Washington DOC Settles Open Records Suit for $15,000 by On May 1, 2006, the State of Washington agreed to pay prisoner Allan Parmelee $15,000 to settle a lawsuit stemming from the Department of Corrections (DOC) refusal to provide him with records he had requested under the Public Disclosure Act (PDA), …
Transfer for Law Library Access by A Washington state prisoner was imprisoned in a minimum security prison which did not have a prison law library which negatively impacted his pending litigation. To provide court access prison officials transferred plaintiff to a maximum security prison with an extensive law library. Plaintiff …
WA Prisoners Have Liberty Interest in Release by The court of appeals for the Ninth circuit held that a Washington state prisoner had a due process liberty interest in being released from prison on his good time release date. The plaintiff in this section 1983 case was held 20 days …
Prisons Can't Ban Gay Literature; Pedophile Magazine Ban Upheld by The court of appeals for the Ninth circuit upheld the censorship of North American Man-Boy Love Association materials sent to a convicted pedophile at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. The court said prison officials cannot censor gay literature. …
No Qualified Immunity for Rectal Searches by The court of appeals for the Ninth circuit upheld the denial of qualified immunity to Washington prison officials who bad promulgated a policy requiring that all prisoners in Intensive Management Units (IMU) be subjected to digital, rectal probes by prison medical staff. Thousands …
Washington DOC Settles Stroke Suit for $111,000 by The Washington Department of Corrections agreed to pay $111,000 to settle a prisoner's lawsuit in which he claimed to have suffered permanent injuries after DOC doctors discontinued his heart medication. The settlement was finalized on October 22, 2002 in the Snohomish County …
Weekends and Holidays Excluded from FRCP 6(a) 10-Day Deadline by The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held Fed. R.Civ.P. 6(a) excludes Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays when computing time periods of less than 11 days. This action, which was brought by female employees in Washington alleging discrimination on the basis …
Washington Prisoner Receives $17,500 for Work Detail Needle Stick by On April 26, 2002, in the King County Superior Court, the Washington State Department of Corrections agreed to pay $17,500 to settle a lawsuit brought by a prisoner who was stuck with a dirty hypodermic needle while on a work …
WA DOC Must Award Good Time for Out-Of-State Time Served Concurrently With WA Sentences by WA DOC Must Award Good Time for Out-Of-State Time Served Concurrently With WA Sentences The Washington Court of Appeals for Division 3 (Div. 3) has ruled that the state Department of Corrections (WDOC) must award …
Drug Site Cleanup Fine Discretionary with Trial Court by The Washington Court of Appeals, Division 3, held that the imposition of a drug site cleanup fine was discretionary with the trial court. William Wood was arrested and charged with manufacturing methamphetamine at his place of residence in Spokane County, Washington. …
$500 Paid in WA Racial Segregation Suit by Muhammad Shabazz Farrakhan and a group of black prisoners at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, Washington filed a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging racial discrimination in housing assignments. Farrakhan alleged prisoners were given race cards and each racial group, Whites, …
$204,472 Paid in WA Sexual Harassment Suit by Lois Elber, a Mental Health Unit Supervisor at the Special Offender Center in Monroe, filed a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging she was the victim of sexual harassment by Washington Department of Corrections employees Fred Wood and Jerry Minaker. Minaker inappropriately …
$4,435 Paid in WA Riot Injuries by Carnell Garden, a prisoner at Washington's McNeil Island State Prison, filed a state tort suit alleging inadequate supervision that resulted in a race riot in September 1992, which caused him unspecified injuries. His complaint also alleged he was denied adequate and timely medical …
$2,632 Paid in WA Riot Caused Damages by James L. Cobb, a prisoner at Washington's McNeil Island State Prison, filed a state tort suit alleging inadequate supervision that resulted in a race riot which caused him unspecified injuries in September 1992. His suit also alleged he was denied adequate and …
Washington Good Time Policy Violates Ex Post Facto Clause by Division 1 of the Washington State Court of Appeals (Div. 1) has held that a state Department of Corrections (DOC) policy may not be used to deprive prisoners convicted before it was enacted of earned time for not participating in …
Washington Parole Revocation Process Upheld by The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a Washington State Parole Board was within its discretion of setting a parolee's minimum term at 108 months without giving written reasons, and a formal on-site hearing conducted within 21 days after parole was suspended was …
Washington Prisoner Awarded $125 for Failure to Timely Respond to Public Records Request by Washington Prisoner Awarded $125 for Failure to Timely Respond to Public Records Request A Thurston County, Superior Court in Washington State awarded Airway Heights Correction Center prisoner Derek E. Grunquist $125 for a 114 business day …
$750 Paid in Washington Public Records Case by The State of Washington agreed to pay $750 to Airway Heights Correctional Center (AHCC) prisoner Derek E. Gronquist for the failure of defendants Cly Evans and Sheree Raska to disclose public records that Gronquist had requested. Gronquist sought release of training records …
$2,000 Paid in Washington Prisoner's Medical Negligence Claim by While at the Washington Correction Center for Women, Monica Grimmett had experienced stomach pain. When she went to sick call complaining of severe pain, she was told she was ovulating and given Maalox. Two days later, she requested emergency clinic and …
$22,000 Paid in WA Guard's Sexual Harassment Suit by Lisa L. Wikstrom, a guard at the Clallam Bay Correctional Center, was subjected, upon her hiring in 1994, to sexual conversations, comments, improper physical sexual contacts, sexual touching, direct sexual demands and requests, discussions concerning the harassing supervisors sexual lives and …
