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$200,000 Awarded to Prison Nurse for Wrongful Termination

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Prison Health Services, Retaliation, Retaliation against Staff, Whistleblowing, Systemic Medical Neglect, Juvenile Prisons, Employee Litigation

$200,000 Awarded to Prison Nurse for Wrongful Termination by $200,000 Awarded To Prison Nurse For Wrongful Termination Joan Gilles, a 67-year old former prison nurse at the Northern Maine Juvenile Correctional Facility (NMJCF), in Charleston, filed a law suit against Prison Health Services (PHS), a company that provides medical services …

Sending State Must Provide Transferred Prisoner Legal Assistance

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Transfers, Court Access, Prisoner Legal Assistance, Legal Materials

Sending State Must Provide Transferred Prisoner Legal Assistance by The First Circuit Court of Appeals held that prisoners transferred from the State of Maine to a Leavenworth, Kansas prison are entitled to receive legal assistance from Maine. After being transferred from Maine State Prison to a federal prison in Leavenworth …

Strip Search Jury Instruction Held Invalid; New Trial Ordered

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Searches, Strip Searches, Jury Instructions, New Trial Motions

Strip Search Jury Instruction Held Invalid; New Trial Ordered by by Bob Williams Finding the jury instruction definition of strip search" too narrow, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reversed a jury's finding that a state jail prisoner's strip search was not unconstitutional. Geoffrey Wood was …

Fact Issues Preclude Summary Judgment In Prisoner Rape Case

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, Misconduct/Corruption, Jail Misconduct, Summary Judgment

Fact Issues Preclude Summary Judgment In Prisoner Rape Case by The United States District Court for the District of Maine held that fact issues precluded summary judgment of a sexually assaulted prisoner's § 1983 lawsuit. Plaintiff Linda Faas alleged that while she was in the Washington County Jail (Maine), she …

Plaintiff States Claim Against Private Medical Providers In § 1983 Action

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Private Prisons, CMS, Primecare Medical, Systemic Medical Neglect, Dental Care, Private Contractors, Hepatitis

Plaintiff States Claim Against Private Medical Providers In § 1983 Action by Plaintiff States Claim Against Private Medical Providers In § 1983 Action The United States District Court for the District of Maine held that although a prisoner did not utter "the magic words 'policy and custom' in his" § …

Minnesota Prison's Indigent, Legal Mail Policies Constitutional

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Writing Implements, Mail, Postage, Legal Mail

Minnesota Prison's Indigent, Legal Mail Policies Constitutional by The United States Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a Minnesota prison's policy of providing indigent prisoners with writing materials and allowing them one free mailing per week for legal correspondence met constitutional standards. Jerry Wayne Smith, a Kansas state prisoner …

Prisoner Has No Right to Medication Accommodation

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Medical, Medication, Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Americans with Disabilities Act

Prisoner Has No Right to Medication Accommodation by Bob Williams On de novo review, the Maine Supreme Court held that Jon Scott, a prisoner in Androscoggin County Jail, failed to establish actionable state court claims under the Maine Human Rights Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act …

$35,000 Settlement in Maine Jail Strip-Search Case

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Searches, Strip Searches, Arrestee Searches

$35,000 Settlement in Maine Jail Strip-Search Case by After he was arrested on a misdemeanor charge, Geoffrey V.V. Wood was strip-searched at Maine's Hancock County Jail. Wood filed suit, alleging the strip search procedures were illegal and unconstitutional. He settled his lawsuit in May 2004 for $35,000. See: Wood v. …

Jail Segregation Ban on Collect Calls Upheld

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Telephone Access, Attorney Calls, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

Jail Segregation Ban on Collect Calls Upheld by One of the plaintiff's claims was exhausted. At 291-92: He doesn't have "proof-positive," but he does have "some proof that his efforts to file grievances . . . were not facilitated by the Jail as required by the policy." Exhaustion is an …

Two Registered Sex Offenders Murdered in Maine

Article • April 15, 2007 • from PLN April, 2007

Filed under: Discrimination, Sex Offender Registration, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Prison/Jail Murders, State Legislation

Two Registered Sex Offenders Murdered in Maine by Matthew Clarke by Matthew T. Clarke A violent criminal predator used Maine's sex offender registry web site to identify two sex offenders so he could murder them. Stephen A. Marshall, 20, of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, used his laptop to methodically …

$600,000 Settlement for Abuse at Maine Juvenile Prison

Article • October 15, 2006 • from PLN October, 2006

Filed under: Excessive Force, Restraints

$600,000 Settlement for Abuse at Maine Juvenile Prison by In 2004 the state of Maine paid $600,000 to settle with a former prisoner at the Long Creek Youth Development Center (LCYDC), a juvenile prison. In his lawsuit, filed in 2001, plaintiff Michael Taylor alleged he was placed in solitary confinement …

