TDCJ Pays $95,000 to Settle Discrimination Suit by On October 28, 2008, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) agreed to pay former employee, Karon K. Connelly, $41,524.38 to settle a discrimination suit she had filed in May 2003. In addition to that amount, TDCJ is to pay $38,000 in …
TDCJ Pays $267,000 to Settle Discrimination Claim by On September 15, 2005, the TDCJ agreed to pay a total of $267,500 to Melissa Roberts to settle a complaint she filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Represented by …
TDCJ Pays $100,000 to Settle MVA Personal Injury Case by On May 28, 2004, the TDCJ agreed to pay a $100,000 settlement to Linda Holcomb for injuries she suffered in a motor vehicle accident on November 14, 2001 involving her and TDCJ employee, Rickey Neeley. Represented by Palestine, Texas attorney …
TDCJ Settles MVA Personal Injury Suit by On April 8, 2005, an undisclosed settlement was reached in a personal injury suit filed against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and Department employee, Ronald Babic. Represented by Texas City attorney Russell G. Burwell III of Burwell, Burwell, & Nebout, LLP, …
TDCJ Settles Race Discrimination Suit Following Denial of Sovereign Immunity by On May 20, 2004, a Texas appellate court denied an appeal filed by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) after a district court denied a motion for summary judgment and another for sovereign immunity in a race discrimination …
$3 Million Jury Award in Tasering Death of Schizophrenic Man by On March 2, 2009, a Harris County, Texas jury awarded the mother and estate of a man shocked to death by Harris County Precinct 1 Constable's Deputies $3,000,000. Joel Don Casey, a highly-functional schizophrenic, was calmly kicked back on …
Behind Montana Jail Fiasco: How Private Prison Developers Prey on Desperate Towns by Justin Elliott With the unraveling of the deal for the shadowy American Private Police Force to take over and populate an empty jail in Hardin, Montana, it’s pretty clear that the small city got played by an …
LULAC Returns CCA Donation by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke As the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) prepared for a June 20, 2009 protest in Williamson County, Texas outside the T. Don Hutto Family Residential Facility, a secure immigration detention center run by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), …
Rape Victim and Family of Exonerated Man Who Died in Prison Become Activists by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Tim Cole achieved widespread recognition when he was exonerated 24 years after his arrest for the rape of a university student in Amarillo, Texas. Another man confessed to the crime and …
PLRA Caps Attorney's Fees at 150 Percent of Judgment by After winning a $3,300 judgment, plus attorney's fees and costs, Morris Broussard, represented by attorney Timothy Borne Garrigan, filed a motion requesting a new trial pursuant to Rule 59(a) of the Federal Rules of civil Procedure. Plaintiff asserted that the …
TDCJ Agrees to Pay $55,000 in Sexual Harassment Suit by On February 17, 2004, a settlement was reached in a sexual harassment case filed against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). The complaint was filed pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 …
TDCJ Guards Denied Qualified Immunity in Failure to Protect Case by On April 14, 2004, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) agreed to pay $84,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by Texas prisoner Eugene Cantu. The original complaint was filed July 3, 2000 pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 …
Texas Jail Strip Search Policy Unconstitutional by Brandon Sample O n May 19, 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Walter S. Smith, Jr. denied a motion to dismiss filed by McLennan County, Texas in a suit challenging the constitutionality of the county jail’s policy of strip searching all pre-trial detainees. The …
Justice Reinvestment Initiative Eliminates Texas Prison Overcrowding by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Despite a massive prison-building program in the 1990s, in 2007 the Texas legislature had to deal with an overcrowded prison system. Some lawmakers proposed including $523 million in the biennial budget for prison construction. Surprisingly, the legislature …
Texas Grand Jury Rules Jail Guards Not Negligent in Prisoner’s Death by Gary Hunter Despite a finding of homicide by the Dallas County Medical Examiner, an Angelina County grand jury ruled that jail guards involved in physically subduing a prisoner were not negligent in causing his death. In November 2008, …
Texas Supreme Court: Prisoner May Appeal Despite Incomplete Indigence Affidavit by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On May 16, 2008, the Supreme Court of Texas held that an indigent prisoner whose indigence was uncontested may proceed with an appeal despite deficiencies in his affidavit of indigence. Lawrence Higgins, a Texas …
Significant Injury Showing Not Required to Defeat Qualified Immunity in Excessive Force Case by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected a claim for qualified immunity by a Texas prison guard who used excessive force against a prisoner. Texas state prisoner Marcus Brown alleged that in 1998 …
Texas Supreme Court: Mailbox Rule Applies to Notice of Appeal by On June 29, 2007, the Supreme Court of Texas held that the “mailbox rule” for incarcerated litigants applies to a civil notice of appeal. Armando Ramos, a Texas state prisoner, filed a medical malpractice suit in state court. The …
Fifth Circuit: PLRA Exhaustion Requirement an Affirmative Defense by On July 5, 2007, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that failure to meet the PLRA’s exhaustion requirement is an affirmative defense and prisoners are not required to plead exhaustion in their complaints, nor can a district court of its …
Compensation for Wrongful Texas Conviction Not Barred by Prior Suit, Not Assignable by On June 8, 2007, the Texas Supreme Court held that compensation for wrongful imprisonment under Chapter 103, Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code (CP&RC), was not barred by a previous lawsuit and settlement. However, such compensation was …
