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State of Washington DOC Contract-FSH Communications, LLC Amendment No. 3

Publication • April 17, 2006

Filed under: Private Phone Contractors, Global Tel*Link Corp

State of Washington DOC Contract-FSH Communications, LLC Amendment No. 3 ASSIGNMENT AND ASSUMPTION AGREEMENT THIS ASSIGNMjj:NT AND ASSUMPTION AGREEMENT (the (the · . A--y•s, U, ,i,,,,,i "Assignment'') is made as of "Effective Date") by and between FSH Communications, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ("FSH" or "Assignor''), Value Added Communications, …

Washington Appeals Court Reverses the Dismissal of a Slip-and-Fall Negligence Action; State Responsi

Article • April 15, 2006 • from PLN April, 2006

Filed under: Evidentiary Ruling, Expert Witnesses, Immunity/Liability, Premises Liability

Washington Appeals Court Reverses the Dismissal of a Slip-and-Fall Negligence Action; State Responsi by Washington Appeals Court Reverses the Dismissal of a Slip-and-Fall Negligence Action; State Responsible for Negligence of Prisoner Laborers In an unpublished opinion, the Washington Court of Appeals held that a trial court erred in dismissing a …

Washington Prison Staff Properly Fired For Sexually Assaulting Prisoner

Article • April 15, 2006 • from PLN April, 2006

Filed under: Staff-Staff Assault, Conditions of Confinement, Transportation, Employee Litigation

Washington Prison Staff Properly Fired For Sexually Assaulting Prisoner by Division 2 of the Washington State Court of Appeals (Div. 2) has affirmed the summary dismissal of a prison guards law-suit for wrongful discharge for sexual misconduct. James Shinn was captain of a ferry serving the McNeil Island Correction Center …

Washington Settles Prisoners Medical Indifference Suit for $370,000

Article • March 15, 2006 • from PLN March, 2006

Filed under: Medication, Cardiovascular, Diabetes, Stroke, Immunity/Liability, Supervisory Liability

Washington Settles Prisoners Medical Indifference Suit for $370,000 by Washington Settles Prisoners Medical Indifference Suit for $370,000 by Michael Rigby In October 2005, the State of Washington settled for $370,000 a prisoners federal lawsuit in which he alleged that indifferent medical treatment proximately resulted in a stroke that left him …

Washington State Forensic Scientist Helps Convict the Innocent, FBI Assists

Article • March 15, 2006 • from PLN March, 2006

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Police Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Crime Labs, Wrongful Conviction

Washington State Forensic Scientist Helps Convict the Innocent, FBI Assists by by Matthew T. Clarke Washington State Patrol crime lab forensic scientist Charles Vaughan had no problem finding new employment after he helped convict two innocent Oregon State men of murder when he worked as a state forensic scientist in …

Washington Jail Pays Teenager $400,000 for Rape While Imprisoned

Article • March 15, 2006 • from PLN March, 2006

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Immunity/Liability, Municipal Liability

Washington Jail Pays Teenager $400,000 for Rape While Imprisoned by Washington's Franklin County has paid $400,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a former pretrial detainee who was raped in the Franklin County Correctional Center (FCCC) by another detainee. The civil rights claim brought in a Washington federal court alleged …

Washington DOC Must Ship Prisoners' Property For Free

Article • February 15, 2006 • from PLN February, 2006

Filed under: Transfers, Complaints, Money/Property, Prisoner Property

Washington DOC Must Ship Prisoners' Property For Free by The Washington State Supreme Court (Supreme Court) has re-instated a lawsuit challenging Department of Corrections (DOC) Policy 440.000 (Policy). The Policy requires prisoners who are transferred to another prison to pay shipping costs for their property. Lonnie Burton, Gordon Lebar, James …

Registered Sex Offenders Murdered By Vigilante in Washington

Article • February 15, 2006 • from PLN February, 2006

Filed under: Discrimination, Sex Offender Registration, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Crime

Registered Sex Offenders Murdered By Vigilante in Washington by by Matthew T. Clarke On August 27, 2005, two registered sex offenders were murdered in Bellingham, Washington, by a vigilante posing as an FBI agent. The killer got the victims' names, address and photographs from the Whatcom County Sheriff's Sex Offender …

Washington State Supreme Court Grants PLN Public Disclosure of Washington DOC Medical Malpractice Re

Article • December 15, 2005 • from PLN December, 2005

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, DOC/BOP misconduct, Medical Misconduct, Attorney Fee Awards, Damages, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, PLN Litigation

Washington State Supreme Court Grants PLN Public Disclosure of Washington DOC Medical Malpractice Re by Washington State Supreme Court Grants PLN Public Disclosure of Washington DOC Medical Malpractice Records by John E. Dannenberg Prison Legal News won a big victory for the cause of investigative journalism on July 14, 2005 …

Disclosure of Washington State Prisoner Phone RatesDisclosure of Washington State Prisoner Phone Rates Stymied by the Courts

Article • December 15, 2005 • from PLN December, 2005

Filed under: Standing, Disclosure of Records, Mootness, Telephones, Telephone Rates

