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Carey et.al. v. Commissioner of Correction, MA, drug-sniffing dogs, order, 2018

Brief • April 19, 2018

Filed under: Allergy, Searches, Visitor Searches, Security Systems

Carey et.al. v. Commissioner of Correction, MA, drug-sniffing dogs, order, 2018 NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter …

Prisons and Jails Impose More Restrictions on Mail, Visits to Curtail Contraband

Article • April 2, 2018 • from PLN April, 2018

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Clothing, Mail Regulations, Visiting, PLN Litigation

Prisons and Jails Impose More Restrictions on Mail, Visits to Curtail Contraband by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Citing a need to stop the smuggling of drugs and other contraband, some prisons and jails have placed new and stringent restrictions on both prisoner mail and visitation. Beginning in April 2017, …

Dunn v. Barry and Nguyent, wrongful death complaint, 2018

Brief • March 27, 2018

Filed under: Failure to Treat, Drug Overdose, Wrongful Death, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights

Dunn v. Barry and Nguyent, wrongful death complaint, 2018 Case 1:18-cv-10581 Document 1 Filed 03/27/18 Page 1 of 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS __________________________________________ ) ANNE DUNN and ANTHONY DUNN, ) as representatives of the ESTATE OF SAM DUNN, ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. …

Prosecutor Deciding Disparate Sentencing for Drug Convictions

Article • March 12, 2018

Filed under: Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, War on Drugs, Prosecutors, Sentencing

Prosecutor Deciding Disparate Sentencing for Drug Convictions by Mark Wilson by Mark Wilson The Massachusetts Supreme Court held that the prosecutor, not the judge, determines the applicable sentence under drug laws that authorize two different sentences for the same conduct. Massachusetts General Law, chapter 94C, section 32A criminalizes the distribution …

Fowler et al. v. Commissioner of MA Department of Correction, MA, Settlement, Hepatitis C Medical Treatment, 2018

Brief • March 9, 2018

Filed under: Medication, Hepatitis, Failure to Treat, Eighth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights

Fowler et al. v. Commissioner of MA Department of Correction, MA, Settlement, Hepatitis C Medical Treatment, 2018

Fowler v. Turco, MA, Motion to Approve Settlement, HepC Treatment, 2018

Brief • March 9, 2018

Filed under: Systemic Medical Neglect, Hepatitis, Conditions of Confinement

Fowler v. Turco, MA, Motion to Approve Settlement, HepC Treatment, 2018 Case 1:15-cv-12298-NMG Document 90 Filed 03/09/18 Page 1 of 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS JEFFREY FOWLER, PAUL WHOOTEN, MICHAEL TURNER, and MICHAEL FITZPATRICK on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. …

Federal Judge Grants Compassionate Release but Questions BOP’s Motivation

Article • March 6, 2018 • from PLN March, 2018

Filed under: Sentencing, Parole Conditions

Federal Judge Grants Compassionate Release but Questions BOP’s Motivation by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis U.S. District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf, who has written judicial opinions in cases involving former mobster and FBI informant James “Whitey” Bulger, knows a rat when he sees one. And when he was presented …

Mississippi Attorney General Settles with Third Company in Epps Bribery Scandal

Article • March 6, 2018 • from PLN March, 2018

Filed under: Private Prisons, Attorneys General, Telephones

Mississippi Attorney General Settles with Third Company in Epps Bribery Scandal by Monte McCoin by Monte McCoin PLN has previously covered the continuing fallout from a massive bribery scandal involving former Mississippi DOC Commissioner Christopher B. Epps, including RICO lawsuits filed by Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood against several companies …

Briggs v. Massachusetts Department of Correction, MA, Deposition, Medical Neglect of the Hearing Deficit, 2018

Brief • February 2, 2018

Filed under: Hearing

Briggs v. Massachusetts Department of Correction, MA, Deposition, Medical Neglect of the Hearing Deficit, 2018 Page 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS DOCKET NO. 15-CV-40162 - - - - - - - - - - - - …

First Circuit: Massachusetts Not Liable for State Employees' Punitive Damages

Article • January 3, 2018

Filed under: Guard Brutality/Beatings, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death)

