All Plaintiffs Must Sign Motion to Amend Complaint by A prisoner may be denied leave to amend a complaint before responsive pleadings are filed where co-plaintiffs have not joined in the motion. The plaintiff said that he relied on an order by the district court barring the other plaintiffs from …
Fifth Circuit Upholds Convictions of Three INS Officers by The Fifth Circuit has upheld the convictions and sentences of three Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) deportation officers for excessive use of force and deliberate indifference to the serious medical needs of a prisoner. Richard Gonzales, Louis Gomez and Carlos Reyna …
Texas Supreme Court Upholds Sex Offender Civil Commitment Statute by by Matthew T. Clarke On May 20, 2005, the Supreme Court of Texas held that the Texas Civil Commitment of Sexually Violent Predators Act (the Act), Chapter 841, Texas Health and Safety Code, is not punitive and therefore is constitutional. …
TDCJ Denied Qualified Immunity in Employee's Unconstitutional Termination Suit by John F. Fant, a former Legal Services Director for a division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), appealed a 2003 U.S. District Court decision denying his motion for dismissal of a lawsuit based on qualified immunity grounds. The …
Guard Aided Escape Results in Murder, Rape and Texas Federal Prisoner's Death Sentence by Federal prisoner Sherman Fields filed a direct appeal of his convictions and death sentence for murder and rape following his armed escape from the privately-operated McClennan County Detention Center (MCDC) in Waco, Texas. His convictions and …
Black Prisoner Jailed With Violent White Supremacist: $40,000 Settlement by Reginald Swisher was a prisoner in the Travis County Jail in Austin, Texas. He was allegedly celled with another prisoner whom jail officials knew was a white supremacist who had assaulted, injured and maimed several other black prisoners and was …
Texas Prisoners Not Entitled to Request Documents While Incarcerated by Texas state prisoner James Walker appealed a state court's dismissal of his action to compel the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to produce documents he requested under the Public Information Act (Act). The appellate court affirmed the dismissal, as …
Documents Withholding by Texas Guards Fails to State Claim; Suit Dismissed as Frivolous by Texas prisoner Keith Thomas appealed a 2003 state court dismissal of his suit for being frivolous. He claimed that guards at the Barry Telford Unit (BTU) in New Boston, Texas withheld documents regarding a lawsuit he …
Statutory Disclosure Intent Enforced, Texas Mental Health Department Abuse Incidents Ordered Disclosed by Texas Attorney General (AG) Greg Abbott appealed a 2006 court ruling denying the disclosure of records related to incidents of abuse at Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (TDMHMR) facilities. The ruling was reversed and …
More Prisoners Murdered in Texas Federal Prisons by Gary Hunter Until February 13, 2008, Ronald Joseph, 29, was serving time at a federal penitentiary in Beaumont, Texas for firearm and drug-related convictions. On that date he was found dead in his cell; a preliminary autopsy report indicated he had been …
Fifth Circuit: Federal Prisoner Loses Retaliation Suit but U.S. Attorney Sanctioned by John Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg A federal prisoner in Texas sued prison officials for retaliating against him for filing grievances. While the court found for the defendants, it nonetheless sanctioned two Assistant U.S. Attorneys $500 for procedural …
Authorities Listen in on Attorney-Client Calls at Jails in FL, CA and TX by David Reutter by David Reutter & Matt Clarke In December 2007, it was reported that an investigator at Florida’s Charlotte County Jail was caught listening to telephone conversations between a prisoner and his attorney. As a …
Fifth Circuit: Suit Cannot be Dismissed for Following Form’s Instructions; Allegations of Retroactive Negative Changes in Texas Parole Law States Claim by by Matthew T. Clarke On December 12, 2006, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a prisoner’s lawsuit could not be dismissed for failing to list supporting …
Supreme Court Denies Mandatory Settlement Class Certification by Asbestos companies approached a group of plaintiffs' lawyers to discuss a "global settlement" of their tort liability, resulting in the filing of a mandatory class action that would bind all future claimants with no opt-out provision and thus permanently limit the defendants' …
Texas Attorney To Repay $200,000 He Stole From Imprisoned Father by Ex Texas federal prisoner John Kennedy (plaintiff) brought suit against his son Michael for theft, conversion, and fraud after stealing his money and turning the plaintiff in to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). His son was ordered to repay …
Fifth Circuit Misstates Retaliation Standard by Prisoners claiming retaliation must allege "(1) a specific constitutional right, (2) the defendant's intent to retaliate against the prisoner for his or her exercise of that right, (3) a retaliatory adverse act, and (4) causation." The plaintiff alleged retaliation for his filing of grievances …
TDCJ Policy for Female Guards Strip Searching Male Prisoners Judicially Monitored by Texas federal prisoner Albert Aranda and approximately 100 other prisoners filed suit against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) in 1989. They alleged constitutional violations for male prisoners being strip searched by female guards. The court ordered …
Immigrant Fugitives Precluded from Appealing Immigration Judge's Decision by Fugitive Disentitlement Doctrine by Raju Raj Giri and his wife and child legally entered the U.S. in July 2003 and were entitled to remain in the country for 5 months. When their time expired they applied for asylum, but an immigration …
Squalor, Corruption Cause Cancellation of GEO Group’s TYC Contract by Gary Hunter When Texas Youth Commission (TYC) ombudsman Will Harrell toured the privately-operated Coke County Juvenile Justice Center in Bronte, Texas on September 24, 2007, he found children sleeping on dirty bed sheets, walls covered with smeared feces, urine-stained walls …
Compassionless Conservative Texas Judge Closes Court Promptly, Ensuring Execution by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Sharon Keller, 54, presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, has come under sharp criticism for refusing to keep the court open twenty minutes past its usual closing time to permit a late …
