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Forcing WV Prisoner to Wear Jail Garb At Sentencing Violates Due Process Clauses

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Clothing, Court Access, Court Appearances

Forcing WV Prisoner to Wear Jail Garb At Sentencing Violates Due Process Clauses by Jeffrey Finley, a West Virginia state prisoner, was convicted of murdering his neighbor. The trial court, believing it had unfettered discretion to make him wear jail clothes at sentencing, denied his request to wear street clothing …

Excessive Force, Broken Arm by West Virginia Police Nets Mentally Ill Woman $7,410

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Mental Health, Excessive Force (Police)

Excessive Force, Broken Arm by West Virginia Police Nets Mentally Ill Woman $7,410 by A 71-year-old mentally ill West Virginia Woman was awarded $7,410 for excessive force, resulting in a fractured humerus. Mrs. Willis, a 71-year-old mentally ill woman, was detained at the Wood County Sheriff’s Office. Guards attempted to …

West Virginia Prisoners Can’t use State FOIA for Discovery in State Habeas Actions

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Disclosure of Records, Discovery, Habeas Corpus

West Virginia Prisoners Can’t use State FOIA for Discovery in State Habeas Actions by Roger Wyant and Lorenzo Valentine (Prisoners), both West Virginia state prisoners, challenged their criminal convictions through state Habeas Corpus actions. They sued in State Court to compel a county clerk to provide them with court documents …

West Virginia Police Report of Fight Between Juveniles is a Disclosable Public Record Under State FOIA

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Disclosure of Records, Police

West Virginia Police Report of Fight Between Juveniles is a Disclosable Public Record Under State FOIA by Ogden Newspapers, Inc. (Paper), sued the City of Williamstown in state court to compel disclosure of police reports about a fight between two juveniles, pursuant to the state Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), …

West Virginia Jail Payroll Records not “Public Records” for Purposes of State FOIA

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Disclosure of Records, Guards/Staff, Guard Unions

West Virginia Jail Payroll Records not “Public Records” for Purposes of State FOIA by The Affiliated Construction Trades Foundation sued a West Virginia jail in state court to compel the compilation and disclosure of payroll records for jail guards, pursuant to the state Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), W.Va. Code …

Disciplinary Rule Description Rather than Title Controls

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Prisoner-Staff Assault, Sexual Harassment, Prisoner-Staff Harassment, Disciplinary Litigation, Notice of Charges

Disciplinary Rule Description Rather than Title Controls by The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has held that "it is the content of what is contained under a title that is critical in most instances, not the title" of a "disciplinary rule"(DR). That ruling comes in the appeal of a …

West Virginia Supreme Court Rules on Litigious Prisoners

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Court Access, Filing Fees, Sanctions

West Virginia Supreme Court Rules on Litigious Prisoners by John Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals reacted to what the Randolph County court perceived to be overly aggressive pro per habeas litigation by two state prisoners. At issue ultimately was the tension between the …

Expert Witness Fees Not Recoverable Under 42 U.S.C. § 1988

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorneys, Attorney Fee Awards, Expert Witnesses

Expert Witness Fees Not Recoverable Under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 by Expert Witness Fees Not Recoverable Under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 The United States Supreme Court held in a West Virginia case that fees for services rendered by experts in civil rights litigation may not be shifted to the losing …

W.VA Prisoner Forced to Receive Medical Treatment to Prevent Death, But Have Right to Refuse Treatment When Death is Inevitable

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Organizing, Hunger Strikes, Consent to Treatment

W.VA Prisoner Forced to Receive Medical Treatment to Prevent Death, But Have Right to Refuse Treatment When Death is Inevitable by W.VA Prisoner Forced to Receive Medical Treatment to Prevent Death, But Have Right to Refuse Treatment When Death is Inevitable The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals held that …

Deponents Must Explain Changes to Testimony

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Depositions

Deponents Must Explain Changes to Testimony by A witness made substantive changes to his deposition testimony and could not explain them. Rule 30(e) permits changes both in form and substance. A deponent who makes such changes may be subject to the reopening of the deposition concerning them. However, the rule …

Eventual HCV Diagnosis Fails to State Claim

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Medical, Misdiagnosis, Hepatitis