First Circuit: Massachusetts Not Liable for State Employees' Punitive Damages by On September 18, 2015, the First Circuit Court of Appeals held that the former governor and attorney general of Massachusetts could not be sued for failing to indemnify punitive damages awarded against state employees in a civil rights action. …

$70,000 Settlement to Female Prison Visitor Who Was Strip-Searched

Article • December 27, 2017

Filed under: Strip Searches

$70,000 Settlement to Female Prison Visitor Who Was Strip-Searched by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, along with the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, Superintendent of the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center (SBCC) Anthony Mendonsa and SBCC prison guards Jonathan W. Thomas, Carlos M. Goden, Jr., Mark A. Verdini and …

MA Supreme Court: Registration Not Mandatory for Juvenile Sex Offenders

Article • December 26, 2017

Filed under: Sex Offender Registration, Juveniles

MA Supreme Court: Registration Not Mandatory for Juvenile Sex Offenders by Matthew Clarke On February 17, 2017, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that sex offender registration and GPS monitoring were not mandatory for a juvenile who had been convicted of a sex offense and adjudicated both as a …

Massachusetts: Reform Legislation Introduced after Study on Solitary Confinement Published

Article • December 5, 2017 • from PLN December, 2017

Filed under: Prison Reform, Conditions of Confinement, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

Massachusetts: Reform Legislation Introduced after Study on Solitary Confinement Published by Lonnie Burton by Lonnie Burton A “white paper” published in November 2016 by Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts (PLSM) found that while the use of solitary confinement in the state was widespread, it did not produce provable cost-effectiveness or …

First Circuit Reverses Convictions of Massachusetts Probation Officials

Article • December 5, 2017 • from PLN December, 2017

Filed under: Parole Board Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Probation

First Circuit Reverses Convictions of Massachusetts Probation Officials by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis In December 19, 2016, the First Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the convictions of several former public officials in Massachusetts for their roles in a hiring scheme at the Office of the Commissioner of Probation (OCP). …

$816,000 Cut to $100,000 for Prisoner Injured by Circular Saw

Article • December 1, 2017

Filed under: Prison Labor, Workplace Injury, Work Conditions/Safety, Skeletal Injury

$816,000 Cut to $100,000 for Prisoner Injured by Circular Saw by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis A Massachusetts state prisoner who worked in a prison industry workshop was awarded $816,000 in compensation for an injury sustained while working with a circular saw. The August 2, 2013 award would have been …

Commonwealth v. Morin, MA, Appeal, Ineffective Counsel, 2017

Brief • November 21, 2017

Filed under: Fourth Amendment, rights, Sixth Amendment, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Commonwealth v. Morin, MA, Appeal, Ineffective Counsel, 2017 NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme …

Commonwealth v. J.A (juvenile), MA, Appeal, Motion to Dismiss, 2017

Brief • November 20, 2017

Filed under: Juveniles, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders, Juvenile Adjudications

Commonwealth v. J.A (juvenile), MA, Appeal, Motion to Dismiss, 2017 NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of …

USA v. Gordon, MA, Opinion, Attempted Plot to Murder, 2017

Brief • November 7, 2017

Filed under: Sentencing

USA v. Gordon, MA, Opinion, Attempted Plot to Murder, 2017 United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit No. 16-1896 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appellee, v. ANDREW GORDON, Defendant, Appellant. APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS [Hon. Patti B. Saris, U.S. District Judge] …

Commonwealth v. VIllalobos, MA, Appeal, Involuntary Manslaughter, 2017

Brief • October 26, 2017

Filed under: Appeals/Appellate Jurisdiction, Manslaughter, Juror Misconduct Issues

Commonwealth v. VIllalobos, MA, Appeal, Involuntary Manslaughter, 2017 NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme …

N.M. (juvenile) v. Commonwealth, MA, Appeal, Interlocutory Review, 2017

Brief • October 10, 2017

Filed under: Interlocutory Appeals, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders, Indictment/Information

N.M. (juvenile) v. Commonwealth, MA, Appeal, Interlocutory Review, 2017 NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, …