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Challenge to Nebraska Work Release Fees Dismissed

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Work Release, Frivolous Litigation (PLRA), Money/Property, Seizure of Prisoner Funds

Challenge to Nebraska Work Release Fees Dismissed by The plaintiff was placed on work release; he was required to sign a statement acknowledging that room and board would be deducted from his inmate account, and $2,790 was removed from his account. Due process was not denied. The program was voluntary, …

PLRA Filing Fees Assessed on Dismissed Appeals

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: PLRA, Filing Fees (PLRA), Appeals, Limitations

PLRA Filing Fees Assessed on Dismissed Appeals by Dismissal of an appeal for untimely filing of a notice of appeal does not release the prisoner from the obligation to pay the appellate filing fee in full. There is no authority for waiver or reduction of the fee. At 596: "The …

Nebraska Prisoner's Medical, Mental Suffering Resulting from Segregation Does Not Support Eighth Amendment Violation

Article • August 15, 2008

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

Nebraska Prisoner's Medical, Mental Suffering Resulting from Segregation Does Not Support Eighth Amendment Violation by Nebraska state prisoner Thomas Fleming brought a federal civil rights action in 2003 alleging violations related to conditions of confinement, due process, inadequate medical care, and inflicted dis-associative disorder. The district court dismissed his Eighth …

Fall From Top Bunk During Seizure Nets $1,350,000

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Medical, Seizures, Skeletal Injury, Premises Liability

Fall From Top Bunk During Seizure Nets $1,350,000 by A Nebraska prisoner who was injured when he fell from a top bunk during a seizure was awarded $1,350,000. Mr. Wright, a Nebraska prisoner, was assigned to an upper bunk when he had a seizure and fell out of bed. He …

Grand Jury Report, Four Nebraska Jail Guards Indicted in Prisoner’s Death

Article • July 15, 2008 • from PLN July, 2008

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution, Immunity/Liability, Municipal Liability, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

Grand Jury Report, Four Nebraska Jail Guards Indicted in Prisoner’s Death by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Finding there was probable cause that four guards at Nebraska’s Omaha Police Detention Unit (OPDU) failed to render medical care to a prisoner which contributed to his death, a Douglas County grand …

Eighth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Discrimination/Retaliation Suit

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Religious Discrimination, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Prison Industries, Prison Labor, Federal Statutory Law, Title VII

Eighth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Discrimination/Retaliation Suit by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld dismissal of a Nebraska prisoner’s employment discrimination and retaliation action. Kamal Al-Zubaidy, an Iraqi Shiite Muslim confined in the Nebraska State Penitentiary, (NSP), was employed in a die shop operated by TEK Industries (TEK), a …

Nebraska Police Reports Only Exempt From Disclosure If Investigative Or Intelligence Information

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Disclosure of Records

Nebraska Police Reports Only Exempt From Disclosure If Investigative Or Intelligence Information by Former misdemeanor convicted Nebraska citizen Phillip Fourcloud appealed the denial of offense and incident report's disclosure relating to his conviction. The court reversed the denial because the City of Fremont failed to prove the document's exemption and …

Nebraska Tort Law Notice Inapplicable to Medical Contractor

Article • January 15, 2008

Filed under: Medical, Private Contractors, ENT, Vision, Malpractice, State Law Claims, Contractor Liability

Nebraska Tort Law Notice Inapplicable to Medical Contractor by In partially reversing a Nebraska federal district court's grant of summary judgment, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has held the Nebraska State Tort Claims Act (NSTCA) does not apply to contracted medical service providers. That ruling came in the appeal …

Nebraska Mental Health Patients' Class Action Shot Down for Class Overbreadth

Article • January 15, 2008

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Class Certification

Nebraska Mental Health Patients' Class Action Shot Down for Class Overbreadth by Numerous involuntarily committed mental health patients in Nebraska filed a federal class action lawsuit seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, claiming sexual and physical abuse by male staff and patients at three state facilities. They also claimed an array …

Nebraska Prisoner's Transfer to Another Prison Was Lawful

Article • January 15, 2008

Filed under: Transfers, Urinary, Drug Testing, Civil Procedure, Expert Witnesses

Nebraska Prisoner's Transfer to Another Prison Was Lawful by Robert Hunt, a Nebraska state prisoner, is a Seventh Day Adventist. After nearly 20 years at the Nebraska State Penitentiary (NSP), he was transferred to the Tecumseh State Correctional Institute (TSCI) against his will. As a result he lost his job …

