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 …
Texas Awards Prison Phone Contract by Matthew Clarke On August 14, 2008, the Texas Board of Criminal Justice (TBCJ) awarded a phone service contract to two companies, Kansas-based Embarq Corp. and Dallas-based Securus Technologies, Inc. Prior to this historic event, the Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) was the only …
Jury Awards Almost $900,000 to Dallas County Jail Stroke Victim by Gary Hunter After a one week trial and a day of deliberation a federal jury awarded Stanley Shepherd $890,336 when a stroke he suffered, in the Dallas County jail, left him permanently paralyzed. On October 4, 2003 Shepherd was …
Writ Writer: One Man's Journey for Justice by David Preston Writ Writer: One Man’s Journey for Justice?A co-production of Passage Productions and the Independent Television Service ?(ITVS), in association with Latino Public Broadcasting Directed by Susanne Mason; 2008, 60 Minutes, $34.98 (personal use) http://www.writwritermovie.com/index.html Reviewed by David Preston De profundis …
Corpus Christi Pays $50,000 to Settle Jail Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim by Corpus Christi Pays $50,000 to Settle Jail Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim The City of Corpus Christi, Texas, agreed to settle an excessive use of force claim brought by a former detainee at the City Detention Center (CDC) for …
TDCJ Employee Wins $1,505,000 for Texas Prison System’s Failure to Accommodate by An El Paso jury awarded $1,505,000 to a former employee of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) for the prison system’s failure to accommodate her severe asthma by refusing to remove automatic air fresheners from an office …
ACLU Request for Investigation into Violations at the Reeves County Detention Center, 2009 February 5, 2009 VIA EMAIL: inspector.general@usdoj.gov Glenn A. Fine Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General ATTN: Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Complaints 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Room 4706 Washington, DC 20530 Re: Request for Investigation …
Allegations of Contraband Smuggling, Sex and Corruption at Texas Prison by Matthew Clarke Allegations of Contraband Smuggling, Sex and Corruption at Texas Prison by Matt Clarke The Inspector General’s office of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) has been investigating numerous cases of corruption at the 1,555-bed Terrell Unit …
Texas Prison Guard Files False Report, Faces 20 Years by Gary Hunter Texas Prison Guard Files False Report, Faces 20 Years by Gary Hunter Former Texas prison guard Eugene Morris, Jr. was found guilty of filing a false report about a use of force incident involving state prisoner Robert Tanzini. …
Texas Prisoners Pay Parole Consultants Hefty Fees by Many Texas prisoners seeking parole are paying large fees to attorneys acting as parole consultants, in an attempt to increase the likelihood of gaining release. In 2007, 22,364 Texas prisoners were paroled. About ten percent – or 2,168 – had hired one …
PR Bonds Plummet in Harris County, Texas as Jail Overflows by Gary Hunter PR Bonds Plummet in Harris County, Texas as Jail Overflows by Gary Hunter Republican judges elected on promises to be tough on crime and the absence of federal oversight have been cited as two reasons why Houston, …
Texas Guards Not Immune from Theft Liability Act Claim by On July 12, 2007, a Texas Court of Appeals held that sovereign immunity does not prevent a Texas state prisoner from suing prison guards in their individual capacities for confiscating and destroying his property, in a claim brought under the …
