Fifth Circuit Allows Sexual-Orientation Discrimination in Texas Prisoner Rape Suit by Matthew Clarke by Matthew T. Clarke The Fifth Circuit court of appeals held that a homosexual prisoner who prison officials allegedly allowed to be repeatedly sexually assaulted and made a sex slave may sue the prison officials for both …
Judges Of Death by Mumia Abu-Jamal As the nation pondered the fate of a young California man being sentenced to death, the case of another man, one lesser-known, one without wealth or whiteness, comes back before the nation's highest court, after having been shunted through a series of killing courts …
Mailbox Rule Applies to Texas Prisoners Civil Filings by The Texas Supreme Court has held that the mailbox rule applies to civil litigation filed by Texas prisoners in Texas state courts, overruling at least two previous court of appeals decisions. Charles Clay Warner, Jr., a Texas state prisoner, brought suit …
Texas County, Deputy Settle Sex Assault Case For $50,000 by A woman who claimed she was sexually assaulted by a Kleberg County, Texas, sheriff's deputy has settled her civil rights lawsuit against the county and the deputy for $50,000. On May 16, 2001, Sarah Jean Hernandez, 22, was arrested at …
Texas "Gang Expert" Indicted for Sex Assaults by On June 17, 2004, top Texas prison administrator Salvador "Sammy" Buentello was indicted on felony charges that he sexually assaulted three female employees of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). A week earlier Buentello had been indicted on four misdemeanor charges …
Texas Supreme Court clarifies Procedures For Civil Court Prisoner Appearances by Texas Supreme Court Clarifies Procedures For Civil Court Prisoner Appearances by Matthew T. Clarke The Supreme Court of Texas recently clarified the procedures a prisoner must follow to secure the right to personally appear in a civil court proceeding. …
Prisons, Profits and Prophets by Bill Berkowitz The nation's largest private prison corporation is joining forces with conservative faith-based ministries by Bill Berkowitz In an era where the Bush Administration touts faith-based organizations as engines of individual and social transformation, and is actively recruiting and funding religious organizations to deliver …
Fifth Circuit Affirms Termination of Guajardo (Texas Prison Mail) Suit by By Matthew T. Clarke On March 16, 2004, the Fifth Circuit issued a per curiam opinion affirming the district court's termination of the 20-year-old consent decree which had regulated prisoner mail in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). …
Texas Prison Guard's Sentence for Rape Reinstated by Texas Prison Guard's Sentence For Rape Reinstated The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has reinstated the sentence of a Texas prison guard who had impersonated a police officer, using a fake badge to coerce women into sex acts. Charles Melvin Page, a …
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Clarifies Law Crediting "Street Time" by by Matthew T. Clarke The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has recently clarified the meaning of the recent statute allowing the award of parole "street time" credits for prisoners convicted of non-violent crimes. Lucian Lee Spann and Andrew Michael …
Texas Prisoner's Retaliation Claim Survives Summary Judgment by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth. Circuit reversed a district court's dismissal of a prisoner's complaint that prison officials retaliated against him for exercising his right to file a grievance. Robert Hart, 38, is a prisoner at the 2,800-man Albert …
The American Correctional Association A Fraud on Texas Taxpayers by C.C. Simmons The American Correctional Association A Fraud on Texas Taxpayers by C. C. Simmons In June, 2002, the Texas state prison system was finally released from 29 years of federal court oversight. The longest running civil rights class-action lawsuit …
Administrative Remedies Deemed Unavailable Based on Physical Injury by Bob Williams Administrative Remedies Deemed Unavailable Based On Physical Injury By Bob Williams The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that administrative remedies are unavailable when a prisoner has a physical injury which prevents filing a grievance and a subsequently …
Prison Guards With Criminal Records Work in Texas Prison by Gary Hunter Over ten percent of the guards at the Lyncher State Jail, near Houston Texas, are convicted felons themselves. Houston television station. KPRC uncovered court files showing that about thirty of the guards had served time. Some are repeat …
Texas Prisoners Have Right to Specific Notice of Mandatory Supervision Hearing by by Matthew T. Clarke On May 19, 2004, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) issued a revised opinion holding that a prisoner being considered for denial of mandatory supervision release has the right to specific notice of …
Austin, Texas, Settles Wrongful Conviction Suit for $9 Million by by Matthew T. Clarke On July 17, 2003, the City of Austin, Texas settled for $9 million a suit brought by the guardian of a wrongfully convicted Texas prisoner. Richard Danziger, 31, a wrongfully convicted Texas state prisoner, spent 12 …
Survivors of Prisoner Killed in Texas County Jail Awarded $2,500,000 by On May 20, 2003, a state district court in El Paso, Texas, awarded $2.5 million in damages plus attorney fees and court costs of $393,518 to the surviving spouse, daughter and estate of a man who died while imprisoned …
Mentally Ill Texas Prisoner Not Entitled to Hepatitis Treatment by Mentally Ill Texas Prisoner Not Entitled To Hepatitis Treatment In this unpublished decision by a three judge panel, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held on March 19, 2004, that the failure of Texas prison officials to treat a …
Federal DNA Statute Not Challengeable in Criminal Appeal by Federal DNA Statute Not Challengeable In Criminal Appeal The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has held that 42 U.S.C. § 14135 et seq. (the Act) may not be challenged on a direct criminal appeal or habeas proceeding. The …
Texas Boot Camp Denied Immunity for Ignoring Serious Medical Needs by Texas Boot Camp Denied Immunity for Ignoring Serious Medical Needs The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court's denial of official immunity for boot camp operators who were negligent and deliberately indifferent to a …
