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 …
Ineffective Attempts to Protect Texas Prisoner Were Sufficient by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court’s denial of summary judgment to prison officials who had failed to safeguard a Texas state prisoner, saying their ineffective attempts to protect him were sufficient. Gregory Moore was incarcerated at the …
$25,000 Federal Jury Award For Racial/Sex Discrimination by TDCJ by On October 9, 2003, a federal jury awarded a former employee of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) $25,000 in compensation for damages caused by discrimination against her due to her race and gender. Latrice M. Sellers was a …
TDCJ Pays $10,000 to Settle Sexual Harassment Suit by On April 28, 2004, Texas Prison guard Patricia Jane Eads signed a settlement agreement with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) in connection with a Title VII claim filed by her attorney, Clinton E. Wells, Jr., with McDowell & Colmer, …
TDCJ Pays $43,000 in Settlement of Traffic Accident Liability by On August 30, 2007, Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) agreed to pay $43,749 for damages incurred in a traffic accident on March 21, 2006 in Snyder, Texas. Although TDCJ contends it is not liable, the vehicle that caused the …
TDCJ Pays $50,000 to Settle Racial Discrimination Suit by Upon receiving notice of right to sue from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on July 1, 2002, Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) employee Freestone James filed a racial discrimination suit against TDCJ and his immediate supervisor, Michael Traylor. Under the …
TDCJ Pays $1500 to Settle Prison Rape Case by On December 27, 2005, Texas prisoner Jose Jiminez filed a lawsuit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against two Texas prison guards alleging their deliberate indifference to his safety resulted in his being assaulted and raped by another prisoner. The attack …
TDCJ Settles Racial Discrimination Case for $10,000 by In March 2004, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) settled a racial discrimination suit for $10,000. John Spears was employed as a Food Service Manager III at the Lopez State Jail when he allegedly suffered racial discrimination from his supervisor. He …
Texas Parolee Challenges His Designation as Sex Offender by On September 3, 2002, Texas parolee Miller Branch, Jr., filed an amended civil rights complaint in federal district court pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 challenging his designation as a "sex offender" by parole officials and the requirement that he register …
5th Circuit Affirms Judgment against Guard in Texas Excessive Force Case by On July 29, 2004, Texas prison Guard Juan Martinez was found guilty in district court of inflicting cruel and unusual punishment upon prisoner Avniel Awan Anthony. The finding was the result of a jury trial in the § …
Excessive Force Suit Filed Against Texas Prison Officials by On October 20, 2000, John C. Luke, a Texas state prisoner incarcerated at the Clements Unit, filed a civil rights suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in federal district court alleging that excessive use of force by a prison guard …
Texas Tech and TDCJ Settle Prisoner Suicide Suit for $85,000 by On April 2, 2009, Texas Tech University Health Science Center (TTUHSC) and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) settled for $85,000 a lawsuit involving a prisoner who committed suicide at the Clements Unit. Theodore Schmerber was a Texas …
