Ninth Circuit Upholds Washington Legal Mail Inspection Rule by The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an order of a Washington state superior court, requiring a contraband inspection of all mail from prisoners to that court. "In April, 1977, the Superior Court for Walla Walla County, issued a prison mail …
$23,000 Washington DOC Negligence Baseball Field Maintenance Settlement by In 1992, Willie Tripplet, a prisoner confined at Pine Lodge Pre-Release in Medical Lake, Washington. was injured during a recreational baseball game. Tripplet tripped in a hole in front of home base as he attempted to slide, injuring his right hand, …
Washington DOC Pays $5,750 in Bunk Fall Case by In January of 1996, prisoner Ronald J. Joyner as injured climbing down from his top bunk. Joyner, a prisoner at Washington Correctional Center in Shelton, Washington, fell climbing from a window ledge onto a chair that collapsed underneath him. Joyner dislocated …
Washington DOC Recreation Injury Suit Settled for $9,500 by In August of 2000, the Department of General Administration paid John E. Karas $9,500. Karas, a prisoner at Pine Lodge Facility in Spokane County, Washington, was ordered by a guard to remove bowling pins as the automatic pinsetter was not operating. …
Washington DOC Pays $1,063.49 to Settle Slip and Fall by On August 7th, 1997, Alvinia Lott, an employee for the Department of Corrections, fell on the gravel at Clallam Bay Corrections Center in Clallam County, Washington, while leaving work. Lott, then 65, complained that there was no hand rail to …
Washington DOC Pays $4,500 in Kitchen Hose Explosion by On April 11th, David Whitener, a prisoner confined at Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, Washington suffered severe burns while working in the institution's kitchen. Whitmer was washing dishes in the dish tank when the hot water hose attached to the …
Ferry Rams Dock, State of Washington Pays $1,294 by On June 8th, 1997, Colleen E. Castanada was riding the Department of Corrections operated Callam Ferry when it rammed into the side of a dock. Castanada, who was on her way to visit a prisoner at McNeil Island Corrections Center in …
Washington DOC Settles Ferry Fall Suit for $60,000 by On February 17th, 1993 Fernie Wayne Gay, a resident of McNeil Island, Washington slipped and fell on an icy patch in a ferry dock of McNeil Island's Corrections Center. Gay suffered a variety of injuries including bruises, contusions, a soft tissue …
Washington DOC Pays $1,500 to Settle Legal Mail/Discipline Suit by In 1998, the Washington Department of Corrections paid $1,500 to Jenny Hall, a prisoner at Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor, WA. for the censorship of her legal mail. In 1996, Jenny Hall mailed a letter to her …
Ninth Circuit Discusses Common Law Mailbox Rule by In an action for a tax refund, brought by a Washington state taxpayer against the Internal Revenue Service, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals noted that "[u]nder the common law mailbox rule, proper and timely mailing of a document raises a rebuttable …
Denial of AIDS Cocktail: Actionable in Tacoma Jail Suit by The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that officials at the Pierce County Jail in Washington State are not entitled to qualified immunity for their failure to provide a pre-trial detainee an AIDS "cocktail" promptly upon booking. The detainee was …
Parolee Negligent Supervision DUI Death Suit Settles for $6,000 by Tracy Joe Enoch-Jeune was convicted on four separate occasions of DUI or possession of drugs. Upon release from jail the final time, she was supposed to report to a probation officer within 24 hours. She never appeared and remained at …
$277 Awarded for Costs in Washington Records Disclosure Suit by A Washington Superior Court judge, Thurston County, awarded Airway Heights Correctional Center prisoner Donald W. Miniken, $277.39 in costs in litigating a Public Disclosure Act lawsuit. In January 1998, Miniken requested the Washington Department of Corrections (WDOC) to provide him …
Washington Prisoners Challenge Confinement Beyond EERD; Class Action Certification Granted; Defendants Get Qualified Immunityndants Get Qualified Immunity by Washington Prisoners Challenge Confinement Beyond EERD; Class Action Certification Granted; Defendants Get Qualified Immunity On December 22, 2004, four former prisoners of the Washington Department Of Corrections (WDOC) brought suit in federal …
United States Supreme Court Holds that Probation Violators Must Be Afforded Representation at Probation Revocation/Resentencing Hearings by United States Supreme Court Holds that Probation Violators Must Be Afforded Representation at Probation Revocation/Resentencing Hearings This was a consolidated case in which two Washington state prisoners were granted certiorari after the state …
Washington: Consecutive Terms for Multiple Sentencing Violations Upheld by The Supreme Court of Washington, en banc, held that imposing consecutive 45-day sentences for each of ten violations of conditions of sentencing was valid under Washington state law. Samuel McDougal was sentenced to 30 days confinement and community supervision for one …
Washington Appeals Court Reverses DNA Sample Requirement for Attempted Crime by Washington Appeals Court Reverses DNA Sample Requirement for Attempted Crime On November 29, 2004, the Washington Court of Appeals, Division I, held that unless specifically noted under a state law requiring the submission of DNA samples for certain crimes, …
Washington DOC Pays $3,000 for Failing to Timely Disclose Public Records by The Washington Department of Corrections (WDOC) agreed to pay $2,997.50 to settle a lawsuit under the Public Disclosure Act brought in a Washington Superior Court, Thurston County, by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union No. 76 …
Washington DOC Pays $4 Million in Parolee's Rape of Seven Year Old by In 2003 the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) paid a total of $4 million to settle a parole liability suit involving the sexual assault of a seven year old girl by a parolee under its supervision. This …
Washington State Civil Commitment Statute Constitutional by The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that Washington State's Community Protection Act of 1990 (CPA) did not violate the double jeopardy or ex post facto clauses of the U.S. Constitution. In 1994, Petitioner Andre Young sought federal writ of habeas corpus …
