$75,000 Settlement in Utah Jail Prisoner’s Suicide by $75,000 Settlement in Utah Jail Prisoner’s Suicide Officials at the Salt Lake City Jail settled a lawsuit involving a prisoner’s suicide for $75,000. The settlement came in the hanging death of Arthur Henderson. When he was booked on January 28, 2006, Henderson …
Utah Sex Offender Internet Registry Statute Violates First Amendment by Mark Wilson On September 25, 2008, a federal court in Utah enjoined the enforcement of an amended statute requiring the state’s 7,000 registered sex offenders to report all of their Internet identifiers, including user names, passwords and website addresses. In …
Religious Sincerity, Not Necessity, Satisfies Free Exercise Claim by Utah State prisoner Karl Kay appealed the dismissal of his § 1983 action for denial of religious materials, parole based due process violations and retaliation for seeking counsel. The court reversed dismissal of his religious materials denial claim, affirmed the balance …
$80,000 Settlement in Utah Jail Prisoner’s Suicide by The private medical provider at Utah’s Salt Lake County Jail (SLCJ) has settled a lawsuit in a prisoner’s suicide for $80,000. The lawsuit was originally filed in federal court, but landed in state court prior to the settlement. After Jeremy Ruybal, 27, …
$449,000 Settlement in BIA Prisoner’s Fall from Top Bunk in Detox Cell by $449,000 Settlement in BIA Prisoner’s Fall from Top Bunk in Detox Cell The United States has settled a lawsuit alleging negligent supervision and observation of a prisoner who fell from a top bunk. While the settlement was …
Firing of Work Release Intern for TV Interview Upheld by A student intern was terminated from her position at a halfway house for sex offenders for giving a television interview in which she criticized a proposed policy change. Her interest in free speech was outweighed by the state's interest in …
No Federal Right to Safe Workplace for Jail Guards by The plaintiff jail employee alleged that she was injured as a result of contamination in the jail ventilation system (raw sewage was leaking into the air supply). There is no federal constitutional right to a safe workplace. There is no …
Jail Liable for Rape of Women Prisoners; Short Duration of Bad Conditions Okay by The two female plaintiffs were sexually assaulted by a jailer while serving 48-hour sentences for minor offenses. The jailer was subsequently fired and pled guilty to criminal charges as to one plaintiff. At 1307 n. 5: …
Complaint Against Utah DOC for Non-Delivery of PLN Fails Because Defendants Only Negligent; Jail Publication Ban Illegal by John Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has rejected several Utah-based civil rights complaints concerning the denial of reading material to prisoners, including issues of Prison …
Utah High School Discrimination Survey Results Ordered Disclosed by Nevada-based T.V. station KUTV, Inc., and reporter Carl Idsvoog (media) appealed the production denial of survey results stemming from discrimination allegations against Box Elder High School in Utah. The issue was remanded for redacted production after an in camera inspection. The …
Flurry of Escapes Emphasizes Prisoners' Desperation by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Last September produced a bumper crop of prison and jail escapes around the country, including a desperate escape by two Texas prisoners that resulted in the death of a guard, a car jacking and two shootouts. Plus a …
Utah Prisoner Kills Guard During Escape While on Medical Transport by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On June 25, 2007, a Utah state prisoner shot and killed a prison guard while escaping from a hospital where he had been taken to receive an MRI. The escape occurred at the …
Utah DOC Audit: Ingrained Staff Cronyism Stymies Workplace Effectiveness by John Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg A December 2006 state audit of the Utah Department of Corrections (UDC) found that entrenched upper management personnel lacked vision and innovation, while they selectively allowed punishable staff "indiscretions" to be swept under the …
Management & Training Corp. Struggles to Maintain Market Share by Gary Hunter For-profit private prison operator Management & Training Corporation (MTC) has recently lost lucrative contracts to run prisons in the United States and Canada. While the private prison industry is dominated by industry giants Corrections Corporation of America, Geo …
Tenth Circuit Upholds Injunction Against Juvenile Mail Censorship by The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court's holding that a Utah private school for youths with behavioral problems violated the First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of the students by monitoring and censoring their outgoing mail and forcing the …
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Serious Medical Need by The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a jury may find that obsessive-compulsive disorder is a serious medical need that must be recognized by arresting officers and jail officials. This 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 action asserted claims for excessive force, unlawful arrest, deliberate …
Heightened Security Measures For Indicted Prison Gang Member Warranted by A U.S. district court held that heightened security measures placed on an alleged prison gang member were warranted. While a Utah state prisoner, Miguel Flores was indicted for a number of violations of the Racketeer influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act …
Utah: $490,000 Verdict for Untreated Hypertension, Vision Loss, Renal Failure by On November 25, 1992, a Utah jury awarded $490,000 to a state prisoner who suffered vision loss and renal failure because prison medical personnel failed to treat his hypertension. While imprisoned at the Utah State Prison, the plaintiff, 30, …
$1 Awarded To Utah Prisoner After Untimely Appeal Fails by Former Utah pre trial detainee Charles Farnsworth filed a Federal civil rights complaint against Salt Lake County Sheriff Aaron Kennard, the Salt Lake County Jail, and Salt Lake County Jail Captain David Glad, alleging denial of his First Amendment rights …
No Law Library Required When Defendant Has Standby Counsel by The criminal defendant elected to defend himself but contends that he should have had access to a law library. At 1051: . . . [P]retrial detainees are not entitled to law library usage if other available means of access to …
