Skip navigation

Search

18 results
Seventh Circuit Lets BOP Restrict Access to Federal Register from Prison in Illinois by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held on July 30, 2024, that the First Amendment does not require the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to provide full, daily access to the Federal Register …
Florida Prisoners Not Required to File Rulemaking Petition to Satisfy PLRA Exhaustion Requirement by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On July 31, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit rejected an argument by the Florida Department of Corrections (DOC) that a state prisoner’s suit should be …
Seventh Circuit Allows Illinois Prisoner to Prove Administrative Remedy Was “Unavailable” in Double-Celling Complaint by David Reutter by David M. Reutter On December 14, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit took up the latest in a “slew” of cases by Illinois prisoners alleging they are “housed …
Article • November 7, 2018 • from PLN November, 2018
Dog-Sniff Search Policy Allowed Under Massachusetts Law, but APA Procedures Required by The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held on April 19, 2018 that the Massachusetts Department of Correction (MDOC) had authority to implement a policy that requires prison visitors to be subject to drug-detecting dogs. However, the Court also found the …
Article • May 5, 2017 • from PLN May, 2017
Oregon Prison System’s Medical Rule and Policy Invalidated by The Oregon Court of Appeals held in March 2016 that an Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) rule which authorized the Health Services clinical director to appoint the chief medical officer for each state prison was invalid because it conflicted with a …
Rules Governing Lethal Injections Not Required under Georgia Law by The Georgia Supreme Court has held that the state’s Board of Corrections (BOC) is not statutorily required to promulgate rules governing lethal injections. The Court further held that neither the Georgia Department of Corrections (DOC) nor the Commissioner of Corrections …
States Scramble to Find Lethal Injection Drugs by David Reutter by David M. Reutter “From this day forward I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death.” —Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, Callins v. Collins, 501 U.S. 1141 (1994) The only American producer of sodium thiopental has abandoned the …
Kentucky Lethal Injection Protocol Adopted in Violation of APA by Brandon Sample The lethal injection protocol adopted by the Kentucky Department of Correction (DOC) was promulgated in violation of the state’s Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the Kentucky Supreme Court decided on November 25, 2009. Kentucky, like most other states that …
Pennsylvania Prison Porn Ban Improperly Promulgated, but Not Unconstitutional by The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has held that a state prison rule prohibiting prisoners from receiving or possessing materials containing pornography or nudity was invalid because it was not promulgated as a regulation pursuant to the Commonwealth Documents Law. However, …
Article • November 15, 2009 • from PLN November, 2009
California’s Lethal Injection Protocol Invalidated for Failure to Comply with APA by Michael Brodheim Sustaining a legal challenge filed by prisoners Michael A. Morales and Mitchell Sims, both on death row, the California Court of Appeal has held that the state’s lethal injection protocol, contained in San Quentin’s Operational Procedure …
California: Parole Board’s Policy Barring Friendly Oral Witness Testimony At Lifer Hearings Ruled An “Underground Regulation” by Marvin Mentor The California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) struck down the unwritten policy of the California Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) that denied all requests for friendly oral witness testimony at lifer …
Texas Youth Commission Wants Increased Pepper Spray Use Despite Settlement by Michael Rigby by Michael Rigby Less than three months after agreeing to a court settlement limiting the use of pepper spray on juveniles, the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) has failed to curb its use and is actually planning to …
WA Disciplinary Hearings Exempt from APA by The Washington state Supreme Court held that prison disciplinary hearings are immune from judicial review under the Washington Administrative Procedures Act. Court notes that judicial review of prison disciplinary hearings is available in state court under habeas corpus, certiorari, mandamus and Personal Restraint …
Maryland Disciplinary Rules Violate APA by The Maryland Supreme Court invalidated prison disciplinary ?directives? because they were not adopted in conformity with the State Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Under the Maryland APA, all state agencies must follow certain procedures when adopting ?regulations? as defined by the APA. The APA excludes …
Article • October 15, 2005 • from PLN October, 2005
California Family Visiting Appeal Denied by The California Court of Appeal affirmed the denial of a state prisoner's quest for injunctive and declaratory relief that would have invalidated the 1996 amendments to the Department of Corrections' (CDC) family [overnight] visiting rules excluding him from participation. The case had received much …
Federal Prisoner Wins Right To Marry, Fees Awarded by A federal prisoner has settled his lawsuit against the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for $175 and permission to marry his fiancée. The court also awarded attorney fees of $21,537.50 in a separate proceeding. On November 2, 2000, while imprisoned at U.S.P. …
Article • April 15, 2003 • from PLN April, 2003
Vermont DOC Must Comply with APA for Rule Changes in Furlough Program by The Vermont Supreme Court has held that the state's Department of Corrections (DOC) must comply with the Vermont Administrative Procedure Act (APA) before it implements and enforces any rule changes. This was a class-action suit represented by …
Minnesota Cost-of-Confinement Surcharge Upheld by The Court of Appeals of Minnesota has upheld a surcharge imposed on prisoners in custody of the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC). The case had been filed as a class-action suit in a Minnesota district court challenging a DOC rule imposing a 10% cost-of-confinement surcharge, …