Iowa: State Department Ordered to Cover Court-Appointed Counsel’s Expenses in Privately Prosecuted State Action by Iowa: State Department Ordered to Cover Court-Appointed Counsel’s Expenses in Privately Prosecuted State Action The Iowa Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court’s order for the Iowa Department of Management (IDM) to pay, as a …
Prison Staff Records Left in Prison's Barber Shop by Christopher Zoukis Prison Staff Records Left in Prison's Barber Shop by Christopher Zoukis On August 4, 2011, a prison guard at Fort Dodge Correctional Facility in Des Moines, Iowa, a medium-security state prison which houses more than 1,300 prisoners, found sensitive …
Iowa Juvenile LWOP Prisoner Released to Hospice Care by Mark Wilson Iowa Juvenile LWOP Prisoner Released to Hospice Care by Mark Wilson In what is being described as an “unprecedented” decision, on December 3, 2013, the Iowa Parole Board ordered the release of a terminally ill prisoner who was sentenced …
Iowa Supreme Court Holds Miller Retroactive; Governor’s Commutation Cannot Cure Violation by David Reutter Iowa Supreme Court Holds Miller Retroactive; Governor’s Commutation Cannot Cure Violation by David Reutter The Iowa Supreme Court held that the Governor Commutation of sentences of life without parole imposed upon juveniles cannot circumvent the holding …
Eighth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Iowa Prisoner's Failure-to-Protect Suit by Eighth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Iowa Prisoner's Failure-to-Protect Suit On August 18, 2014, the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed an Iowa district court order which found for the defendants in a lawsuit brought by a prisoner alleging cruel …
$71,000 Settlement in Iowa Prisoner’s Sexual Harassment Claim by David Reutter $71,000 Settlement in Iowa Prisoner’s Sexual Harassment Claim by David M. Reutter A former Iowa prisoner received a $71,000 settlement after being sexually harassed at her prison job in a case that established prisoners have civil rights protections with …
Parole Hearings Are "Prison Conditions" Subject to Exhaustion by Parole Hearings Are "Prison Conditions" Subject to Exhaustion The U.S. District Court for the Eighth Circuit has held that challenges to parole hearings implicate "prison conditions" and thus are subject to the administrative exhaustion requirements of the Prison Litigation Reform Act …
Iowa DOC May Not Switch Administrative Law Judges in Mid-Disciplinary Process by Matthew Clarke Iowa DOC May Not Switch Administrative Law Judges in Mid-Disciplinary Process by Matt Clarke On August 20, 2014, a federal district court held that the Iowa Department of Corrections (DOC) had violated a prisoner’s due process …
$50,000 Settlement for Prisoner’s Suicide at Iowa County Jail by Gary Hunter $50,000 Settlement for Prisoner’s Suicide at Iowa County Jail by Gary Hunter Black Hawk County and NaphCare, Inc. have agreed to pay equal shares of a $50,000 settlement to the estate of a prisoner who hanged himself at …
Doctor of Death: Former Jail Physician Leaves Trail of Prisoner Deaths, Injuries by Matthew Clarke Doctor of Death: Former Jail Physician Leaves Trail of Prisoner Deaths, Injuries by Matt Clarke An Illinois doctor whose medical care – or lack thereof – was linked to the deaths of prisoners in multiple …
Eighth Circuit: Deliberate Indifference Standard GovernsMedical Care for Civilly Committed Detainees by Mark Wilson Eighth Circuit: Deliberate Indifference Standard GovernsMedical Care for Civilly Committed Detainees by Mark Wilson On February 4, 2014, the Eighth Circuit reversed a district court’s denial of qualified immunity, finding that it had applied the wrong …
When Halfway Houses Pose Full-Time Problems by Derek Gilna When Halfway Houses Pose Full-Time Problems by Derek Gilna A recent interest among government officials in reducing prison populations as a way to cut costs, stemming from the 2008 Great Recession that resulted in significant budget deficits, has placed renewed emphasis …
Iowa Parole Search Condition is Not Search Consent; Warrantless Search Violated Iowa Constitution by Mark Wilson Iowa Parole Search Condition is Not Search Consent; Warrantless Search Violated Iowa Constitution by Mark Wilson The Iowa Supreme Court held that a warrantless search of a parolee’s home violated the Iowa …
Iowa Governor’s Sentence Commutation Changes Good Time Rate by Iowa Governor’s Sentence Commutation Changes Good Time Rate The Iowa Supreme Court has held that a governor’s commutation of sentence has a legal effect of changing the rate a prisoner may accumulate earned time from the date of commutation forward, …
Eighth Circuit Upholds Injunction Over Cameras in Restrooms at Civil Commitment Center by Matthew Clarke Eighth Circuit Upholds Injunction Over Cameras in Restrooms at Civil Commitment Center by Matt Clarke In April 2013 the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction granted by a federal district court in …
Qualified Immunity to Iowa DOC Director for Recalculating Prisoners’ Release Dates by David Reutter Qualified Immunity to Iowa DOC Director for Recalculating Prisoners’ Release Dates by David M. Reutter The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a district court’s grant of qualified immunity in a civil rights action brought …
Iowa state audit Community Corrections Improvement Association CCIA 2014 OFFICE OF AUDITOR OF STATE STATE OF IOWA Mary Mosiman, CPA Auditor of State State Capitol Building Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0004 Telephone (515) 281-5834 Facsimile (515) 242-6134 NEWS RELEASE FOR RELEASE Contact: Mary Mosiman 515/281-5835 or Tami Kusian 515/281-5834 January 10, …
Iowa: Parole Agreement Does Not Constitute Voluntary Consent that Justifies Warrantless Search by Last year the Supreme Court of Iowa reversed a parolee’s conviction on drug charges, holding that his acceptance of a search condition in a parole agreement did not constitute voluntary consent, and therefore a warrantless, suspicionless search …
Eighth Circuit: Federal Sentence Consecutive to Later-Imposed State Sentence by Mark Wilson On June 6, 2013, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a prisoner was not entitled to credit toward his federal sentence for time already served on state charges. In March 2007, Charles Lee Elwell was arrested …
