$750,000 Settlement in Chicago Jail Mass Beating Suit by On June 4, 2009, the finance litigation subcommittee of the County Board of Cook County, Illinois moved to settle a lawsuit over an alleged mass beating at the Cook County Jail. In August 2006, Dwond Donahue, Jerome Fountain, Bernard Garcia, Darryl …
Citizen Complaints Against Police Officer not Exempt from Disclosure under Illinois FOIA by On July 20, 2009, the Illinois Court of Appeals affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded for further proceedings the dismissal of a complaint filed by G. Mark Gekas against the Sheriff of Sangamon County seeking …
Paralegal Barred from Illinois Prison by On August 22, 1983, the Seventh Circuit affirmed a lower court's decision to deny relief to Illinois prisoner Preness Crusoe. Crusoe filed a complaint against the warden of Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, Illinois, Richard DeRobertis, for his decision to deny visitation privileges to …
Privatized Prison Medical Care in Mississippi Still Problematic by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Anyone looking for evidence that privatized prison health care is a complete failure need look no further than Mississippi. In 2001, the per capita death rate for Mississippi prisoners was around the national average. By …
$21 Million Jury Award for Illinois Wrongful Conviction by David Reutter by David M. Reutter In June 2009, an Illinois federal jury awarded $21 million to a former prisoner who served 11-1/2 years for a murder he didn’t commit. The basis of the claim was that Chicago police detective Reynaldo …
Illinois Governor’s Failure to Act on Clemency Petitions Not Actionable by Brandon Sample In March 2008, U.S. District Judge Joan B. Gottschal held that persons seeking executive clemency in Illinois have a protected liberty interest in having their petitions decided within a reasonable time by the governor. However, that ruling …
Davidson v. City of Chicago, IL, Testimony of Schmitz, Police Shooting of a Juvenile, 2009 1 1 STATE OF ILLINOIS SS: 2 3 COUNTY OF COOK IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT - LAW DIVISION 4 5 CHANTEL DAVIDSON, a Minor by and through her Mother …
Hahn v. Walsh et al, IL, Plf re MTD, Diabetic Negligence, 2009 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS URBANA DIVISION PATRICK HAHN and ERIK REDWOOD, ) Administrator of the Estate of JANET LOUISE ) HAHN, Deceased, ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) vs. ) ) …
Prisoner Not Allowed to Sue One DOC in Another State by The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Illinois held that New Mexico Department of Corrections (NMDOC) officials cannot be sued in Illinois due to lack of personal jurisdiction. Jimmy Kinslow, an NMDOC prisoner, was transferred in 1995 to the …
Seventh Circuit Affirms Denial of Deliberate Indifference Claim by On July 14, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld a grant of summary judgment for two doctors accused of deliberate indifference. Greg Duckworth, an Illinois prisoner, sued two prison physicians after it was discovered that he …
Summary Judgment Denied Illinois Lawmen for Assaulting Prisoner During Booking by In August 2007, Tony Swift was arrested by Wiliamson County, Illinois Sheriff's Deputies Kyle Rinella and Jeff Hutchinson (Defendants) on charges of disorderly conduct. Soon thereafter, Plaintiff Swift's attorney, Hugh R. Williams of Carbondale, Illinois, filed suit pursuant to …
Supreme Court Holds False-Arrest § 1983 Suit Must Be Timely Filed Following Arrest, Not Subsequent Wrongful Conviction by Supreme Court Holds False-Arrest § 1983 Suit Must Be Timely Filed Following Arrest, Not Subsequent Wrongful Conviction The U.S. Supreme Court held that a state prisoner suing for wrongful arrest must file …
Seventh Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Suit Alleging Excessive Force, Retaliation and Inadequate Medical Care; Settles for $15,000 by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit against Cook County Jail (CCJ) officials in Chicago, Illinois that alleged excessive force, retaliation and inadequate medical …
Seventh Circuit Vacates Dismissal for Failure to Prosecute; $50,000 + Fees Awarded Following Remand by The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a district court’s dismissal of a prisoner’s suit for failure to prosecute. The appellate court found the severe sanction of dismissal was not justified. Illinois prisoner Amilcar …
Illinois Court of Appeals: Prisoner Has Standing to Sue Ameritech for Fraud by On July 1, 2008, an Illinois Court of Appeals held that a prisoner had standing to bring a claim against Ameritech for consumer fraud. Johnnie Flournoy, an Illinois state prisoner at the Joliet Correctional Center, filed suit …
Vodak v. City of Chicago, IL, Plf Objection to Def Costs and Mot for Stay of Execution, Unreasonable Seizure, 2009 Case 1:03-cv-02463 Document 596 Filed 08/11/2009 Page 1 of 16 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION KEVIN VODAK, et aI, individually and on behalf …
Vodak v. City of Chicago, IL, Motion for Stay of Execution, Police Excessive Force, 2009 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION KEVIN VODAK, et al, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Plaintiffs, …
An unfair prison litigation system by David C Fathi By David Fathi | August 25, 2009 IN 2004, a teenage girl incarcerated at the Illinois Youth Center in Warrenville was sexually abused by a male employee at the facility. The abuse consisted of repeated acts of oral sex and sexual …
Protective Order Entered to Protect Against Disclosure of Information Regarding Immigration Detainees by U.S. Magistrate Judge P. Michael Mahoney has entered a protective order in a case over the adequacy of medical care provided to a now deceased Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainee. Judge Mahoney’s protective order came after …
No Jury Bias in Trial of Prisoner’s Eighth Amendment Claim by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit rejected a prisoner’s attempt to obtain a new trial of deliberate indifference claims based on jury bias. Gilbert Arreola sued Mohammed Choudry, a prison doctor, for deliberately indifferent treatment of …