Racial Discrimination Case Reversed and Remanded for Damages

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Racial Discrimination, Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation

Racial Discrimination Case Reversed and Remanded for Damages by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed a U.S. district court's finding that a Nebraska prison official did not racially discriminate against a state prisoner and remanded for a damages hearing. Prisoner Plaintiff brought a §1983 action after …

Racial Segregation in Nebraska Prison Unconstitutional

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Discrimination, Racial Discrimination

Racial Segregation in Nebraska Prison Unconstitutional by The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that racial segregation at the Nebraska Penal and Correctional Complex was unconstitutional. All facilities at the prison were integrated but one. That cell block housed 50 prisoners who objected to living with or housing with blacks. …

Supreme Court Addresses Mail, Good-Time, Legal Aid, Disciplinary Issues

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Disciplinary Litigation, Liberty Interests, Witnesses (Disciplinary Hearings), Notice of Charges, Sanctions (Disciplinary Hearings), Notice of Hearing, Standard of Proof, Written Findings, Confrontation, Counsel, Evidence, Appointment of Counsel, Attorney Client, Prisoner Legal Assistance, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Damages, Injunctions, Retroactivity, Good Time, Habeas Corpus, Mail Regulations, Legal Mail

Supreme Court Addresses Mail, Good-Time, Legal Aid, Disciplinary Issues by The U.S. Supreme Court held that restoration of good-time was unavailable under § 1983; some constitutional rights are retained in prison disciplinary proceedings; minimal due process is required if loss of good-time is a possibility; disciplinary due process procedures ordered …

Court Adopts Definitions of Tape Recordings

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Depositions

Court Adopts Definitions of Tape Recordings by A federal district court in Nebraska has adopted definitions of what constitutes an original and duplicate recording of a tape recorded deposition of a witness, and outlined requirements for taking the deposition. Rule 1001, Rules of Evidence for United States Courts and Magistrates, …

Nebraska Administrative Remedies Must Be Fully Exhausted Or Dismissal Required

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Protect (General), Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Civil Procedure, State Law Claims

Nebraska Administrative Remedies Must Be Fully Exhausted Or Dismissal Required by Nebraska State Prisoner Frankie Cole brought suit under § 1983 and the State Tort Claims Act (STCA) for Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment violations for prisoner conflicts, inadequacies in his medical treatment, and incidents arising from such violations. The court …

Qualified Immunity for Urine Samples in Presence of Parole Officer

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Drug Testing, Immunity/Liability, Qualified Immunity

Qualified Immunity for Urine Samples in Presence of Parole Officer by The court of appeals for the Eighth circuit held that a Nebraska parole officer was entitled to qualified immunity from a parolee's lawsuit that he was required to provide urine samples for drug testing in the officer's presence. The …

No Due Process For Discretionary Parole Hearings

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Liberty Interests, Parole

No Due Process For Discretionary Parole Hearings by The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Nebraska parole procedures were constitutional. Nebraska prisoners filed a § 1983 class action suit against the state parole board after they were denied parole. The prisoners alleged that the parole board did not meet procedural due …

Transfer to Mental Hospital without Due Process Unconstitutional

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Transfers, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Involuntary Treatment/Drugging, Civil Commitment

Transfer to Mental Hospital without Due Process Unconstitutional by The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Nebraska law was unconstitutional because it did not afford due process protections. The law, § 83-180(1), allowed the transfer of a state prisoner to a mental hospital if a designated mental health professional determined …

NE Prisoner May Intervene in Child's Name Change Proceeding

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Family, Family Law, Fathers in Prison

NE Prisoner May Intervene in Child's Name Change Proceeding by The Nebraska Supreme Court held that a Nebraska state prisoner whose parental rights were not terminated may intervene in his biological child's proceeding seeking to change the child's surname. The father was paying child support, wrote his son, talked to …

Black Supervisors Liable for Title VII Harassment

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Discrimination, Racial Discrimination, Title VII, Employee Litigation

Black Supervisors Liable for Title VII Harassment by Permanent placement in the "bubble," a stressful inmate supervision position that allowed the officer on duty no breaks, and to which no one had previously been assigned permanently, was a sufficiently adverse employment action to support a Title VII claim. The fact …