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Denial of Recruitment of Counsel for Wisconsin Prisoner Affirmed by Seventh Circuit

Article • November 1, 2020 • from PLN November, 2020

Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, Counsel - Constructive denial of

Denial of Recruitment of Counsel for Wisconsin Prisoner Affirmed by Seventh Circuit by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s order denying a prisoner’s motion for recruitment of counsel. This was the second appeal brought by Wisconsin prisoner Randy McCaa. His …

Seventh Circuit: Wisconsin Jail Officials’ Response to Detainee’s Suicide Risk Objectively Reasonable

Article • October 5, 2020

Filed under: Medical, Medication, Mental Health, Suicides

Seventh Circuit: Wisconsin Jail Officials’ Response to Detainee’s Suicide Risk Objectively Reasonable by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson On July 15, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a lower court’s conclusion that a detainee’s attempted suicide was not caused by objective unreasonableness of jail …

Offensive Facebook Posts Cost Wisconsin Warden His Job

Article • October 1, 2020 • from PLN October, 2020

Filed under: Guards/Staff, Social Media

Offensive Facebook Posts Cost Wisconsin Warden His Job by Kevin Bliss by Kevin Bliss Richard “Sam” Schneiter, a 65-year-old Wisconsin deputy prison warden in charge of 14 minimum-security prisons, was fired in November 2019 after posting offensive memes on his Facebook account. Schneiter posted two memes on Facebook last July, …

Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules Unconstitutional Statute Authorizing Forcible Medication of Involuntarily Committed Prisoner

Article • October 1, 2020 • from PLN October, 2020

Filed under: Doctrine of Unconstitutional Conditions, Antipsychotic Drugs/Forced Medication

Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules Unconstitutional Statute Authorizing Forcible Medication of Involuntarily Committed Prisoner by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On April 10, 2020, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin held unconstitutional a statute permitting an involuntarily committed prisoner to be forcibly medicated without a court finding that the prisoner was dangerous. …

Wisconsin Supreme Court Reverses “Dangerousness” Finding in Involuntary Commitment of Schizophrenic Man

Article • October 1, 2020 • from PLN October, 2020

Filed under: Involuntary Treatment/Drugging, Dangerous Defendant Exception

Wisconsin Supreme Court Reverses “Dangerousness” Finding in Involuntary Commitment of Schizophrenic Man by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On April 24, 2020, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that the evidence to support a petitioner’s involuntary commitment was insufficient to support a conclusion the petitioner was “dangerous” under state law. …

Wisconsin: Court Dismisses Prisoners’ Suit Over Asbestos, Mold on Procedural Grounds

Article • September 1, 2020 • from PLN September, 2020

Filed under: Water, Sanitation, Asbestos, National Environmental Policy Act

Wisconsin: Court Dismisses Prisoners’ Suit Over Asbestos, Mold on Procedural Grounds by Chad Marks by Chad Marks An October 8, 2019, order from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin dismissed for procedural violations a lawsuit brought by prisoners at the state’s Prairie Du Chien Correctional Institution. …

Seventh Circuit Upholds Summary Dismissal of Fired Wisconsin Guard’s Sex-Discrimination Claims

Article • July 13, 2020

Filed under: Discrimination, Gender Discrimination -- Women

Seventh Circuit Upholds Summary Dismissal of Fired Wisconsin Guard’s Sex-Discrimination Claims by On June 26, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld a district court’s summary dismissal of a lawsuit brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Title VII claiming gender discrimination in the firing of …

News in Brief

Article • July 1, 2020 • from PLN July, 2020

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arizona: A Maricopa County grand jury indicted Daniel Davitt, 60, on January 14,  2020 on charges of second-degree murder in the death of Lower Buckeye Jail guard Gene Lee on October 30. Buckeye Jail video shows Davitt talking to Lee on October 29, then suddenly grabbing …

Lindell v. Carr, WI, Complaint, Failure to Protect, 2020

Brief • June 11, 2020

Filed under: Failure to Protect (General)

Lindell v. Carr, WI, Complaint, Failure to Protect, 2020 Case: 3:18-cv-00895-slc Document #: 87 Filed: 06/11/20 Page 1 of 21 In -the Un,fiJ Jf-i,.+e:5 fJ,'!. fr,c+ Ccu11f For Th~ w~.£+'e'('n D,"5f.r,'cf ol !Vi'~(Otl).t;J(/) 2eCo'{)~ Amel{l.:\~J CoUVJpl o..1lll+ U.1tJrer '-la 11. ~'. (. j l'f83 Ndfure Th,6 of ./he. Ca~e c;v,·(- …

Coronavirus Crisis: Wisconsin Releases Around 1,600 Prisoners, an ‘Inconsequential’ Number

Article • June 1, 2020 • from PLN June, 2020

Filed under: COVID-19, Compassionate Release

Coronavirus Crisis: Wisconsin Releases Around 1,600 Prisoners, an ‘Inconsequential’ Number by By May 8, 2020, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections had released almost 1,600 prisoners as the coronavirus spread, Madison.com reports.  “The vast majority — 1,447 individuals released from March 2 to May 4 — are inmates who had been …