Torture in Maine Prison

Article • June 15, 2006 • from PLN June, 2006

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Hunger Strikes, Criminal Prosecution, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness)

Torture in Maine Prison by Lance Tapley Torture in Maine Prison by Lance Tapley The mission of the Maine State Prison is to provide a safe, secure, and humane correctional environment for the incarcerated offender. Five hollering guards wearing helmets, face shields, and full body armor charge into a mentally …

York County, Maine, Settles Class Action Strip-Search Suit for $3,300,000

Article • March 15, 2006 • from PLN March, 2006

Filed under: Searches, Strip Searches, Arrestee Searches, Damages, Settlements

York County, Maine, Settles Class Action Strip-Search Suit for $3,300,000 by In April 2005, York County, Maine, agreed to settle for $3,300,000 a class action lawsuit alleging the county maintained an unconstitutional policy of strip-searching all pre-arraignment detainees in the York County Jail regardless of the charge against them. Plaintiffs …

Mason v. State of Maine, ME, Motion for Summary Judgement, Disability Discrimination, 2004

Brief • September 10, 2004

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Medical Misconduct, Disabled Prisoners, Medical, Systemic Medical Neglect, Skeletal Injury, Malpractice, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act

Mason v. State of Maine, ME, Motion for Summary Judgement, Disability Discrimination, 2004 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MAINE DAVID A. MASON AND PHILLIP M. NAPIER Plaintiffs, v. STATE OF MAINE, DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS et. al. Defendants * * * * * CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:03-cv-199 * …

Plaintiff Entitled to Trial on Question of Whether Mental Illness Warrants Tolling Statute of Limitations

Article • June 15, 2004 • from PLN June, 2004

Filed under: Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Summary Judgment, Limitations, Expert Witnesses, Mental Health

Plaintiff Entitled to Trial on Question of Whether Mental Illness Warrants Tolling Statute of Limitations by The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently held that a mentally ill woman presented sufficient evidence to warrant a trial on her claim that mental illness prevented her from filing …

Mason v. State of Maine, ME, Second Amended Complaint, Disability Discrimination, 2004

Brief • February 4, 2004

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Medical Misconduct, Disabled Prisoners, Medical, Systemic Medical Neglect, Skeletal Injury, Failure to Treat, Malpractice, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act

Mason v. State of Maine, ME, Second Amended Complaint, Disability Discrimination, 2004 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MAINE DAVID A. MASON AND PHILLIP M. NAPIER Plaintiffs, v. STATE OF MAINE, DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS; JEFFREY D. MERRILL, individually; CAPTAIN RATCLIFF, individually; and SHEILA LORENZ, individually. Defendants * * …

Suspicionless Maine Jail Strip Searches Set for Trial; Settles for $455,000

Article • June 15, 2001 • from PLN June, 2001

Filed under: Searches, Strip Searches, Arrestee Searches, Municipal Liability

Suspicionless Maine Jail Strip Searches Set for Trial; Settles for $455,000 by The court of appeals for the First circuit held that disputed fact issues required a trial to determine if a Maine jail's practice of strip-searching all arrestees was unconstitutional. Carmen Miller was arrested on a restricted warrant and …

Nominal Damages Not Monetary Award Under PLRA Attorney's Fees Cap

Article • October 15, 2000 • from PLN October, 2000

Filed under: PLRA, Attorney Fees (PLRA), Restraints, Damages

Nominal Damages Not Monetary Award Under PLRA Attorney's Fees Cap by A federal district court in Maine has held that the award of one dollar in nominal damages does not invoke the PLRA attorney's fees cap, 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(d)(2). Raymond P. Boivin, a Maine state pre-trial detainee, sued a …

Miscarriage is Serious Medical Condition

Article • February 15, 2000 • from PLN February, 2000

Filed under: Private Prisons, Allied Resources for Correctional Health, OB/GYN, State Law Claims, Venue, Qualified Immunity, Contractor Liability

Miscarriage is Serious Medical Condition by A federal district court in Maine held that a miscarriage is a serious medical condition, but dismissed a state law medical negligence claim for failure to comply with the pre-suit screening requirements of the Maine Tort Claims Act (MTC). On June 13, 1996, Melissa …

Cell Feed Status May Give Jailer Actual Notice of Need to Protect Prisoner

Article • February 15, 2000 • from PLN February, 2000

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Supervisory Liability, Municipal Liability, Failure to Train/Supervise

Cell Feed Status May Give Jailer Actual Notice of Need to Protect Prisoner by The First Circuit has held that the fact a jail supervisor knew a prisoner was on cell feed status may have given him actual notice of the prisoner's protective custody status when he placed the prisoner …