Four Indicted in Videotaped Brazoria Jail Beatings by FBI agents arrested three current and former Brazoria County jailers indicted July 29, 1998, on charges stemming from the infamous videotaped shakedown of Missouri prisoners in the Brazoria County "Rent-A-Jail." The three, Lester Arnold, David Cisneros and Robert Percival, along with former …
FRCP 12(b)(6) Standard Applied to PLRA Dismissals by The court of appeals for the Fifth circuit held that district court dismissals of prisoner lawsuits for failure to state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(c) are subject to de novo review on appeal under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure …
Failure to Protect in Prison Fight Violates 8th Amendment by Failure To Protect In Prison Fight Violates 8th Amendment In 1994, the duty of guards to protect prisoners in prison fights was clearly established by Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825 (1994) according to a federal district court in Texas. …
Texas State Symbol Sewn by Slaves by Designers of the Texas state flag meant for its red, white and blue colors to represent bravery, loyalty and purity. But the flag of the Lone Star state also represent modern-day prison slavery. For more than 20 years, female prisoners at the Hilltop …
Fee Payment Orders Not Immediately Appealable by Fee Payment Orders Not Immediately Appealable: The court of appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that district court orders requiring partial payment of filing fees under the PLRA cannot be appealed prior to the entry of final judgment. Kirk Thompson, a Texas state …
Bivens Action is Not Time Barred When in Compliance With Rule 3 by Afederal court of appeals reversed a district court's dismissal of a wrongful death complaint filed by the mother of a federal prisoner, Shelia Moore. Moore was put in an administrative segregation cell on suspicion of taking an …
AEDPA Successive Petitions Clause Not Applicable to Disiplinary Hearings by AEDPA Successive Petitions Clause Not Applicable to Disciplinary Hearings The court of appeals for the fifth circuit held that habeas corpus petitions challenging prison disciplinary hearings that became final after prior habeas petitions challenging a criminal conviction have become final, …
$1,000 Awarded in Denial of Dental Care in TX by On July 14, 1997, federal magistrate Judith Guthrie held that Texas prison dentists were deliberately indifferent in refusing to provide dental care to a prisoner. Following a bench trial magistrate Guthrie awarded the plaintiff $1,000 in damages. Garmon Coats, a …
Jailers Charged in Bribery, Kickback Schemes by Asenior administrator in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and an independent contractor face felony bribery charges involving padded contracts for millions of dollars in jail food. And, in Texas, a McLennan County grand jury indicted a county sheriff's Sgt. on misdemeanor charges …
TDCJ PLRA Forms Okay by TDCJ PLRA Forms Okay: The court of appeals for the fifth circuit denied a prisoner's motion to proceed on appeal with IFP status because he refused to fill out a Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) form authorizing withdrawals from his prison trust account to …
Dickens County v. US Attorney General, TX, Judgment and Order, AG's Certification Process, 1998 08/21/98 09:22 JUL 20 ' 9 6 !• " O_ F•••' IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT •.-.: ?qFOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS LUBBOCK DIVISION BRG OF DICKENS COUNTY, INC., •....-. ¿ ; ¡ (¦Q\jRt …
Former Texas Prison Chief Indicted by The former head of the Texas prison system has been indicted on six counts of federal bribery, conspiracy, fraud and money-laundering charges stemming from his role in a shady multi-million dollar contract to purchase a soy-based meat substitute to feed Texas prisoners. [The VitaPro …
Mis-Managed Health Care in Texas Prisons by In 1993, Texas state prisons over-flowed with 70,000 prisoners. But the state was nearing completion of a $1.5 billion prison construction program that would more than double the number of state prisons. State Comptroller John Sharp appreciated what few Texans knew: the $1.5 …
State Weasel Monitors Private Prison Chicken Coop in Texas by Robert L. Dearing is the deputy director of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. The jail commission is in charge of inspecting and certifying county jails, including those that are privately operated. The jail commission's authority to enforce state standards, …
No Ex Post Facto Violation in Permanent Loss of Forfeited Good Time by The court of appeals for the fifth circuit held that a Texas Board of Criminal Justice (TBCJ) directive forbidding prison officials from restoring good time credits previously lost did not violate the ex post facto clause. Since …
Physical Injury Limit Defined, Wrongly by A federal district court in Texas dismissed a lawsuit as being legally frivolous for not alleging sufficient physical injury under 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(e). Thinh Minh Luong is a Hawaii state prisoner transferred to the Dickens County Corrections Center, a private prison operated by …
Texas Prison Labor Union by The Texas Prison Labor Union (TPLU) was established in 1995 by Texas prisoners and outside supporters. The state had just completed a $1.5 billion prison expansion program, and it now incarcerates close to 150,000 prisoners in a vast network of more than 100 prisons. One-hundred …
French Robertson Prisoner Wins Suit by On October 20, 1997, federal court jurors ruled that Texas prison guards assaulted French Robertson prisoner Andre Dunkins in 1996, but awarded no monetary damages. Dunkins, who represented himself, convinced jurors that prison guards Ted Vinita and Robert Steele slapped him repeatedly July 17, …
Texas Warden Not Victim of Staff Assault by T.Q. Texas Warden not Victim of Staff Assault In your July 1997 News in Brief section, you reported an incident on the French Robertson Unit [a Texas state prison near Abilene]. The News in Brief item erroneously stated that Ron Drewery [who …
$1.1 Million Award in Sexual Assault by The court of appeals for the fifth circuit held that recovery under the Texas Tort Claims Act is authorized for the negligent failure to prevent an intentional tort by a government employee. The court affirmed the judgment below and a $1.1 million damage …
