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 …
Change in Texas Parole Law May Be Ex Post Facto Violation by Matthew Clarke by Matthew T. Clarke The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a change in Texas parole laws requiring a two-thirds majority vote of the entire board for certain prisoners may violate the Ex Post …
Texas Prisoner’s State, Federal Work-Related Injury Claims Reinstated by A Texas appeals court held in this case that because a prisoner’s state and federal work-related injury claims against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) were based in law, dismissal as frivolous was improper. State prisoner Jumeau Onnette was painting …
Texas Warden Axed for Whistleblowing Awarded $300,150 by A Texas prison warden who was fired for reporting corruption was awarded $300,150. Terry Terrell was warden of the Beto I Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) in Tennessee Colony, Texas. In May 1991, he wrote the Chairman of …
Texas Juvenile Justice Whistleblower Settles for $175,000 by On the eve of trial Bowie County, Texas and Bowie County Juvenile Center (BCJC) employee Bruce Ballou agreed to pay former BCJC employee Karen Foster $175,000 to settle her whistleblower complaint in federal court. The action was filed by Karen Foster, a …
$40,000 Awarded Four Texas Probation Department Employees In Sexual Harassment Suit, by Nueces County (Texas) Community Supervision an Corrections Department (Department) probation officers Elana Rodriguez, Ida Aguilar, Carolina Balli-Kolpak and Sylvia Westrup filed § 1983 and Title VII civil rights action in 2007 against state officials. They claimed sexual harassment …
Texas Eliminates Next-Grand-Jury-Session Limitation On Indictments by by Matthew T. Clarke On December 6, 1006, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) held unconstitutional the provision of Article 28.061, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP), requiring dismissal of a prosecution with prejudice if an indictment is not brought against a …
Texas Juvenile Justice Whistleblower Settles for $175,000 by On the eve of trial Bowie County, Texas and Bowie County Juvenile Center (BCJC) employee Bruce Ballou agreed to pay former BCJC employee Karen Foster $175,000 to settle her whistleblower complaint in federal court. The action was filed by Karen Foster, a …
Texas Act Requires Compelling Reasoning for Nondisclosure of Requested Prisoner Information by The Office of the Attorney General (AG) of the State of Texas opined the legal parameters regarding the release of prisoner information by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). The opinion is in accordance with the State's …
Record Number of Disciplinary Actions Against Texas Prison Guards by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke As previously reported in PLN, a record number of Texas prison guards have been arrested in recent years [see: PLN, May 2007, p. 26]. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) has now confirmed that …
Dallas County, Texas, Criticized for Offering Probation to Murder Defendants by Michael Rigby According to a Dallas Morning News article published on November 10, 2007, Dallas County, Texas, leads the state in the number of probation deals it hands out to murder defendants. The highly critical five-part series implies that …
Junk Bonds to Junk Science? Drug Treatment Program Questioned by Greg Dober by Gregory Dober What was worth approximately $554 million in 2007 and is valued at about $94 million today? The correct answer is the stock market value of a firm formerly known as Alaska Freightways Inc., a shell …