Disclosure of Washington State Prisoner Phone RatesDisclosure of Washington State Prisoner Phone Rates Stymied by the Courts by Disclosure of Washington State Prisoner Phone Rates Stymied by the Courts by John E. Dannenberg When recipients of Washington state prisoner-originated long distance phone calls sought to compel disclosure of the telephone …

Washington S.Ct. Upholds Persistent Prison Misbehavior Statute

Article • December 15, 2005 • from PLN December, 2005

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Sanctions (Disciplinary Hearings), Criminal Prosecution, Good Time

Washington S.Ct. Upholds Persistent Prison Misbehavior Statute by In a 54 decision, the Washington State Supreme Court upheld a law that makes it a felony for a Washington prisoner to commit a serious prison infraction after losing all potential earned early release credits. The majority concluded that the statute was …

Suit Implicates Washington DOC In Near-Fatal Collision, Drug Use Suspected

Article • October 15, 2005 • from PLN October, 2005

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Criminal Prosecution, Parole

Suit Implicates Washington DOC In Near-Fatal Collision, Drug Use Suspected by Michael Rigby A woman critically injured in a collision caused by an employee of the Washington prison system--reassigned to his home because of suspected drug use--has sued the state Department of Corrections (DOC) for endangering the public. Barbara Starkel …

Washington: County Pre-Trial Services Blew $400,000 In 2003

Article • October 15, 2005

Filed under: Jail Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Judicial Misconduct, Court Access, Judiciary

Washington: County Pre-Trial Services Blew $400,000 In 2003 by In 2003, Pierce County, Washington's bloated Pre-Trial Services (PTS) wasted $400,000--nearly half of its 2004 budget of $809,000, according to a preliminary county audit. A division of the Sheriff Department's Corrections Bureau, PTS decides which criminal defendants are eligible for court …

$26,000 Paid in WA DOC Guard's Discrimination/Retaliation Claim

Article • October 15, 2005

Filed under: Guards/Staff, Employee Litigation, Disabled Employees

$26,000 Paid in WA DOC Guard's Discrimination/Retaliation Claim by Robert D. Taylor, a guard at Airway Heights Corrections Center, was injured by another guard during an unauthorized drill. Taylor filed a complaint over the drill, as he had sustained a neck injury that required a titanium rod and plate in …

Washington DOC Seizure from Prisoner Savings Fund Policy Upheld

Article • October 15, 2005

Filed under: Money/Property, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Restitution, Trust Accounts

Washington DOC Seizure from Prisoner Savings Fund Policy Upheld by The Washington Court of Appeals rejected a prisoner's challenge to Department of Corrections (DOC) Policy 200.000, requiring that a prisoner's debt to DOC be seized from the prisoner's savings account upon release. DOC is required to place 10 percent of …

Washington DOC May Not Conduct Rehearing of Infraction Being Challenged in Collateral Attack

Article • October 15, 2005

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Witnesses (Disciplinary Hearings), Disciplinary Appeals, Drug Testing

Washington DOC May Not Conduct Rehearing of Infraction Being Challenged in Collateral Attack by Washington DOC May Not Conduct Rehearing of Infraction Being Challenged in Collateral Attack The Washington Court of Appeals, Division III, held that the Department of Corrections (DOC) may not conduct a rehearing of a prison disciplinary …

Washington Prisoner's Uninformed Disciplinary Plea Agreement Upheld

Article • September 15, 2005 • from PLN September, 2005

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Liberty Interests, Sanctions (Disciplinary Hearings)

Washington Prisoner's Uninformed Disciplinary Plea Agreement Upheld by The Washington Court of Appeals, Division I, upheld a prisoner's disciplinary plea agreement even though his punishment was more extensive than what he had agreed to. The agreement was only upheld, however, because no good time was taken. Garridan Nelson, a Washington …

300 More Washington Prisoners Headed to CCA Prisons

Article • September 15, 2005 • from PLN September, 2005

Filed under: Out of State Transfers, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Prison Rebellion, Conditions of Confinement, Overcrowding

300 More Washington Prisoners Headed to CCA Prisons by As we predicted, Washington's sentencing reform" has sharply increased the state's prison population to approximately 17,6001,400 prisoner's overcapacityadding 2,100 prisoners within the last two years alone. Worse yet, nothing, including slashing sentences by up to 50 percent for a few hundred …

Washington DOC Settles Contempt Action For $500,000; Money To Fund Patient Advocate

Article • August 15, 2005 • from PLN August, 2005

Filed under: Systemic Medical Neglect, Civil Procedure, Settlements, Costs, Contempt (Civil Procedure), Sanctions

Washington DOC Settles Contempt Action For $500,000; Money To Fund Patient Advocate by Michael Rigby The Washington Department of Corrections has agreed to pay $500,000 to settle a contempt action stemming from alleged violations of a consent decree governing medical care at the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW). Pending …

Supreme Court Decision Orders Release of 920 Mariel Cubans; ICE: Dumps them In the Streets Without Aid

Article • August 15, 2005 • from PLN August, 2005

Filed under: International, Immigration

Supreme Court Decision Orders Release of 920 Mariel Cubans; ICE: Dumps them In the Streets Without Aid by Mark Wilson Supreme Court Decision Orders Release of 920 Mariel Cubans; ICE: Dumps them In the Streets Without Aid By Mark Wilson In a 7-to-2 decision, the United States Supreme Court expanded …