witnesses by Prisoner Has Right to Call Disciplinary Witnesses The court of appeals for the Third circuit held that a Pennsylvania prisoner was entitled to call witnesses on his behalf at a prison disciplinary hearing. Prison official's refusal to provide for the witnesses was …
District Court Approves Victim Impact Evidence in Death Penalty Cases by The Federal District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, upheld the Federal Death Penalty Act as constitutional and approved, with restrictions, the use of victim impact evidence in a federal death penalty case. Michael J. O'Driscoll, a federal …
Administrative Exhaustion Not Required Under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by The United States Supreme Court held that it was not necessary for a prisoner to resort to state administrative remedies before seeking relief under 42 U.S. C. § 1983 for the violation of his constitutional rights. In this case, Pennsylvania …
Summary Judgment Precluded in Beating, Common Law Remedy for Confiscation Claim by A Pennsylvania prisoner brought a civil rights action against prison officials and guards alleging guard brutality and confiscation of his legal materials violated his constitutional rights. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania held: 1) …
Court Upholds Mistreating Prisoners For Practice by Court Upholds Mistreating Prisoners For Practice The plaintiff alleges that the defendants authorized a "live exhibition/exercise" by CERT officers, with civilian witnesses, in which he was forcefully extracted from his cell and dragged to an exercise unit where he was placed in a …
