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State Death Sentenced Prisoner Not Entitled to Federally Funded Counsel in State Clemency Proceeding

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, Sentencing, Habeas Corpus, Death Penalty

State Death Sentenced Prisoner Not Entitled to Federally Funded Counsel in State Clemency Proceeding by State Death Sentenced Prisoner Not Entitled to Federally Funded Counsel in State Clemency Proceeding The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held a state prisoner is not entitled to federally appointed and funded counsel in a …

Sixth Amendment Not Violated

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorneys, Appointment of Counsel, Ad-Seg Hearings

Sixth Amendment Not Violated by The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel is not violated by placing prisoners in administrative segregation (ad seg) without counsel. In separate incidents, prisoners in the Federal Correctional Institution at Lompoc, California, were placed in ad seg for suspicion …

Notice of Summary Judgment Requirements Mandatory for Pro Se Prisoners

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorneys, Appointment of Counsel, Summary Judgment

Notice of Summary Judgment Requirements Mandatory for Pro Se Prisoners by A federal district court must provide pro se prisoners with fair notice of summary judgment requirements prior to dismissal. District of Columbia jail prisoner Wayne Hudson filed a petition for declaratory judgment and motion for appointment of counsel. Hudson …

Counsel Required before Misdemeanor Imprisonment

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorneys, Appointment of Counsel

Counsel Required before Misdemeanor Imprisonment by The United States Supreme Court has ruled that persons convicted of misdemeanors cannot be subjected to imprisonment unless they have been afforded counsel at the time guilt or innocence is decided. LaReed Shelton was convicted of misdemeanor assault after his failed attempt at self-representation. …

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 …

Massachusetts Prisoner Files Law Suit For Being Beaten By Prison Guards

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Systemic Medical Neglect, Attorneys, Appointment of Counsel, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Legal Mail

Massachusetts Prisoner Files Law Suit For Being Beaten By Prison Guards by The United States District Court, District of Massachusetts, denied in part and granted in part a motion to dismiss a prisoner's law suit, for being beaten by prison guards. Wilfred H. Evicci, a prisoner who was housed at …

Wisconsin Prisoner's ADA Claim Proceeds; Counsel Appointed

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disabled Prisoners, Appointment of Counsel, Federal Statutory Law, Americans with Disabilities Act

Wisconsin Prisoner's ADA Claim Proceeds; Counsel Appointed by A Wisconsin federal district court has allowed a prisoner at the Stanley Correctional Institution (SCI) to proceed on his claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213 (ADA). The Court also appointed the prisoner counsel. Wisconsin prisoner …

Court Denies Appointment of Counsel in Medical Case

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorneys, Appointment of Counsel

Court Denies Appointment of Counsel in Medical Case by In deciding a motion to appoint counsel, the court first should determine whether the plaintiff is indigent, then whether the indigent's position "seems likely to be of substance." Then the court has discretion to consider the following factors: (1) the indigent's …

Supreme Court Strikes Down CSC Ban on Welfare Suits

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorneys, Appointment of Counsel, Attorney Client, Public Defenders

Supreme Court Strikes Down CSC Ban on Welfare Suits by The Court strikes down a statute forbidding Legal Services lawyers to challenge the constitutionality of welfare statutes, and in doing so characterizes litigation as speech and applies the usual First Amendment analysis to this content-based restriction. (Interestingly, the Court ignores …

Court Denies Defendant Transfer to Jail Closer to Counsel

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Transfers, Attorneys, Appointment of Counsel, Attorney Client, Attorney Visits

Court Denies Defendant Transfer to Jail Closer to Counsel by The federal criminal defendant complained that she was held in a jail in Cedar Rapids, which imposed excessive travel on her attorneys, rather than in Des Moines. She also complained that the jail conditions amounted to punishment. Assuming that the …

Court Can Appoint Amicus in Pro Se Death Penalty Case

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, Public Defenders, Attorney, Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty

Court Can Appoint Amicus in Pro Se Death Penalty Case by At 800: "A federal district court possesses the inherent authority to appoint an amicus curiae to assist the court in its proceedings." (Citations omitted) Here, the court appoints independent counsel for a capital defendant who represented himself and said …

Motion to Compel Discovery Denied for Not Conferring With Counsel

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, Civil Procedure, Discovery

Motion to Compel Discovery Denied for Not Conferring With Counsel by The plaintiff alleged excessive force, a disciplinary due process violation, and other varieties of abuse by prison staff. The court denies appointment of counsel because the plaintiff has shown he can present the facts clearly and draft pleadings and …

Involuntary Appointment of Lawyers to do Arbitration Upheld

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorneys, Appointment of Counsel

Involuntary Appointment of Lawyers to do Arbitration Upheld by An Arizona statute and rules of procedure resulting in attorneys' being assigned involuntarily to conduct arbitrations for no more than two days a year, for which they are paid $75 a day, with no reimbursement for expenses, is not an unconstitutional …

Dismissal with Prejudice Proper For Financial Misrepresentation

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorneys, Appointment of Counsel

Dismissal with Prejudice Proper For Financial Misrepresentation by On July 3, 1990, the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that dismissal with prejudice was a proper sanction for filing a false affidavit of poverty. Plaintiff Earl Romesburg, a Missouri state prisoner, filed suit against prison officials for being deliberately …

Lack of Counsel for NJ Child Support Contempt Cases Upheld

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorneys, Appointment of Counsel, Standing, Contempt (Civil Procedure), Family Law

Lack of Counsel for NJ Child Support Contempt Cases Upheld by Persons held in civil contempt for failing to comply with child support orders challenged the lack of a right to counsel (appointed for indigent defendants) in such proceedings. The district court properly abstained under Younger v. Harris. The plaintiffs …

Michigan Statute Denying Appointed Counsel to Indigent Criminals Enjoined

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Appointment of Counsel, Civil Procedure, Injunctions, Standing, Class Certification, Declaratory Judgment

Michigan Statute Denying Appointed Counsel to Indigent Criminals Enjoined by A challenge by indigent criminal defendants under § 1983 to state court judges' practice of denying appellate counsel based on plea-based convictions, and to the statute that codified the practice, was barred by Younger abstention. Each plaintiff had ongoing state …

Effective Assistance of Counsel Not a Right in Civil Litigation

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorneys, Appointment of Counsel, Attorney Misconduct, Excessive Force (Police)

Effective Assistance of Counsel Not a Right in Civil Litigation by The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a district court's refusal to appoint substitute counsel and, following a prior appellate decision, held that civil litigants have no right to effective assistance of counsel. William L. Taylor was …

Appointment of Counsel in 7th Circuit Discussed

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: ENT, Vision, Attorneys, Appointment of Counsel

Appointment of Counsel in 7th Circuit Discussed by The court of appeals for the Seventh circuit sets forth the standard to be used by lower courts in appointing counsel to represent indigent prisoners in civil cases. The underlying suit was for medical neglect and the Indiana plaintiff was blinded as …

Washington Prisoner Has Right to Counsel in Racial Discrimination Suit

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Racial Discrimination, Appointment of Counsel, Federal Statutory Law, Title VII

Washington Prisoner Has Right to Counsel in Racial Discrimination Suit by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington erred when it dismissed a pro se prisoner's lawsuit for failing to state a claim and for denying …

Court May Not Force Attorneys to Represent Indigent Litigants

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Attorneys, Appointment of Counsel

Court May Not Force Attorneys to Represent Indigent Litigants by The U.S. Supreme Court held that an attorney could not be forced by the court to represent indigent prisoners. Petitioner, an attorney, was appointed by a magistrate to represent indigent prisoners in their § 1983 action against prison officials. Newly …