TYC Leaders Straining Public Coffers; Agency Still Problematic by Gary Hunter Administrators at the already-troubled Texas Youth Commission (TYC) have succeeded in creating a new scandal. Only 18 months ago, Texas citizens and lawmakers were rocked by revelations that two senior TYC officials, Ray Brookins and John Paul Hernandez, had …
Texas: 40% of Criminal Jurisprudence Bills Boost Criminal Penalties by Scott Henson 40% of Criminal Jurisprudence bills boost criminal penalties As has probably been the case every legislative session in living memory, bills boosting criminal penalties account for a lion's share of legislation coming out of the Texas House Criminal …
Due Process Required Before Imposition of Sex Offender Parole Conditions by On June 20, 2008, a Texas federal court held that a parolee’s right to receive due process before onerous sex offender conditions were imposed was clearly established in the Fifth Circuit. Ray Curtis Graham, a Texas state parolee, was …
Texas Court of Appeals: No Relief Compelling Court to Rule Absent Evidence Motion Was Brought to Court's Attention by On June 5, 2008, a Texas court of appeals held that a prisoner was not entitled to mandamus relief compelling a trial court to rule on a motion because he failed …
Private Prison Company Cleans Up Texas Creek, Finally Gets Prisoners by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In July 2008, Louisiana-based private prison company LCS Corrections Services agreed to remove junked cars, appliances and other debris inhibiting the flow of Petronila Creek, which runs close to LCS’s newly-built 1,100-bed Coastal Bend …
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: No Time Limit on Rehearing of State Habeas by On February 6, 2008, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) held that there was no temporal limitation on its rehearing on the court's own motion of previously-decided state habeas corpus applications. Jose Angel Moreno, a …
Duvall v. Dallas, County, TX, Judgment, Failure to Protect, Infection, Judgment, 2009 Case 3:07-cv-00929-L Document 85 Filed 04/21/09 Page 1 of 2 PageID 759 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS DALLAS DIVISION MARK DUVALL, Plaintiff, v. DALLAS COUNTY, TEXAS, Defendant. § § § § § § …
Court Reverses Supervision Condition Prohibiting Cohabitation with Anyone Other than Family by On June 16, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a supervised release condition prohibiting a defendant from living with anyone he was not married to or that was not a blood relative. Alex …
Fifth Circuit Rejects Petition for Writ of Mandamus Filed by Crime Victims by On May 7, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit denied a petition for a writ of mandamus filed by crime victims seeking to block the acceptance of a plea agreement. Family members of …
Fifth Circuit Upholds Denial of Exercise for Year, Rejects Due Process Challenge to Placement in Lockdown by On March 28, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a grant of summary judgment to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) in a suit alleging the denial …
Texas Prison Authority OK’s Illegal Use of Prison Labor, but PIE Contract Not Renewed by Gary Hunter Texas Prison Authority OK’s Illegal Use of Prison Labor, but PIE Contract Not Renewed by Gary Hunter Even though a Texas legislator found the practice illegal, and even though it cost sixty people …
Texas, New Jersey Prison Staff Prosecuted for Cell Phone Smuggling by On October 20, 2008, the entire Texas prison system was locked down and searched for cell phones and other contraband. The search resulted in the discovery of hundreds of cell phones, chargers, SIM cards, tobacco stashes and weapons. [See: …
Entire Texas Prison System Locked Down to Search for Phones; Prison Cell Phone Problem is Pandemic by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On October 20, 2008, Texas Governor Rick Perry placed all 112 prisons and 155,000 prisoners in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) on lockdown to search for …
Texas Parole Officials Caught Lying to Federal Court With Impunity by A Texas federal court has dismissed as moot a parolee’s challenge to parole restrictions which prevented him from having unsupervised contact with his son. During the course of the litigation, parole officials repeatedly misled the court. Gerald Grant, a …
Fifth Circuit Overturns Texas Bail Bond Solicitation Restrictions by by Matt Clarke On June 7, 2007, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned as violative of the First Amendment a Texas statute that restricted solicitation of bail bond customers. One section of the statute was upheld, related to phone solicitations. …
Indiana Prisoner Entitled to Seek Public Prison Records by Indiana’s Third District Court of Appeals held it was error to dismiss a prisoner’s complaint seeking to compel prison officials to allow him to inspect and copy public records. In 2004, Eric D. Smith, a prisoner at Indiana’s Maximum Control Facility …
Changes in Texas Parole Laws Violate Ex Post Facto Clause by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On March 29, 2007, a federal court ruled that changes in Texas parole laws, practices and procedures violated the federal ex post facto clause when applied retroactively. Barry Michael Wion, a Texas state prisoner, …
Jose Medellin Executed; Vienna Convention Controversy Lives On by Matthew Clarke Jose Medellin Executed; Vienna Convention Controversy Lives On by Matt Clarke On August 5, 2008 at 9:48 p.m., the State of Texas began the lethal injection that ended the life of Jose E. Medellin. In doing so, it ignored …
Fifth Circuit: § 1983 Nominal and Punitive Damages Allowed Absent Physical Injury by Fifth Circuit: § 1983 Nominal and Punitive Damages Allowed Absent Physical Injury For the first time in a published opinion, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has held that a prisoner pursuing a civil rights action …
Washington DOC Restarts Private Industry Prison Jobs Following State Constitutional Amendment by John Dannenberg Washington DOC Restarts Private Industry Prison Jobs Following State Constitutional Amendment by John E. Dannenberg After eliminating private industry prison work programs in response to a Washington State Supreme Court ruling declaring the underlying statute unconstitutional …
