Washington Jail Settles Wrongful Death Suit For $1.6 Million by Michael Rigby On October 12, 2004, Jefferson County, Washington, agreed to pay $1.6 million to settle a lawsuit arising from the wrongful death of Kevin Bledsoe in the Jefferson County Jail. The settlement is one of the largest ever for …
Washington Prison's Water System and Meat Contaminated With Feces by Roger Smith On August 20, 2004, fecal coliform and E. coli were found in the water system at the McNeil Island Correction Center (MICC) near Steilacoom, Washington. E. coli was also found in about 6,000 pounds of ground beef produced …
Washington ISRB Departure From Standard Sentencing Range Upheld by Washington ISRB Departure from Standard Sentencing Range Upheld The Washington Supreme Court has affirmed the State Indeterminate Sentence Review Board's (ISRB) extension of a sex offender's sentence beyond the standard range under the state's Sentencing Reform Act (SRA). Chapter 9.94A RCW. …
Washington Supreme Court Rejects Federal Mail-Box Rule by The Washington State Supreme Court has rejected the federal mail-box rule, under which pro se prisoners' pleadings are deemed filed when they are given to prison officials for mailing to the court. This ruling was based on differences between state and federal …
Washington Prison Labor Program Struck Down by Paul Wright by Roger Smith & Paul Wright In a rare reversal of its own prior ruling, the Washington state supreme court has ruled that the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) must stop "letting out" convict labor to private businesses. The court found …
Iowa Sex Offender Residence Restrictions Unconstitutional by by Matthew T. Clarke A federal court in Iowa has held that the residential restrictions placed upon sex offenders by Iowa Code § 692A.2A are unconstitutional. John Does I-III, Iowa sex offenders, filed a class-action suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in Iowa …
Last Chance For Washington Prisoners To Request Postconviction DNA Testing is December 31, 2004 by Washington state prisoners who believe DNA evidence may prove their innocence must file a request for postconviction DNA testing by December 31, 2004. Starting January 1, 2005, a defendant must raise DNA issues at trial …
Washington Police Kill Unarmed Escapee in Botched Raid; Prisoner Also Killed by Michael Rigby Washington Police Kill Unarmed Escapee In Botched Raid; Prisoner also Killed By Michael Rigby One day after he used a fake gun to escape from a courthouse in Tacoma, Washington, a "three-strikes" prisoner was killed by …
Challenge To Washington Felon Disenfranchisement Scheme Remanded For Racial Bias Test by John E Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that the broader "totality of the circumstances" standard must be used rather than just a narrower statistical burden when testing for racial bias …
Wrongfully Convicted Pennsylvania Prisoner Settles for $2.3 Million; Forensics Expert Fired by A wrongfully convicted ex-prisoner who spent 15-years in a Pennsylvania prison got modest compensation from the government that imprisoned him by winning a $2.3 million settlement in the lawsuits he filed. In Washington state, a forensic scientist was …
Four Prisoners Injured in Shooting at Washington D.C. Jail by Four prisoners were injured in a shooting in the maximum security section of the Washington D.C. jail just after 2 p.m. on December 20, 2003. The shooting appeared to be a prisoner-on-prisoner assault, said Corrections Department spokesman Darryl J. Madden. …
Washington Jail Trustees Entitled to L&I Benefits by Division 3 of the Washington State Court of Appeals (Div. 3) has ruled that county jail trustees who are hurt while performing their duties are entitled to benefits from Labor & Industries (L&I) under RCW § 51.12.035 et seq. In July of …
Washington Jail Settles Conditions Lawsuit by On October 6, 2003 officials in Jefferson County, Washington settled a class action lawsuit filed by a Jefferson County Jail prisoner. The suit alleged inhumane living conditions and resulted in sweeping changes in jail policy. On February 25, 2002 Shawn Orndorff, a prisoner at …
Manipulation of Crime Statistics and Use of Tax Dollars for Campaigning Revealed by David Reutter by David M. Reutter The public entrusts its law enforcement officials to protect it from crime and to use the tax dollars it provides to fulfill that duty. The manipulation of that trust has come …
Washington Agencies Must Explain Reasons for Denying Public Disclosure Requests by Washington Agencies Must Explain Reasons for Denying Public Disclosure Requests Division II of the Washington State Court of Appeals has reversed a trial court's dismissal of an action challenging the state Department of Corrections' (DOC) denial of a request …
Washington Court Establishes Procedures for Community Placement Violation Hearings by Washington Court Establishes Procedures for Community Placement Violation Hearings In two recent decisions, Division One of the Washington Court of Appeals set forth the procedures that trial courts must follow when conducting sentence modification hearings. A sentence modification hearing is …
Washington Persistent Prison Misbehavior Statute Upheld by Division II of the Washington State Court of Appeals (Division II) has upheld RCW 9.94.070. The statute makes persistent "serious" prison misbehavior a Class C felony. Joseph Simmons was a Washington State prisoner serving time at the McNeil Island Correction Center situated near …
Washington DOC Fined $60,000 for Bogus Water Pollution Reports by The Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) has fined the state Department of Corrections (DOC) $60,000 for falsifying water pollution reports. The fine was levied after the DOE discovered that officials at the McNeil Island Correction Center (MICC) near Steilacoom, …
Washington State Prison Continues To Pollute Local Environment Despite Repeated Citations by John E Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg Toxic and hazardous waste from Walla Walla State Penitentiary (WSP) continues today to pollute City of Walla Walla air and public water resources, notwithstanding fourteen years of administrative litigation stemming from …
Interest on Legal Financial Obligations Not Dischargeable in Bankruptcy by Interest on Legal Financial Obligations Not Dischargeable in Bankruptcy The Washington Court of Appeals held that interest which accrues statutorily on legal financial obligations (LFOs) is not dischargeable in bankruptcy proceedings. In 1992, Carol Cunningham was convicted of various drug …