Eventual HCV Diagnosis Fails to State Claim by The plaintiff complained of pain in his right side, saw doctors, got pain medication, an x-ray, an ultrasound examination, and tests of stool samples. Eventually he was diagnosed with Hepatitis C. The defendants were not deliberately indifferent. See: Davis v. Williamson, 208 …

Court Rejects Challenge to West Virginia Parole Denial

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Liberty Interests, Sentencing, Parole

Court Rejects Challenge to West Virginia Parole Denial by In West Virginia, the state Supreme Court says parole is a liberty interest. However, the Fourth Circuit says that only "minimal procedure" is required--at most, a statement of reasons for parole denial. (629) The fact that the petitioner's parole hearing was …

Court Can Raise Exhaustion Issues Sua Sponte

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Administrative Exhaustion

Court Can Raise Exhaustion Issues Sua Sponte by At 490: District courts should enforce the exhaustion requirement sua sponte if not raised by the prisoner. Id.: "Bowman has offered no evidence that he pursued his complaints through all three steps of the grievance process, and it is therefore an undisputed …

Challenge to Prison Library Purge Properly Exhausted

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Reading Materials, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Mail, Publications/Books, Sexually Explicit Materials, Access to Media, Censorship

Challenge to Prison Library Purge Properly Exhausted by Plaintiff challenged prison censorship on the ground that similar books to those he was denied were in the prison library; so they purged the prison library of 21% of its contents, e.g., Sophie's Choice, Myra Breckinridge, and "a number of works by …

Searches of West Virginia Prisoners Leaving Exercise Yard Upheld

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Prison/Common Area Searches, Conditions of Confinement, Exercise

Searches of West Virginia Prisoners Leaving Exercise Yard Upheld by Routine searches upon leaving a recreation yard of high-security segregation prisoners are upheld under Turner. The practice is rationally related to defendants' security concerns of protecting staff from weapons and preventing the exchange of contraband. There are alternative means of …

Civil Defendants Must Pay for Plaintiff's Deposition Copy

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Costs, Discovery, Depositions

Civil Defendants Must Pay for Plaintiff's Deposition Copy by A West Virginia federal district court ordered the Defendants, in a civil case brought by a prisoner/plaintiff proceeding in forma pauperis, to pay the court reporter's bill for the plaintiff's copy of a deposition initiated by the Defendant's. The Court stated …

Disciplinary Charges Immaterial to Criminal Trial for Same Incident

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Prompt Hearings, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Ad-Seg Hearings

Disciplinary Charges Immaterial to Criminal Trial for Same Incident by The criminal defendant was placed in administrative segregation after he was discovered to have ingested 25 balloons of marijuana. Five months later, he was indicted. He alleged that he was not given a copy of his incident report or adequate …

West Virginia Prisoner's Claiming Physical or Sexual Abuse Exempt from Administrative Exhaustion Req

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Medication, Failure to Protect (General), Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA)

West Virginia Prisoner's Claiming Physical or Sexual Abuse Exempt from Administrative Exhaustion Req by West Virginia Prisoner's Claiming Physical or Sexual Abuse Exempt from Administrative Exhaustion Requirement The Supreme court of Appeals of West Virginia has held that a prisoner alleging past, current, or imminent physical or sexual abuse is …

Pro Se Suit against CMS and Aramark Dismissed

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Private Prisons, CMS, Food/Commissary (Private Prisons), Physical Injury Rule, Mootness, Contractor Liability

Pro Se Suit against CMS and Aramark Dismissed by The plaintiff's release from prison moots his request for declaratory and injunctive relief. The plaintiff's claim for "emotional and psychological deterioration" resulting from bad prison conditions is barred by the PLRA mental/emotional injury provision. Some circuits have held that punitive damages …

BOP Ad-Seg Conditions on Political Prisoner Limited

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Political Prisoners, Civil Procedure, Injunctions, Ad-Seg Hearings

BOP Ad-Seg Conditions on Political Prisoner Limited by Rita Brown was a member of the George Jackson Brigade (GJB), a Marxist urban guerrilla group that was active in the Pacific Northwest in the late 1970's and early 1098's. The group carried out bombings and bank robberies. Brown was imprisoned in …