MI Phone Rip Off by B K I have read the article which appeared in PLN (Vol. 4, number 4) by Paul Wright about the prison telephone system. I was amazed to learn that the Washington DOC telephone contract states that the commission checks are sent to each institution and …
Transfers May Violate Eighth Amendment by Timothy Taylor is a small, mentally retarded Michigan state prisoner. While at the Jackson state prison Taylor was transferred to a camp where he was raped. After being raped prison officials labeled him a homosexual and he was denied a job and resident home …
Unsworn Declarations Admissible by This is a case that will be useful to prisoners in control units or smaller prisons where public notary services are difficult to obtain. Sam Williams is a Michigan state prisoner convicted of murder who was transferred from a max to medium security prison. After a …
States Must Furnish Equivalent of Jailhouse Lawyers for Filing Prisoner Complaint by On page one of the July 1992 issue of PLN (Vol. 3, No. 7) we printed a report on a new ruling that promised to have widespread implications for prison law libraries. That case was Gluth v. Kangas, …
Jail Inmates Entitled to Safe Cells by Jail Inmates Entitled To Safe Cells Two prisoners at the Birmingham, Alabama, jail committed suicide and their estates filed suit claiming violations of the detainees' eighth and fourteenth amendment rights. Both men hanged themselves with bed sheets hung from an iron bar across …
Muslims Entitled to Prayer Oils by Three Michigan state prisoners at the Jackson State Prison filed suit under section 1983 claiming that a policy banning all use of prayer oils to Muslim prisoners violated their first amendment rights. The district court appointed counsel to represent the prisoners. Both parties moved …
Detroit's Former Chief Guilty of Embezzling by Detroit's Former Chief Guilty Of Embezzling Former Detroit Police Chief William Hart has been found guilty of stealing nearly $2.6 million from a special "Secret Service Fund" that was meant to fund undercover operations. A federal jury convicted the former chief of two …
Court Must Rule on Discovery Before Dismissal by Court Must Rule On Discovery Before Dismissal John Dean was awaiting trial in an Alabama jail when he got into a dispute with a former death row inmate awaiting a retrial. Dean was stabbed and slashed several times and had his head …
Guard Liable for Hitting Prisoner by Guard Liable For Hitting Prisoner Ronald Neal is a Michigan state prisoner who was punched in the groin by a prison guard. Neal filed suit under 1983 claiming that his 8th amendment and due process rights had been violated, he also included a pendent …
Unsuccessful Litigant Can Be Obligated to Pay Defendant's Cost by Unsuccessful Litigant Can Be Obligated To Pay Defendant's Costs Three Michigan state prisoners filed suit and were granted permission by the district court to proceed in forma pauperis, without the prepayment of fees or court costs. The case was dismissed …
HIV-Positive Cons Win Partial Victory by In a significant victory for prisoners who have been tested positive for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed a lower court order in a case that had challenged the prisoners' …
Sheriff Can't Release AIDS Test Results by Sheriff Can't Release Aids Test Results While awaiting transfer from a county jail to an Alabama prison, a convicted prisoner was given the opportunity to voluntarily submit to an AIDS test. he did so, but only after being assured by the county health …
Women Prisoners Entitled to Equal Education by Women Prisoners Entitled To Equal Education Glover v. Johnson, 934 F.2d 703 (6th Cir. 1991) is a class action suit originally filed in 1978 by female Michigan state prisoners claiming violation of their right to equal protection because they were not provided with …
Mail Rejection Not Upheld by A Michigan prisoner sent another Michigan prisoner an educational brochure on how to study to be a paralegal. Michigan DOC officials rejected the brochure claiming prison rules prohibited "contractual agreements." The district court ruled the brochure was entitled to First Amendment protection and found no …
Prison Cells, Only $30 a Night! by Prison Cells, Only $30 A Night! Although the government spends over $30 billion per year on the prison system, some states have laws giving counties the authority to charge prisoners for the privilege of being locked up and deprived of their civil rights …
Transsexual Wins Hormones Case by A male transsexual (born with male body by psychologically a woman) prisoner sued prison officials, claiming that denying her the opportunity to continue estrogen treatments at her own expense constituted indifference to her serious medical needs. The plaintiff had a number of surgeries ant procedures …
Civil Rights Suit For Damages Against State Prison Officials In Individual Capacities by Two prisoners filed a civil rights damage suite against state correctional officials, charging that they were denied due process because they were not given a timely hearing before being placed in segregation. The court noted that, under …
Prisoner Gets $500 in Records Suit by PRISONER GETS $500 IN RECORDS SUIT A prisoner in Michigan State sent a letter to DOC stating he'd received a major misconduct infraction and was found guilty. He then requested copies of the misconduct report, all statements and documents submitted at the hearing, …
Fecteau and Cofell v. City of Birmingham, MI, Complaint, false arrest prowling, 1988 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION MARK FECTEAU and DOMINIC COFELL, Plaintiffs, C.A. No: vs. HON. THE CITY OF BIRMINGHAM, Defendant. / Thomas M. Loeb (P-25913) Attorney for Plaintiffs 24724 Lahser Road Southfield, …
Prison Legal News v. Ransom, Complaint, Michigan DOC Book Censorship 1999 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT IN THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION PRISON LEGAL NEWS; COMMON COURAGE PRESS; LARRY LYNCH (#176862); CALVIN HOLMES (#257962), on behalf of all other similarly situated prisoners and publishers, clearinghouses, and bookstores, Plaintiffs, -v- …
