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Article • February 15, 1999 • from PLN February, 1999
California Gas Chamber Ruling Vacated by In the April, 1995, issue we reported Fierro v. Gomez , 865 F. Supp. 1387 (ND CA 1994), affirmed at 77 F.3d 301 (9th Cir. 1996)[ PLN , Nov. 1996] which held that California's gas chamber was an unconstitutional means of execution. The supreme …
Injury Required to Enforce Grand Jury Law by The court of appeals for the District of Columbia circuit held that while individuals can seek judicial enforcement of a law requiring that evidence be presented to a grand jury, the party seeking enforcement must allege injury in order to have standing. …
Article • July 15, 1998 • from PLN July, 1998
PLRA Three Strikes Ruling Vacated by In the February, 1997, issue of PLN we reported Lyon v. Vandekrol , 940 F. Supp. 1433 (SD IA 1996) where a federal district court held that 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), section 804 of the PLRA, violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. …
Article • March 15, 1998 • from PLN March, 1998
Class Action Certification Clarified by The court of appeals for the ninth circuit held that a district court erred when it dismissed as moot a jail detainee's lawsuit challenging conditions on a jail chain gang, before ruling on the plaintiff's motion for class certification. Timothy Wade filed a lawsuit seeking …
Article • February 15, 1998 • from PLN February, 1998
KS S.Ct. Affirms Trust Account "Service Fee" by KS S.Ct. Affirms Trust Account "Service Fee" In two separate cases the Kansas supreme court affirmed a state DOC policy, KAR 44-5-115, which imposes a $1 monthly surcharge on prisoners for administering their prison trust accounts. A state district court held that …
Legal Papers Must be Returned to Owner; Prisoner Legal Mail Banned by The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held a district court erred when it ordered prison officials to allow prisoner co-plaintiffs to correspond with each other about their case. The court affirmed an injunction requiring prison officials …
Idaho Court Access Class Action Suit Proceeds by Afederal district court in Idaho denied prison officials' motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging inadequate court access and to decertify the case as a class action suit. In 1992 Idaho prisoners at two prisons filed a class action suit challenging the operation …
Article • October 15, 1997 • from PLN October, 1997
Clemency Letter Ban Questioned by The court of appeals for the seventh circuit held that an Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC) policy prohibiting employees from writing directly to the Prisoner Review Board (PRB) on behalf of prisoners seeking clemency may be unconstitutional. Larry Shimer filed a petition for clemency and …
Illinois DOC Phone System Upheld by A federal district court in Illinois held that the phone system used in the Illinois DOC does not violate the first amendment. Four Illinois state prisoners at the Western Illinois Correctional Center (WICC) filed suit against several prison officials and AT&T claiming the prison …
Ninth Circuit Rules on Washington ADA Suit by Leonard Feldman [Editor's Note: Leonard Feldman is the Seattle attorney representing the plaintiff in the case discussed below.] Sean Duffy, the plaintiff in Duffy v. Riveland, 1996 WL 583384 (9th Cir. October 11, 1996), is a prisoner at the Washington State Reformatory …
ADA Requires Phones for Deaf by A federal district court in Michigan held that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12131 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794, requires state prison officials to provide prisoners and the people they call with Telecommunications Device for the …
Article • August 15, 1996 • from PLN August, 1996
Supreme Court Reverses Court Access Case by Paul Wright In the June, 1995, issue of PLN we reported Casey v. Lewis, 43 F.3d 1261 (9th Cir. 1994) in which a unanimous panel of the ninth circuit court of appeals affirmed most of a lower court ruling designed to ensure Arizona …
Helms Amendment Ruled On by In the December, 1994, issue of PLN we analyzed various provisions of the federal crime bill that was passed that year. One of the provisions was the Helms amendment which limited the relief that federal courts could grant in class action suits brought by prisoners …
Prison Alcohol Program May Violate Free Speech by The Iowa Civil Liberties Union (ICLU) and prisoners at the Clarinda Correctional Facility (CCF) filed suit under § 1983 challenging the DOC's expenditure of taxpayer funds on an alcohol rehabilitation program called "The Other Way." According to the complaint, this program has …
Breach of Contract Claim OK Against Medical Contractor by On December 22, 1992, Eddie Cherry began serving a 30 day sentence in the Polk county jail, Florida, for drunk driving. At the time of his incarceration he told jail staff that he drank approximately a case of beer a day. …
Phone Company State Actor for Section 1983 by Milton Griffin-El is a Missouri state prisoner. He filed suit against MCI Telecommunications Corporation and state prison officials over the phone company's practice of announcing to persons called by prisoners that the calls originated from a prison. The court upheld MCI's practice …
Article • February 15, 1994 • from PLN February, 1994
No Right to TV Interviews by Walter Johnson is a Kansas state prisoner. The television news program Hard Copy sought to conduct a face-to-face interview with Johnson. Johnson had communicated with the program by phone and mail. After initially being denied access to the prison, Hard Copy reiterated its request …
Ninth Circuit Upholds Ban on Attorney Contact Visits by This is a class action suit filed by Arizona state prisoners. They sued on two issues. First, they contend that the Arizona DOC's policy and practice of banning all contact visits between prisoners and their attorneys at various prisons violates their …
Article • December 15, 1993 • from PLN December, 1993
Qualified Immunity for Black Box by Paul Knox is an Illinois state prisoner. After prison officials discovered four knives in his cell, Knox was infracted, found guilty and placed in segregation. Pursuant to prison policy, every time Knox left the segregation unit, to receive visitors, go to the hospital or …
Access to Courts: Standing to Assert Right by Access To Courts: Standing To Assert Right This access to the courts case was filed by the Prisoners' Legal Association (PLA), a sanctioned organization of seven jailhouse lawyers operating inside the East Jersey State Prison. The PLA claimed they were harassed because …
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