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Appeal for Summary Judgment Upheld for Qualified Immunity

Article • August 24, 2016

Filed under: Guard Brutality/Beatings, Qualified Immunity

Appeal for Summary Judgment Upheld for Qualified Immunity by The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Georgia Federal District Court’s order granting dismissal of a lawsuit alleging use of excessive force on a prisoner. On January 28, 2007, Reginald Fennell was arrested for several misdemeanor charges. As he was …

City Commissioners agree to a 2.6 Million Dollar Settlement in the Rachel Hoffman Case

Article • August 24, 2016

Filed under: War on Drugs, Police--Excessive Force

City Commissioners agree to a 2.6 Million Dollar Settlement in the Rachel Hoffman Case by Thirty minutes after a jury had been selected in the Rachel Hoffman Civil Case. City Commissioners in Tallahassee Florida went into a closed door meeting and voted 3-2 in favor of a 2.6 million dollar …

California: Trendsetter... as Always

Article • August 24, 2016

Filed under: Private Prisons, Prison Reform, Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems

California: Trendsetter... as Always by Item: California's 33 state prisons are operating at 190 percent of capacity. On January 10, 2002, Governor Gray Davis responded to this crisis by proposing to close five prisons with 1,400 beds. Item: California is facing a $20 billion budget shortfall. It costs $70 per …

Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity for Michigan DOC Officials

Article • August 24, 2016

Filed under: RLUIPA, Qualified Immunity, Publications/Books, First Amendment, Religious Property

Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity for Michigan DOC Officials by On February 6, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a denial of qualified immunity for three Michigan prison officials accused of violating the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalize Persons …

Civil Suit Against Wise County, Virginia for Case of Mistaken Identity

Article • August 24, 2016

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Wrongful Imprisonment, Overdetention

Civil Suit Against Wise County, Virginia for Case of Mistaken Identity by In a case of mistaken identity, an innocent man residing in Memphis, Tennessee was extradited to a regional jail in Wise County, Virginia where he remained incarcerated for more than three months. Once the Commonwealth’s Attorney could be …

11th Circuit Affirms Judgment for Prison Officials in Violence Case

Article • August 24, 2016

Filed under: Failure to Protect (General), Eighth Amendment

11th Circuit Affirms Judgment for Prison Officials in Violence Case by The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed on April 2, 2014, the lower court's grant of summary judgment for the defendants in a §1983 claim weighed by plaintiff Jody O'Neil Harrison, seeking damages for injuries …

$12,000 Settlement for Treatment at CCA Prison

Article • August 24, 2016

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic

$12,000 Settlement for Treatment at CCA Prison by Corrections Corporation of America paid $12,000 to settle a lawsuit by a prisoner Johnny A. Walsh for claims related to his treatment at the Silverdale Detention Center in Tennessee. The October 2005 confidential settlement was obtained via public records request by PLN. …

$4,000 Settlement in Assault at CCA Prison

Article • August 24, 2016

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Failure to Protect (Juveniles)

$4,000 Settlement in Assault at CCA Prison by Corrections Corporation of America paid $4,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging a guard at the Shelby Training Center in Tennessee assaulted a juvenile, Brandon D. Jones. The April 2006 confidential settlement was obtained via public records request by PLN. The complaint was …

$2 Million Settlement in Detroit Prisoners Heart Attack Death

Article • August 24, 2016

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Medical Misconduct, Cardiovascular, Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

$2 Million Settlement in Detroit Prisoners Heart Attack Death by The city of Detroit paid $2 million to settle a lawsuit that claimed guards ignored pleas of James Stone as he complained for hours that he was experiencing chest pain. Stone, arrested for a parole violation, died in August 2005 …

Tennessee Woman Award $71,343 in Attorney Fees in Public Records Suit

Article • August 24, 2016

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, Public Records

Tennessee Woman Award $71,343 in Attorney Fees in Public Records Suit by A Tennessee Appeals Court awarded $71,343 in attorney fees to a woman who brought suit to obtain public records. Rebecca Little sought records about sewer and other improvements the city of Chattanooga annexed in 1972. The Hamilton County …

