Nominal Damages Upheld in Excessive Force Case by The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury award of only nominal damages in a case involving excessive force by New York State prison guards. Vincent Van Ness, a prisoner in custody of the New York Department of Correctional Services …
Hunger Striking NY Prisoner May Be Force Fed to Prevent Suicide by Attica Correctional Facility prisoner Mark David Chapman, who is serving 20 years to life for murdering John Lennon, appealed an order allowing prison officials to take all steps necessary to force-feed Chapman in order to sustain his life. …
PLRA Requires Exhaustion of "All Available" Remedies by PLRA Requires Exhaustion of "All Available" Remedies The Eastern District of New York determined that prisoners must exhaust all available remedies under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), 42 USC §1997e(a). Adam Abney, a New York state prisoner, was in his cell; …
Prisoner Presence at Disciplinary Hearing During Favorable Testimony Constitutionally Required by Prisoner Presence at Disciplinary Hearing During Favorable Testimony Constitutionally Required A New York federal district court held a prisoner is entitled to be present during the introduction of favorable testimony at a disciplinary hearing. This 42 U.S.C. § 1983 …
Unidentified Prisoner Informant's Testimony Not Substantial Evidence by The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, ordered a prisoner's disciplinary record expunged because the hearing officer's finding of guilt was not supported by substantial evidence. Kenneth Gaston, a New York state prisoner, was charged with organizing a food strike …
Prisoner May Assert Contract Beneficiary Claim When Attacked by Guards by The Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that a federal prisoner may have a valid claim as a beneficiary of a contract between the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and New York's Nassau County to house federal prisoners in …
United States Supreme Court Rules That Federal Prisoners May Seek Damages Under the Federal Tort Claims Act for Personal Injuries by United States Supreme Court Rules That Federal Prisoners May Seek Damages Under the Federal Tort Claims Act for Personal Injuries In two separate cases, federal prisoners filed claims for …
Religious Belief Allows NY Jewish Prisoner to Grow Beard by The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that an Orthodox Jewish prisoner has a protected right under the First Amendment to grow a beard, and that a Department Directive cannot prevent the prisoner from growing a …
NY DOC Beard Ban Upheld by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a New York Department of Corrections (DOC) rule banning beards longer than one inch. Yevgen Fromer, an Orthodox Jewish prisoner, brought a civil rights action alleging that the DOC's policy prohibiting beards in excess …
Retaliation for Prisoner's Political Views States §1983 Claim by Retaliation for Prisoner's Political Views States §1983 Claim New York state prisoner Stanley Sczerbaty filed a 42 U.S.C. §1983 claim alleging that prison officials punished him for his political views by removing him from college classes one week after he filed …
New York: Disciplinary Report's Erroneous Date Warrants Expungement of Charges by New York: Disciplinary Report's Erroneous Date Warrants Expungement of Charges The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, held that an erroneous incident date on a disciplinary report warranted expungement of charges. State prisoner Clifford Howard was charged …
New York: Liberty Interest in Work Release by The New York Supreme Court, New York County, held that a prisoner's removal from a work release program without allowing him to participate in the hearing violated due process. While on work release, state prisoner Simon Anderson submitted a urinalysis that allegedly …
New York: Summary Judgment of Pregnancy-Related Deliberate Indifference Claim Reversed by New York: Summary Judgment of Pregnancy-Related Deliberate Indifference Claim Reversed The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals held in this case that material fact issues precluded summary judgment of a pregnant New York prisoner's lawsuit alleging deliberate indifference to …
New York: Witness Testimony Issues Violated Due Process by The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, held that a prisoner's Constitutional and state due process rights had been violated by disciplinary hearing procedures related to witness testimony. Douglas Burke, a prisoner at the Auburn Correctional Facility in New …
No Actual Injury Requirement in Right to Counsel Challenges by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that pretrial detainees need not show actual injury when challenging right to counsel violations; that PLRA requirements were satisfied; and that prisoners subject to heightened physical restraints were entitled to …
Second Circuit: Lack of Standing Invalidates Strip Search Ban by On January 20, 2004, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that a federal district court's order enjoining a New York county jail from performing unconstitutional strip searches was erroneous because the plaintiff lacked standing. In July 1995, attorney …
New York Prisoner Awarded $100 for Delayed Pain Medication by On December 30, 2003, a court of claims in Albany, New York awarded a state prisoner $100 for pain and suffering associated with the prison's failure to timely provide pain medication after he broke his hand. Plaintiff Jonathan Greene, a …
NY Prisoner Entitled to Hearing Before Temporary Release Committee by The Supreme Court, New York County, held that the removal of a prisoner from a work release program without a hearing deprived him of a protected liberty interest. Simon Anderson was participating in the Lincoln Correctional Facility Work Release Program …
Parole Hearing Does Not Estopp False Arrest Suit by The Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court's grant of summary judgment, holding that the facts found at the plaintiff's parole hearing did not have collateral estoppel effect, and that a genuine issue of fact existed in excessive force …
Public Defender's Party Association Protected Activity by The U.S. Supreme Court has held that a public defender who is satisfactorily performing his job may not be terminated based upon political party affiliation. This action was brought by two assistant public defenders in Rockland County, New York who were issued termination …
