FL Prisoner Entitled to Evidence Production and to Be Present at Disciplinary Hearing by Florida's First District Court of Appeal held that the failure to produce an object that was allegedly a weapon when the prisoner's defense was that the object was not a weapon, entitled the prisoner mandamus relief. …
FL Prisoner's Review of Mandamus Denial Requires Writ of Certiorari by The Florida supreme court affirmed the First District Court of Appeals order that held review of a denial of a writ of mandamus comes under a petition for writ of certiorari rather than a direct appeal, which was the …
Florida Juvenile Detainee Awarded $100,000 for Failure to Protect by The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed a jury's award of damages sustained as a result of a sexual assault upon a juvenile detainee at a Department of Health and Rehabilitation Services (HRS) facility. HRS was found liable for …
Incarceration Term alone Insufficient to Terminate Florida Prisoner's Parental Rights by Incarceration Term alone Insufficient to Terminate Florida Prisoner's Parental Rights The Florida Supreme Court has held that a trial court, when assessing a petition to terminate a prisoner's parental rights, must apply a forward-looking view when determining if the …
$106,500 Awarded to Whistle Blowing FL Jail Nurse by A jury in Palm Beach County, Florida, entered a verdict in favor of Angela Wilson, who claimed that she was fired as an employee of the Palm Beach County Health Department for revealing illegal activities at her job. Wilson, who was …
Isolated Incident of Legal Mail Tampering and Access to Deputy Sheriff not Clear Right for Injunctive Relief by Isolated Incident of Legal Mail Tampering and Access to Deputy Sheriff not Clear Right for Injunctive Relief Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal has reversed an Okeechobee County Judge's order granting two …
CMS Doctor Not Liable for Delaying Bone Graft by The plaintiff saw a specialist who said he needed a bone graft procedure immediately, and the prison doctor defendant recommended that he get it. Nine months later, the same specialist said there was no need for further evaluation or surgery, and …
State Court Proceedings Limit Federal Injunctive Suits by A challenge to practices in the state foster care system is barred by Younger abstention, given that state courts exercise jurisdiction over persons in foster care on a continuing basis. At 1332: "In suits for prospective injunctive relief, courts have been troubled …
Florida Lethal Injection Challenge Rejected by The plaintiff's § 1983 challenge to execution by lethal injection is the functional equivalent of a habeas corpus petition--in this case, a successive one, for which the plaintiff had not obtained permission from the Court of Appeals. The grant of certiorari in Nelson v. …
Student Strip Search Upheld Due To Vulgar Leaflet by Student Strip Search Upheld Due To Vulgar Leaflet Strip searches of arrestees must be supported by reasonable suspicion of weapons or contraband. There was reasonable cause to strip search a high school student who was arrested after helping create and circulate …
Class Certified in FL Medicaid Challenge by Actions challenging uniform practices and seeking injunctive relief by their nature deal with common issues of law and fact. Here, defendants argue that plaintiff's due process challenge to Medicaid prescription drug benefit denial procedures doesn't raise common issues because there are many individual …
Failure to Provide Medical Records Waives Florida's Medical Malpractice Pre-Suit Requirements by Failure to Provide Medical Records Waives Florida's Medical Malpractice Pre-Suit Requirements Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal has held that a Palm Beach Circuit Court improperly dismissed a prisoner's medical malpractice suit for failing to comply with pre-suit …
Florida Parole Commission Cannot Substitute Its Factual Findings for Hearing Examiners by Florida Parole Commission Cannot Substitute Its Factual Findings for Hearing Examiners A Florida federal district court has granted a prisoner a writ of habeas corpus based upon the Florida Parole Commission (FPC) substituting its own facts for the …
Statutory Authority Lacking for Lien in Florida Prisoners' Gain Time Loss Challenge by Statutory Authority Lacking for Lien in Florida Prisoners' Gain Time Loss Challenge Florida's First District Court of Appeals has held that a Florida law does not allow an indigent prisoner to be assessed a lien on his …
Florida DOC Liable for Legal Copy Costs Not Repaid by The Circuit Court for Leon County, Florida, on October 4, 2006, awarded a Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) prisoner $1,030 in damages and court costs in an action seeking recovery of the cost of legal copies made for the prisoner. …
PLN Uncovers Secret Sweetheart Settlement Between PRIDE and Former Board Members by David Reutter by David M. Reutter In its continual effort to expose corruption within prisons, PLN has uncovered the confidential settlement between Florida?s Prison Rehabilitation Industries and Diversified Industries (PRIDE) and the corporations spawned by its former directors? …
Punishment for Rude Outgoing Letter Struck Down by The court of appeals for the Fifth circuit affirmed a lower court's award of nominal damages, injunctive relief and attorney fees and costs by holding that rude comments made by a Florida prisoner in his outgoing mail to his girlfriend are protected …
FL Jail Pays $500,000 in Medical Neglect Suit by The court of appeals for the Eleventh circuit upheld a jury verdict against the Escambia county Road Prison in Florida for $500,000 in favor of a prisoner denied medical care. The plaintiff fractured his hip ball socket and was repeatedly denied …
Change in FL Good Time System violates Ex Post Facto by The court of appeals for the Eleventh circuit affirmed a district court ruling that granted habeas relief to a Florida prisoner who claimed a change in the state's method of calculating and awarding good time credits violated the ex …
Retaliation Claims Have Three Part Test by The court of appeals for the Eleventh circuit held that jailhouse lawyers do not have a constitutionally protected right to be law clerks or be at a specific prison; prisoners' assistance to others in legal matters and in writing the media complaining about …
