Steep Surcharges for Driving Violations Clog Texas Courts, Create Criminals by Michael Rigby by Mike Rigby A program designed to raise money for highway projects and trauma care by assessing steep surcharges for drunk driving and other traffic violations is clogging Texas courts and causing the dismissal rate for DWI …
That’s a Lot of Honeybuns: Texas Prison Commissaries a $95 Million-a-Year Business by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Recent reports in the Texas media have focused attention on the state’s prison commissaries. However, none have presented the point of view of prisoners or their families. Instead, such reports tend to …
Texas Democrat Politicians Keep Private Prison Consulting in the Family by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In 2003 and 2004, Texas state Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D) was a consultant for Management & Training Corporation, a private prison firm, and Corplan Corrections, a prison design and development company. Now his …
Fifth Circuit Delineates Process Due Before Imposition of Sex Offender Parole Conditions by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On May 20, 2010, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Texas parolees who had never been convicted of a sex offense, but were subject to onerous sex offender parole conditions …
Kinney County, Amended Agreement (GEO, CEC), 2010 (__ AMENDED AND RESTATED FACILITY OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT This Amended and Restated Facility Operation and Management Agreement (hereinafter "Agreement'') is entered into by and between KINNEY COUNTY, TEXAS (hereinafter "County11) and COMMUNITY EDUCATION CENTERS, INC., (hereinafter called 11 0perator11) to become effective …
Expanded Eligibility for New York Medical Parole Has Little Effect by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In April 2009, New York passed a statutory amendment that expanded the state’s compassionate release program for terminally ill prisoners. The amendment permitted medical parole for prisoners convicted of certain violent crimes who were …
Texas Controversy: Governor Guts Forensic Science Commission by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Texas Governor Rick Perry caused considerable controversy on Sept. 30, 2009 when he replaced three members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, just two days before the commission’s hearing on a report that an innocent man may …
Thou Shalt Not: Sexual Misconduct by Prison and Jail Chaplains by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Traditionally, the role of a chaplain in the correctional setting is to serve as a spiritual advisor to prisoners and help them meet the requirements of their religious faiths. Equally traditionally, chaplains have …
Clergy Who Advocate for Prisoners Barred from Prisons and Jails by As described in this month’s cover story, prison and jail chaplains accused of sexual misconduct often resign, retire, are fired or are sometimes prosecuted. In other cases, though, well-meaning clergy members who seek to help prisoners have been locked …
Texas Judge Sharon “Killer” Keller Receives Sanctions by by Matt Clarke On January 20, 2010, San Antonio judge David A. Berchelmann, Jr., acting as a special master for the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct, issued findings of fact in a disciplinary complaint against Sharon Keller, the presiding judge of …
GEO Group Settles $47.5 Million Texas Prisoner Wrongful Death Suit by On January 7, 2010, GEO Group settled a lawsuit over the beating death of a prisoner in Willacy County, Texas that had already resulted in a jury verdict of $47.5 million – one of the largest prisoner wrongful death …
U.S. Department of Agriculture Subsidizes Jail Building in Texas by by Matt Clarke The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is considering whether to grant or loan $5 million to Webb County, Texas to build a new county jail. The USDA has already given Jim Hogg County, Texas $5 million to …
Wheelchair-bound Texas Escapee Produces Pistol, Commandeers Transport Van by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On November 30, 2009, a maximum-security Texas state prisoner who was shackled to a wheelchair in the back of a transport van while being transferred between prisons pulled out a pistol, commandeered the van, handcuffed the …
Controversy Over Texas Attorneys Charging Questionable Fees in Wrongful Conviction Cases by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On September 17, 2009, Steven Charles Phillips, a former Texas prisoner who spent 24 years in prison on a rape charge before being exonerated in 2008, filed suit in Dallas County district court …
Texas Youth Commission Pays $625,000 to Settle Abuse Suit by Gary Hunter To settle a federal lawsuit, the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) agreed to pay $625,000 in damages to four youths who were grossly abused by the states’ corrupt juvenile justice system. The largest payout of $345,000 went to plaintiff …
New Medical Director at Texas Jail Previously Sanctioned by In December 2009, McLennan County, Texas commissioners Lester Gibson, Kelly Snell and Joe Mashek admitted that a candidate for the medical director’s position at the McLennan County Jail had previously been sanctioned by the Texas Medical Board. That didn’t stop them …
Dallas County Jail Settles Three Medical-Related Suits for $795,000 by In April 2009, a federal jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas awarded $355,000 to Robert Duvall for injuries he suffered when he was denied medical treatment at the Dallas County Jail. Less than three …
Texas Youth Commission Ombudsman Resigns Following Smuggling Indictment by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On November 30, 2009, Catherine S. Evans, a former Dallas state district judge and the newly-appointed ombudsman for the Texas Youth Commission (TYC), resigned after she was indicted on a third-degree felony charge for smuggling a …
Houston Police Department Conducted Blood Draw Training on Prisoners by Greg Dober In 2009, to expedite DWI arrests, the Houston Police Department sent seven officers to Lone Star College to be trained as certified phlebotomists. A phlebotomist is a qualified medical technician who draws a person’s blood. During the course …
Fifth Circuit: RLUIPA Does Not Create Individual Capacity Cause of Action by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) does not create a cause of action against defendants in their individual capacities. The Court also held that the denial …
