Seventh Circuit Rejects Federal Prisoner’s Necessity Defense by Seventh Circuit Rejects Federal Prisoner's Necessity Defense The Seventh Circuit found that a federal prisoner had failed to prove the requisite elements of the "necessity" defense in a prison weapon possession prosecution. In 1992, David Sahakian was sentenced to 360 months in …
Prisoner’s Oral Complaints Worthy of First Amendment Protection; by Prisoner's Oral Complaints Worthy of First Amendment Protection; $1 in Damages and $1.50 in Fees Awarded The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a prisoner's oral complaints about matters of "public concern" that are designed to "urge a change …
Former Illinois DOC Director, Former Prisoner Advocate, Others Indicted on Federal Corruption Charges by The former Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC) was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2007 on charges of taking $50,000 in kickbacks from health care vendors that received state prison contracts. …
$4,500 Jury Award in Delayed Medical Treatment of Illinois Prisoner Upheld by The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that "verifying medical evidence" to support a prisoner's delayed medical treatment claim can come from the prisoner's medical records and the prisoner. That ruling came in the appeal of prison …
Warrantless Arrest Warrants Prompt Probable Cause Hearing, Abused Innocent Detainee Prevails by Mistakenly accused Chicago resident Joseph Lopez was arrested with probable cause after a witness identified him in a shooting that killed a 12 year old boy. After the actual murderer confessed, Lopez filed suit for constitutional violations. The …
National Conference for Prison Book Projects Held in Urbana-Champaign by Brian Dolinar On November 3, 2007, a conference in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois brought together 88 participants from 29 different prison book projects across the country. A similar event of this kind has not taken place since a 2002 conference in Philadelphia. …
Missing Ramadan Deadline Insufficient Cause to Deny Right to Attend by Bob Williams The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has reversed the dismissal of a prisoner's free exercise of religion claim, finding that missing a sign-up deadline for Ramadan was an insufficient reason to deny a …
Once Court Orders Arrestee Held, Police Have No Duty to Investigate Mistaken Identity by The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that once an arrested person has been brought before a court and ordered held, law enforcement has no duty to verify claims of mistaken identity. Chicago police stopped …
IL Prisoner Beaten by Cops and Not Provided Medical Attention States 1983 and Negligence Claims by Faried El-Uri, a prisoner of the city of Chicago, Illinois was knocked down and kicked in the stomach by a detective during questioning so hard that his spleen was ruptured. He moved slowly and …
Secret Settlement in Illinois Cell Fire Suit by On March 19, 1996, Illinois' Joliet Correctional Center prisoner Cutues White piled all his personal possessions in the front of his cell, and lit them on fire. The prison was undergoing a renovation project, which included removal of smoke exhaust fans and …
Keller v. Feinerman, IL, Complaint, Medical Neglect, 2007 Case 3:06-cv-00661-RHM Document 16 Filed 12/07/07 Page 1 of 7 Page ID #86 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS HILTON LLOYD KELLER, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ) ADRIAN FEINERMAN, M.D. and DR. ) …
Cook County, Illinois, To Pay $4,575,000 for Nonconsensual STD Testing by On July 10, 2007, Cook County, Illinois, agreed to pay $4,575,000 to settle a federal class action lawsuit that alleged prisoners were subjected to nonconsensual testing for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) during intake at Chicago?s Cook County jail. Plaintiffs …
Illinois Supreme Court Holds Prisoner Medical Co-Payment Fee Can’t Be Deducted From Future Funds by John Dannenberg Illinois Supreme Court Holds Prisoner Medical Co-Payment Fee Can't Be Deducted From Future Funds by John E. Dannenberg The Illinois Supreme Court held that the Illinois Department of Corrections' (IDOC) regulation levying a …
Illinois Parole Board Pays Nearly $11,000 in Attorney Fees, Can Only Charge Reasonable Postage and Copying Costs by On February 7, 2007, the Appellate Court of Illinois ruled that because the Illinois parole board had wrongfully withheld documents and charged outrageous fees for copies, it was liable for attorney fees …
Illinois Jail Prisoner Dies from Dental Infection by A 25-year-old prisoner at the Peoria County Jail died from an infection in his gums that spread throughout his body, causing multiple-organ failure. Jeremy L. Baksai had been in the Peoria jail since November 2006, awaiting an April 30, 2007 trial on …
Prison Privatization Launders Taxpayer Dollars into Political Contributions by David Reutter by David M. Reutter If you know a company is not saving you money or performing its contractual obligations, why would you continue to use that company? The normal consumer would end the relationship quickly. When it comes to …
Donahue v. Cook County, IL, Amended Complaint, Jail Beating, 2007 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION DWOND DONAHUE, JEROME FOUNTAIN, BERNARDO GARCIA, DARRYL JOHNSON, ARCHIE MITCHELL, BERNARD RHONE, JARROD RODRIGUEZ, EDWARD SANDERS, ROBERTO SEGURA, JAMAAR TURNER, RAYMONT DAVIS, EDDIE MACON, ) ) ) ) …
Federal Court Awards Illinois Prisoner $7,116 in Fees, Costs by Michael Rigby By Michael Rigby On August 18, 2006, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois awarded $7,116.35 in attorney's fees and costs to a state prisoner who prevailed in his civil rights claim against prison officials. …
$9,063,000 Jury Award For Illinois False Rape Conviction by Matthew Clarke by Matthew T. Clarke On October 23, 2006, a federal jury in Illinois awarded a man who had been falsely convicted of rape $9,063,000. On September 19, 1989, Alejandro Dominguez was a 16-year old living in an apartment complex …
Illinois Administrative Remedies Exhausted When Prison Officials Lost Grievance by The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that an Illinois prisoner ?took all steps necessary to exhaust? his administrative remedies when prison officials misplaced his timely grievance and did not instruct him to re-file an ?untimely grievance.? On March …
