UNICOR Robs Jobs from Private Sector; Prisoners Sue Over Working Conditions by Brandon Sample It is already hard enough for free world workers to hold down a job without having to compete with UNICOR, the prison labor arm of the federal Bureau of Prisons. But that is exactly what a …
Fifth Circuit Rules Texas Parole Law Not Ex Post Facto by The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Texas parole law created in 1993, but applied retroactively to capital offenders in 1995, was not ex post facto. Billy Ray Wallace was sentenced in December 1981 for the …
Texas Prison Guards Denied Summary Judgment in Excessive Force Case by On December 7, 2007, Texas prisoner Michael Newsome filed a civil rights complaint alleging that excessive force was exercised against him by prison supervisors Captain John McDaniel and Sergeant John Rhinehart. That suit was dismissed on May 22, 2008 …
Texas Teen Settles for $65,000 in Excessive Force Case by On May 20, 2008, 17-year-old Khandiese Cooper accepted a settlement of $65,000 in a Section 1983 claim involving excessive force and false arrest. Ms. Cooper, represented by attorneys Vic Feazell and Austin Tighe of Austin, Texas, filed suit against the …
Court Allows Deliberate Indifference Claim for Denial of Medication to Proceed by U.S. Magistrate Judge B. Janice Ellington has allowed a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action to move beyond screening. The action, brought by a former Nueces County Jail prisoner, alleges that jail officials were deliberately indifferent in providing the …
Prohibiting Decorations on Outgoing Envelope Not Violative of RLUIPA by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a Texas prison policy that prohibits prisoners from drawing illustrations or messages on envelopes does not violate a prisoner’s rights. Prisoner Robert N. Smithback filed a civil rights action that claimed …
No Appeal of Immunity Defenses if Case Under Advisement by Immunity defenses may not be reviewed by way of appeal when a district court still has the matter “under advisement” before a magistrate judge, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decided July 23, 2008. Raul Meza sued …
Murder Conviction for Prisoner Accused of Killing Prisoner at USP Beaumont Affirmed by On April 30, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the murder conviction of a prisoner accused of killing another prisoner at the United States Penitentiary (USP) in Beaumont, Texas. Arzell Gulley was …
Supreme Court Holds Magistrate Judge May Conduct Voir Dire Without Defendant’s Personal Consent by A federal magistrate judge may conduct voir dire in a criminal case upon consent of a defendant’s attorney. No personal consent by a defendant is necessary, the Supreme Court decided May 12, 2008. Homero Gonzalez was …
Rodriguez v. City of Houston, TX, Final Judgment, Innacurate Crime Lab Violation, 2009 Case 4:06-cv-02650 Document 324 Filed in TXSD on 06/26/2009 Page 1 of 7 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS HOUSTON DIVIS][ON GEORGE RODRIGUEZ, Plaintiff, versus CITY 01' HOUSTON, Defendant. § § …
Delayed Order Designating Issues in Texas Habeas Action Has No Effect by On June 4, 2008, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) held that an untimely order designating issues entered by a state district court in a state habeas action is of no effect and the district clerk was …
Fifth Circuit Upholds Correspondence Restrictions in Houston Jail by On August 9, 2000, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court's dismissal of a prisoner's challenge to correspondence restrictions at the Harris County Jail in Houston, Texas. Matthew James Leachman, a prisoner at the Harris County Jail, filed …
Cheney and Gonzales Indicted in Connection with Private Prison in Texas by Matthew Clarke Cheney and Gonzales Indicted in Connection with Private Prison in Texas by Matt Clarke On November 17, 2008, a Texas grand jury returned an indictment against then-Vice President Richard B. Cheney and former U.S. Attorney General …
Texas Court of Appeals Upholds $42.5 Million Award Against Wackenhut / GEO Group by Matthew Clarke Texas Court of Appeals Upholds $42.5 Million Award Against Wackenhut / GEO Group by Matt Clarke On April 2, 2009, a Texas Court of Appeals upheld a jury award of $22,000,000 in actual damages …
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: 
Concurrent Sentences Mean Concurrent Fines by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: ?Concurrent Sentences Mean Concurrent Fines The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) ruled that fines imposed as part of a sentence for multiple counts of an offense committed during the course of a single …
Texas Lawmakers “Surprised” Over Hiring of Non-Citizen Prison Guards on Work Visas by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Texas has 112 prisons and employs 23,700 guards – which is 2,600 shy of the number authorized by the state legislature. The shortage of prison staff is not new and neither is …
New Texas Prison Hospital Approved by On January 16, 2009, Texas lawmakers announced that the state will convert a dormant 59-year-old federal medical center into a prison hospital for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). The five-story, 100-bed Thomas T. Connally Veterans Affairs Medical Center has not been used …
Rodriguez-Grava & Cisneros de Jesus v. GEO Group, TX, Order, Failure to Provide Mental Health Services, 2009 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS SAN ANTONIO DIVISION MIROSLAVA RODRIGUEZ-GRAVA and ISAIAS VASQUEZ CISNEROS DE JESUS, § § § § Plaintiffs, § § vs. § § GEO GROUP, INC.; THE …
Sexual Abuse by Prison and Jail Staff Proves Persistent, Pandemic by Gary Hunter Sexual assault, rape, indecency, deviance. These terms represent reprehensible behavior in our society. They also represent recurring themes in our nation’s prisons – not only by prisoners, but also by guards and other staff members. PLN’s August …
State Auditor: Texas Prisoners Face Retaliation for Airing Grievances by Matthew Clarke State Auditor: Texas Prisoners Face Retaliation for Airing Grievances by Matt Clarke In September 2008, the Texas State Auditor released a report on the investigation and resolution of complaints in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). The …