Barnett v. Goldsmith, WI, amended complaint, guard brutality, 2020

Brief • April 27, 2020

Filed under: Retaliation, Pain, Skeletal Injury, Injury -- Misc., Eighth Amendment, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Barnett v. Goldsmith, WI, amended complaint, guard brutality, 2020 Case: 3:20-cv-00298-slc Document #: 8 Filed: 04/27/20 Page 1 of 9 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN ______________________________________________________________________________ KUAN BARNETT, Plaintiff, v. Case No. 20-cv-298 RUSSELL GOLDSMITH, MICHAEL THOMPSON, TARA WOODRUFF, CHRISTOPHER OLSON, AUSTIN SCHLACHTER, …

Barnett v. Goldsmith, WI, Complaint, Retaliation-Beating, 2020

Brief • April 27, 2020

Filed under: Retaliation, Guard Brutality/Beatings

Barnett v. Goldsmith, WI, Complaint, Retaliation-Beating, 2020 Case: 3:20-cv-00298-slc Document #: 8 Filed: 04/27/20 Page 1 of 9 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN ______________________________________________________________________________ KUAN BARNETT, Plaintiff, v. Case No. 20-cv-298 RUSSELL GOLDSMITH, MICHAEL THOMPSON, TARA WOODRUFF, CHRISTOPHER OLSON, AUSTIN SCHLACHTER, BRIAN REYNOLDS, …

All 50 States Report Prison Understaffing

Article • April 1, 2020 • from PLN April, 2020

Filed under: Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding, Staffing

All 50 States Report Prison Understaffing by Brian Sonenstein by Brian Sonenstein, Shadowproof Every state in the nation has reported prison staffing shortages since 2017, according to research by Shadowproof. This is concerning because “staff shortages” are historically used to push for greater investments in prison systems, oftentimes riding reform …

$110,000 Settlement for Outed Wisconsin Prisoner Informant

Article • April 1, 2020 • from PLN April, 2020

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Informants

$110,000 Settlement for Outed Wisconsin Prisoner Informant by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon Regular readers of Prison Legal News may remember the April 2019 article (page 61) chronicling the story of Wisconsin prison guard Sergeant Robert Wilcox. Wilcox placed images of a rat, signifying an informant, next to the names …

Seventh Circuit Appeals Court Upholds Ruling Against Wisconsin Prisoner’s Medical Negligence Claim

Article • April 1, 2020 • from PLN April, 2020

Filed under: Systemic Medical Neglect, Evidentiary Ruling

Seventh Circuit Appeals Court Upholds Ruling Against Wisconsin Prisoner’s Medical Negligence Claim by Kevin Bliss by Kevin Bliss A Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on October 29, 2019 that there was a rational basis for the jury to determine that nurse Angela McLean and guard Joseph Cichanowicz did not …

Emergency Order #9, WI, Moratorium on Prisoner Intakes, 2020

Publication • March 20, 2020

Filed under: COVID-19

Emergency Order #9, WI, Moratorium on Prisoner Intakes, 2020 Tony Evers Office of the Governor  State of Wisconsin EMERGENCY ORDER #9 ORDER TO THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS Under the authority of Wis. Stat. § 323.12(4) and the public health emergency declared in Executive Order #72, I, Governor Tony Evers, …

Seventh Circuit Upholds Prison Guard’s Rape Convictions, But County Not Liable

Article • March 4, 2020 • from PLN March, 2020

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guards/Staff

Seventh Circuit Upholds Prison Guard’s Rape Convictions, But County Not Liable by Scott Grammer by Scott Grammer Darryl L. Christensen was a Polk County, Wisconsin jail guard who over the course of three years, between 2011 and 2014, repeatedly sexually assaulted two female prisoners. When this was discovered by jail …

Seventh Circuit Upholds Denial of Wisconsin Prisoner’s Request to Marry Psychologist

Article • March 4, 2020 • from PLN March, 2020

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Mental Health

Seventh Circuit Upholds Denial of Wisconsin Prisoner’s Request to Marry Psychologist by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon John Nigl began his 100-year prison stretch in 2001 at Waupun Correctional Institution in Wisconsin. From April of 2013 until January of 2015, Nigl received psychological counseling from Dr. Sandra Johnston. Their sessions …

Wisconsin Pays Another $5 Million for Abuse at Controversial Juvenile Facility

Article • January 9, 2020 • from PLN January, 2020

Filed under: Excessive Force, Settlements, Mental Health, Juveniles

Wisconsin Pays Another $5 Million for Abuse at Controversial Juvenile Facility by Kevin Bliss by Kevin Bliss Wisconsin has agreed to settlements with three juveniles who alleged abuse while they were held at the Lincoln Hills School for Boys/Copper Lake School for Girls (LH/CL). Paige Ray-Cluney, Laera Reed and Jacob …

Burnley v. Village of Brown Deer, WI, Brief in Opposition to MSJ, Excessive Force, 2019

Brief • December 2, 2019

Filed under: Excessive Force, Shootings, Excessive Force (Police)

Burnley v. Village of Brown Deer, WI, Brief in Opposition to MSJ, Excessive Force, 2019 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN ______________________________________________________________________________ MANUEL L. BURNLEY, JR. et al., Plaintiffs, v. Judge J.P. Stadtmueller Case No.: 19-cv-364 VILLAGE OF BROWN DEER, et al., Defendants. ______________________________________________________________________________ PLAINTIFF’S BRIEF IN OPPOSITION …