Philadelphia Fined for Degrading City Prisons by A Philadelphia common pleas court panel fined the city $2.2 million for "degrading" conditions in the city's prisons. The judgment, passed down by a three judge panel in early October, 1996, was accompanied by a contempt of court citation for the city. The …
Third Circuit: PLRA Doesn't Apply to Mandamus by The court of appeals for the third circuit held that the filing fee provisions of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) do not apply to writs of mandamus. Ronald Madden, a Tennessee state prisoner, filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his extradition …
Law Against Love by Mumia Abu-Jamal For several years now, MOVE political prisoner Chuck Africa, has had to do battle with Pennsylvania prison officials to obtain the most fundamental of human rights -- the right to visit with his wife, May 13th, 1985 bombing survivor and ex-political prisoner, Ramona Africa. …
The "Honorable Men" Defense by Mumia Abu-Jamal [Editor's Note: With this issue PLN welcomes its third quarterly columnist, Mumia Abu-Jamal, a political prisoner on death row in Pennsylvania.] "The noble Brutus hath told you Caesar was ambitious: If it were so, it was a grievous fault; And grievously hath Caesar …
Prisoners May Be Allowed to Lead Religious Services by A federal district court in Pennsylvania ruled that a prison rule prohibiting prisoners from leading religious services may be unconstitutional. Four Muslim prisoners in a Pennsylvania state prison filed suit challenging a prison rule which prohibited prisoners from leading religious services. …
Jail Detainee's Court Access Right Violated by A federal district court in Pennsylvania held that pretrial detainees retain a right of access to the courts. Charles Turiano, a PLN subscriber, filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claiming his right of access to the courts was violated when he was …
IFP Status Not Available for Trivial Suits by The court of appeals for the third circuit has expanded the ability of district courts to dismiss suits filed in forma pauperis by indigents. This case epitomizes the maxim that bad cases make bad case law. Melvin Deutsch is a federal prisoner …
Criminal Conviction Inadmissible Evidence by A federal district court in Pennsylvania ruled in favor of a prisoner's motion in limine to prevent prison officials from introducing evidence about his criminal history to impeach his testimony. This ruling will prove useful to any prisoner litigating a civil rights claim as all …
Pennsylvania Prison Stormed by S T Last October, in the dead of night, Graterford Correctional Institution (GCI) prisoners were subjected without notice to an unprovoked assault by storm troops dressed in black, booted, many helmeted and all carrying clubs. [See: PLN, Dec '95] All GCI prisoners, suddenly awakened, were strip-searched, …
Stunned in Pennsylvania by Michael Crooker I am getting ready to file a tort claim lawsuit against the government for personal injury due to the reckless use of explosive bombs, AKA "Stun-Grenades" [against prisoners at FCI-McKean]. Does anyone know anything about these [stun-grenades] or can direct me to a case …
RFRA Case Set for Trial by A federal district court in Pennsylvania held that a factual dispute existed as to whether a jail's policy banning detainees from wearing religious headgear substantially burdened the exercise of religion under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb(b). In its ruling, …
U.S.P. Lewisburg Lockdown by On November 1, 1995, several prisoners created a disturbance in the mess hall. They took a case of soda pop and barricaded themselves into one of the dorms. They proceeded to construct a cannon, using a cue ball for a projectile. When the riot squad stormed …
Job Discrimination States Claim by While prisoners have no right to a job or work assignment they may not be discriminated against on the basis of their race. Lawrence Quinn, a white Pennsylvania state prisoner, applied for the position of clerk in a prison shoe plant. The plant foreman told …
Opening Legal Mail Violates Access to Courts by The court of appeals for the third circuit has held that opening a prisoner's legal mail outside his presence violates his right of access to the courts. The court also held that this right is well established so that prison officials who …
PA Prison Investigated for Corruption; Biggest Shake Down Ever by In September, 1995, several prisoners from the 3,490 man Graterford state prison testified before the Pennsylvania senate judiciary committee about corruption at the state prison. The prisoners testified that prison officials accepted bribes typically between $100 and $300 to expunge …
Reader Mail: PA Settlement Correction by Scott Rudnick Regarding your article in the July issue of Prison Legal News on page 11 about the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, you state "attorneys representing all PA state prisoners had reached a settlement...." Two Pennsylvania prisons were not part of that litigation. SCI …
U.S. Supreme Court: Time on Bail Doesn't Count by The US supreme court has held that the time a defendant spends "released" on bail doesn't count towards completion of his/her sentence even if the "release" is under highly restrictive conditions that are tantamount to jail. Ziya Koray was charged with …
Live From Death Row by David Gilbert by Mumia Abu-Jamal (Review by David Gilbert) "Perhaps we can shrug off and shred some of the dangerous myths laid on our minds like a second skin--such as ... the 'right[s]' to a fair trial even. They're not rights -- they're privileges of …
Appointment of Counsel by In the February, 1994, issue of PLN we extensively discussed the third circuits ruling in Tabron v. Grace, 6 F.3d 147 (3rd Cir.1993) which set forth the standards district courts should use when ruling on pro se prisoner plaintiffs motion for appointment of counsel. The ruling …
PA Class Action Settlement Published by The October, 1994, issue of PLN reported that on August 12, 1994, attorneys representing all Pennsylvania state prisoners had reached a settlement with prison officials of that state regarding almost every aspect of prison conditions in that state. The district court has published the …