Oregon Nurse Resigns Over 2-Year Affair with Mental Patient

Article • August 24, 2016

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Mental Health

Oregon Nurse Resigns Over 2-Year Affair with Mental Patient by A registered nurse at the Oregon State Hospital (OSH) sexually abused a mental patient for two years, according to a recently released state investigation report. While employed at OSH, registered nurse Jennifer Barren appears to have engaged in a long-term …

Oregon Judges Implicitly Authorized to Order Involuntary Psychotropic Medication

Article • August 24, 2016

Filed under: Involuntary Treatment/Drugging

Oregon Judges Implicitly Authorized to Order Involuntary Psychotropic Medication by In a case of first impression, on March 20, 2014, the En Banc Oregon Supreme Court held that Oregon law implicitly authorizes trial courts to order involuntary psychotropic medication to restore a criminal defendant’s trial competency. The Court held, however, …

Oregon Court Improperly Holds Library Denial Claim is Heck-Barred

Article • August 24, 2016

Filed under: Law Library Access/Adequacy

Oregon Court Improperly Holds Library Denial Claim is Heck-Barred by On July 31, 2014, an Oregon federal court erroneously dismissed a denial of law library claim, as barred by Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994). On August 2, 2002, Seth Edwin Koch was convicted of two counts of Aggravated …

7th Circuit Affirms as Proper Jury Instructions on Intent and Harm Elements of Excessive Force Claim Brought by Wisconsin Pretrial Detainee

Article • August 24, 2016

Filed under: Jail Misconduct, Eighth Amendment, Jail Specific, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers

7th Circuit Affirms as Proper Jury Instructions on Intent and Harm Elements of Excessive Force Claim Brought by Wisconsin Pretrial Detainee by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has affirmed a lower court’s use of jury instructions including harm and subjective intent elements of a use of …

Alabama Ends Prison Farming Operations

Article • August 24, 2016

Filed under: Prison Industries, Prison Labor

Alabama Ends Prison Farming Operations by Citing lack of profit, the Alabama Correctional Industries (ACI) ended its farming operations; ACI was formalized in 1976 with the “Prison-Made Goods Act.” It had been unprofitable for years leading up to the restructuring announced in 2007. “I want ACI to be a profit …

Wyoming Prisoner Not Denied Right to Speedy Trial, Properly Denied Continuance

Article • August 24, 2016

Filed under: Due Process

Wyoming Prisoner Not Denied Right to Speedy Trial, Properly Denied Continuance by The Wyoming Supreme Court has held that a prisoner was not denied the right to a speedy trial and that the lower court did not abuse its discretion by denying the prisoner’s motion for continuance. Rene Vargas, a …

Michigan’s Civil Rights Act Applies to Pretrial Detainees

Article • August 24, 2016

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Staff-Prisoner Harassment, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Jail Specific

Michigan’s Civil Rights Act Applies to Pretrial Detainees by In reversing a grant of summary judgment to jail officials, Michigan’s Court of Appeals held that the Michigan Civil Rights Act (CRA) does not exclude all people detained in a correctional facility. Rather, it only excludes those who are “serving a …

Pennsylvania Policy Requiring Control Number for Qualification as Legal Mail Unconstitutional

Article • August 24, 2016

Filed under: Mail Regulations, Legal Mail

Pennsylvania Policy Requiring Control Number for Qualification as Legal Mail Unconstitutional by David Reutter Finding that no legitimate penological interest existed to support a Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PDOC) policy that required a PDOC-issued control number be included on correspondence for it to qualify as legal mail, a Pennsylvania U.S. …

Lawsuit Challenging BOP’s Ban on Face-to-Face Media Interviews Continues

Article • August 24, 2016

Filed under: Death Row, Access to Media, First Amendment

Lawsuit Challenging BOP’s Ban on Face-to-Face Media Interviews Continues by The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a jury could conclude the Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) ban on face-to-face interviews with death row prisoners was not based on security threats related to such prisoners becoming jailhouse celebrities and …

California: Prisoner Not Entitled to Points Reduction in Classification Score Unless Actually Participating in Programs

Article • August 24, 2016

Filed under: Class Certification, Good Time

California: Prisoner Not Entitled to Points Reduction in Classification Score Unless Actually Participating in Programs by Michael Brodheim In a published case, the California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District has held that a prisoner is not entitled to a reduction in his or her classification score for …