Fifth Circuit: Violating Texas Prisoner's Medical Work Restrictions States Claim by On April 21, 2009, the Fifth Circuit court of appeals held that a prisoner stated a viable claim when he alleged that prison employees forced him to work in ways that violated restrictions the medical department had placed on …
Austin, Texas Settles Police Shooting Report Access Suit for $12,000 by On June 3, 2010, the City of Austin, Texas agreed to pay $12,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP). TCRP Director Jim Harrington said the group agreed to the settlement, which covers TCRP's …
TDCJ Pays $80,162.50 to Settle Suit over Truck Collision by In June, 2004, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) agreed to settle a lawsuit over a collision caused by a prisoner-driven tractor trailer for $80,162.50. On July 20, 2000, Texas state prisoner Richard Wayne Howe, Jr. was driving a …
Practice of Jailing Parents Who Owe Child Support Raises Questions, Concerns by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Statistics from fiscal year 2009-2010 indicate that parents living in the San Antonio, Texas area who fail to pay child support run a greater risk – five times greater – of being jailed …
Prison Pays: Geo Corp Profits from Half-Way House Murder and Mayhem in Texas by Craig Malisow Despite a history of abuse and bad conditions, private-prison corporation GEO Group keeps getting contracts in Texas by Craig Malisow Anthony Ferrell left the Ben A. Reid halfway house in northeast Houston on October …
Inadequate Medical Care in Texas Jails Kills Hundreds of Prisoners by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke According to information provided by the Texas attorney general’s office, 282 prisoners died due to medical causes in county jails run by the state’s 254 sheriff’s departments between January 2005 and September 2009. That …
Texas: $5 Million Settlement in TransCor Sex Abuse Case by In October 1999, prisoner Cheryl Schoenfeld was sexually assaulted by two TransCor employees while being transported through Texas. TransCor, a subsidiary of private prison firm Corrections Corp. of America (CCA), transports prisoners nationwide. TransCor guards Michael Jerome Edwards and David …
Texas Prisoner Allowed To Appeal IFP Despite Misfiling Affidavit by Matthew Clarke By Matt Clarke On September 24, 2008, a Texas court of appeals issued an order allowing a Texas prisoner to proceed in forma pauperis despite having improperly filed his affidavit of indigence with the wrong court. Junior Ray …
Texas Court of Appeals Reverses Dismissal of Prisoner's Retaliation Suit by By Matt Clarke On September 10, 2008, a Texas state court of appeals reversed the Chapter 14, Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code, dismissal of a state civil rights action brought by a prisoner under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. …
Fifth Circuit: "Some Evidence" Not Required To Deny Texas Mandatory Supervision by Matthew Clarke Fifth Circuit: "Some Evidence" Not Required To Deny Texas Mandatory Supervision By Matt Clarke On December 12, 2008, the Fifth Circuit court of appeals held that the "some evidence" standard of Superintendent v. Hill, 472 U.S. …
Texas Court Must File Prisoner Suit if Unpaid Previous Indigent Case on Appeal by Matthew Clarke By Matt Clarke On November 26, 2008, a Texas court of appeals held that a state district court must file a prisoner's civil suit petition even if he had not paid for the court-ordered …
Judicial Review of Disciplinary Conviction Not Moot Upon Prisoner’s Release by On December 9, 2008, the Tennessee Court of Appeals at Nashville found that a former prisoner’s petition was not moot strictly because he had been released from custody. The appellate court remanded the case for a complete review of …
TDC Correspondence Rules Challenged (1971) by In 1971, Texas prisoner Guadalupe Guajardo filed a class-action lawsuit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 challenging the constitutionality of the correspondence rules and practices that were currently in effect in the Texas Department of Corrections (TDC). When the district court found many of …
Houston May Not Keep Traffic Light Camera Documents Secret by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On October 12, 2009, a Texas state district court held that the City of Houston had no right to keep secret over 250 government documents related to the deployment and use of traffic cameras at …
Magistrate’s Recommendations Accepted in Texas Mental Health Case by On May 19, 2009, A U.S. Magistrate Judge filed his recommendations in a complaint brought by Miroslava Rodriguez-Grava (Rodriguez) and Iaias Vasquez Cisneros De Jesus (De Jesus) for their treatment while they were detained at the South Texas Detention Complex (STDC). …
Money May Be Withdrawn From Texas Prisoner's Trust Fund without Prior Notice by On June 5, 2009, the Supreme Court of Texas held that funds may be removed from a state prisoner's trust fund account to satisfy a court order without prior notice to the prisoner. Walter E. Harrell, a …
Texas Prisoner Granted Conditional Mandamus Relief by In a 2-1 split decision filed on November 26, 2008, a Texas appellate court granted in part a prisoner’s petition for writ of mandamus filed after a district Judge refused to file a lawsuit filed by the prisoner, Gordon Simmonds. Citing Chapter 14 …
Bexar County, Texas Fails to Properly Evaluate Mentally Ill Jail Prisoners by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In 2009 the Texas legislature amended a law, codified at Article 16.22 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, with the intent to require early identification of mentally ill jail prisoners so they can …
Texas State Auditor’s Reports Find Problems with Parole System by Gary Hunter Two audits of Texas’ parole system, in 2008 and 2010, revealed a number of problems and inefficiencies. According to the first audit, released in June 2008, approximately 1,250 Texas parole officers supervised 77,526 parolees during fiscal year 2007. …
Texas Legislator Who Helped Prisoners’ Families Indicted, Convicted, Sentenced by Gary Hunter For 14 years, Texas State Rep. Terri Hodge (D-Dallas) was a staunch defender of minorities and prisoners’ rights in the Texas legislature. On October 1, 2007, federal prosecutors indicted Hodge on 14 counts of corruption including bribery, fraud …
