IG Complaints Can Constitute Exhaustion by A plaintiff who didn't exhaust timely can't rely on the Porter v. Nussle change of law, because the earlier decision on which he might have relied, Nussle v. Willette, had not been decided. Porter applies retroactively. (That holding appears to be overruled by Rodriguez …
Jail Delay in Treating Injured Hand Okay by The pro se plaintiff alleged that he was in pain from an unspecified injury to his hand. His hand was x-rayed and he was told it was "just swollen." He continued to complain of pain, a specialty consult was ordered, the order …
New York Prisoner Awarded $279,583 For Work-Related Arm Fracture by In June 1998, a New York court of claims awarded $279,583 to a prisoner who sustained a lower arm fracture after falling into an excavated area at a state prison. The prisoner argued that prison officials should have foreseen the …
New York Prisoner Awarded $350,000 For Work-Related Fractures by In February 1998, a New York court of claims awarded $350,000 to a prisoner who suffered heel and elbow fractures when he fell from the roof of a state prison. The award was reduced to $140,000, however, after the judge determined …
Mail Censorship Claims State Claim by Allegations that the defendants have deliberately tampered with his legal, personal, and political incoming and outgoing mail without justification state a constitutional claim. The Second Circuit has said that a prisoner's right to the free flow of incoming and outgoing mail is protected by …
Snitch Jacketing Dismissed for Failing to Exhaust by The court acknowledges the "alternative" emergency grievance procedure. Defendants say plaintiff didn't appeal to the Central Office Review Committee, submitting an affidavit to that effect by grievance director Eagen. At 246: However, the record regarding the grievances filed by plaintiff is not …
Prisoner Charged With Perjury Over Statements to INS Officials by The criminal defendant was charged with perjury for statements he made in an interview in prison with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement inspector. The defendant was in custody even though the interview was not part of a criminal investigation initially. …
No Qualified Immunity for Mental Hospital Strip Searches by The individual plaintiff was subjected to a strip and body cavity search on his voluntary admission to a civilian mental hospital pursuant to a standing order applicable specifically to him. Disability Advocates, Inc., a PAMII organization, is also a plaintiff. The …
Challenge to BOP Law Enforcement Notification Law Dismissed by A Bureau of Prisons regulation requiring notice to state and local law enforcement officers of release of persons with current or prior convictions for drug trafficking or crimes of violence does not deny due process. The plaintiff does not have a …
Exhaustion is an Affirmative Defense under PLRA by Plaintiff wrote on the complaint form, where it asked whether he had filed a grievance, that he had not because "I did not know what to do." He never responded to defendants' motion to dismiss. The PLRA exhaustion requirement is not jurisdictional …
EEOC Complaint Exhausts Title VII Claim by At 376: While Title VII allows for loose pleadings before the EEOC and a complainant need not list every detail of her alleged discriminatory treatment, a charge of discrimination needs to provide sufficient specifics to afford the EEOC a reasonable opportunity to fulfill …
First Amendment Injuries are Irreparable for PI Purposes by At 348-49: To obtain a preliminary injunction a party must demonstrate: (1) that it will be irreparably harmed if an injunction is not granted, and (2) either (a) a likelihood of success on the merits or (b) sufficiently serious questions going …
NY Police Immune for Taking Disabled Woman to Hospital by Police officers made a warrantless entry to a residence based on a 911 call and found a woman with Down syndrome there alone; they took her to a mental hospital, where she was kept overnight. The police officers were entitled …
No Qualified Immunity for Firing Jail Medical Director Over Trial Testimony by The plaintiff alleged that he was fired as jail administrator in retaliation for giving truthful testimony in the civil trial of claims by nurses fired by the jail's medical contractor for criticizing mental health services in the jail. …
No Immunity for Denying Transsexual Prisoner Treatment under Unconstitutional Policy by No Immunity for Denying Transsexual Prisoner Treatment under Unconstitutional Policy The plaintiff, a pre-operative transsexual, tried to get treatment for gender identity disorder in prison and was ignored for two years. His grievance requested "all of the minimal, though …
FBI Waived Timeliness Defense by Not Raising It in Administrative Proceedings by The plaintiff sued alleging employment discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act. His administrative complaint was arguably late, but the agency found that it was timely and did not assert a timeliness defense until after suit was filed. At 74: …
No Federal Court Jurisdiction Over Article 78 Claim by A federal court cannot exercise supplemental jurisdiction over an Article 78 proceeding because state statutes specify where such a proceeding shall be brought, i.e., in state Supreme Court in the county specified by statute. (That would seem to suggest that state …
Mental Health Arrests Okay by An individual subject to a "mental hygiene pickup" after what appeared to be a suicide attempt, joined by an advocacy group for the disabled, alleged that treating such pickups as arrests by using the same form as for criminal arrests discriminated against the mentally disabled. …
IG Complaints Alone Don't Exhaust NY Jail Complaints by The plaintiff sought relief under Rule 60 from dismissal for non-exhaustion on the grounds that newly discovered evidence showed that his allegations had been under investigation by the Inspector General, rendering them non-grievable. The court says this wouldn't excuse him from …
Suit by Mentally Ill NY Jail Prisoners Dismissed by Several plaintiffs alleged that they were subjected to over-medication with psychotropic drugs and denial of timely psychiatric care, timely prescription drug administration, adequate staffing of observation holding cells, adequate therapeutic psychiatric care, and discharge planning and treatment plans. The plaintiffs do …
