IL Prisoner Fails to Show Unreasonable Application of Federal Law on Habeas Review by IL Prisoner Fails to Show Unreasonable Application of Federal Law on Habeas Review Andrew Lockhart, an Illinois state prisoner, pled guilty to murder. He received a 35-year prison sentence and 3 years' mandatory supervision release (MSR). …
Failure to Treat Mild Paid Doesn't State Claim by The plaintiff cut his mouth on a piece of metal in his food. He got a tetanus shot and x-rays to make sure he hadn't swallowed any metal. He then went on a hunger strike and during that time complained about …
No Liability in Scalding Attack on Seg Prisoner by The plaintiff was scalded with hot water when, unescorted, he approached his assailant's cell (by invitation) to retrieve his legal papers. At the time, he was in disciplinary segregation (having formerly been in protective custody). Policy dictated that prisoners be escorted …
Seventh Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Race/Exposure Claims by In an unpublished order, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of an Illinois prisoner's racial discrimination and pepper spray exposure claims. Illinois prisoner Johnnie Flournoy brought suit in federal court asserting several unrelated constitutional violations. The district court dismissed …
$250,500 Verdict in Illinois Retaliation Claim by In February 1988, James Fergueson was a prisoner at Illinois' Menard Correctional Center when he had an argument with Mary Flannigan, the director of the Menard Psychiatric Center. Fergueson was upset that he had been transferred to Graham Corrections Center and back to …
Class Certified in Customs Strip Search Suit by African-American women sued the Customs Service over airport searches. The commonality requirement for class certification "is not a demanding requirement; one issue of fact or law common to all class members will suffice." Here the common issues are whether or not the …
Rule 68 Offers Not Allowed in Class Actions by The plaintiff filed suit. The defendant--before appearing or answering--served an offer of judgment under Rule 68 which supposedly offered everything that the plaintiff could have gotten in the litigation. The plaintiff moved for class certification and then to strike the offer …
Defense Verdict in Illinois Brutality, Cold Case Upheld by The plaintiff alleged that officers confined him in a cell with a broken window in subzero weather, used excessive force against him, and made false statements leading to wrongful disciplinary action. A jury found for the defendants. The verdict as to …
Seventh Circuit Holds Fugitive Disentitlement Doctrine Inappropriate Sanction For Honest Intentions by Seventh Circuit Holds Fugitive Disentitlement Doctrine Inappropriate Sanction For Honest Intentions Telesforo Gutierrez Almazan was found guilty of feloniously aggravated sexual abuse of a minor in 1994. In 2006, Immigration Officials ordered him removed. He filed a petition …
$1 Verdict in BOP Retaliation Case by While imprisoned at the federal lockdown prison in Marion, Illinois, prisoner Joseph Dougherty began criticizing the conditions of confinement. Prison officials then transferred him and confiscated a $100 postal money order. He filed suit alleging retaliation. A jury entered a verdict on Dougherty's …
Class Action With 30-40 Members Certified by The court certifies a class in a case alleging racial discrimination in housing based on census data and various calculations and assumptions suggesting that there are 30 to 40 potential class members---i.e., African Americans who have been racially steered by a particular company. …
14 Deputies Who Kill Person in Courtroom Not Entitled to Judicial Immunity by The non-prisoner decedent persisted in trying to ask the judge a question and he told the deputies to restrain him. So 14 of them jumped on him and killed him. The deputies' conduct is not shielded by …
$163,900 Settlement in Illegal Shackling of Chicago Jail Prisoner by The Cook County Sheriff's Office in Illinois has agreed to pay 500 former prisoners $50 per day for each day they were illegally shackled hand and foot to a hospital bed. The lawsuit was filed originally by three prisoners, Khalil …
Jury Entitled to Hear of Plaintiff's Medical Condition in False Arrest Case by Police officers who falsely arrested the plaintiff, allegedly with knowledge of his heart condition, were not entitled to an order in limine excluding evidence of his medical condition, since there is enough evidence that their actions were …
Title VII Suits Limited to EEOC Charges by At 928: The scope of a civil complaint [under Title VII] is limited by the scope of the EEOC charge that precedes it. . . . This is not an issue of subject matter jurisdiction, however, but is more in the nature …
No Right to International Transfer to UK Prison by The plaintiff, a British citizen, sought to make the state convert his sentence from an indeterminate one to a determinate one so Britain would accept him under the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. The federal court lacks mandamus jurisdiction …
Reporter Sues CMS for Defamation by An investigative reporter published an article critical of the defendants; they responded; the plaintiff sued them for defamation and interference in his business interests. Their statement that he employed objectionable newsgathering techniques was not defamatory per se; nor was the statement that reporters may …
Single Wrongful Police Search Enough to Assert Policy by The plaintiff was walking on the street and a police officer asked for her identification; she explained she didn't have it because she had left her wallet at the grocery store; the officer forcibly took her into custody and searched her. …
Racial Discrimination Claim in IL Civil Commitment Must Be Brought under Habeas by The plaintiffs are present and former civil detainees in the Sexually Violent Persons Units of the prison system who alleged that commitment to that program reflected racial bias against African-American offenders who committed crimes against white victims. …
Police Beating Requiring Spleen Removal Actionable by The plaintiff alleged that he accompanied police officers to the station to assist in an investigation and that an officer kicked him and punched him, then told him the investigation was over and he could go home. After they took him home he …
