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New Jersey DOC Sued Twice for Turning “Blind Eye” to “Pervasive” Drug-Smuggling Blamed for Prisoner Deaths by A suit filed in federal court for the District of New Jersey on February 19, 2025, accused officials with the state Department of Corrections (DOC) of failing to protect prisoner Phillip Kellerman from …
Article • May 1, 2025 • from PLN May, 2025
$18,000 for New York Prisoner Who Alleged Guards Planted Shank in Cell by On July 8, 2024, New York prisoner Kerry Kotler finally achieved a small measure of justice from the state Department of Corrections and Community Services (DOCCS) officials whom he accused of planting incriminating evidence in his cell …
Mayhem, Murder and Staff Misconduct at Brooklyn BOP Lockup by The Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), a notorious federal jail in Brooklyn, New York, has made the news repeatedly thanks to some high-profile detainees held there to await trial. But federal prosecutors have also charged nine detainees for a series of …
Senate Votes to Increase Penalties for BOP Contraband Cellphone Smuggling by On September 28, 2024, the U.S. Senate passed legislation enhancing penalties for contraband cellphone possession in federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) lockups. Named after BOP Lt. Osvaldo Albarati, who was killed in a 2013 ambush arranged with contraband cellphones …
Article • January 15, 2025 • from PLN January, 2025
Filed under: Cell Searches, Lockdowns
South Dakota DOC Locks Down Third Prison in 2024 by On October 7, 2024, the South Dakota Department of Corrections (DOC) announced the results of searches conducted during a nearly three-week lockdown begun at the state penitentiary on September 15, 2024. During that time all visitation was suspended for its …
Alabama Guard, Prisoners Among 13 Sentenced in Phone Scam and Drug-Smuggling Ring by On July 1, 2024, the last of 13 people was sentenced in a drug-­smuggling scheme at Alabama’s Donaldson Correctional Facility that included five prisoners. The last of those, Otis “Big O” Bowers, 44, had been sentenced on …
Article • November 15, 2023 • from PLN November, 2023
Filed under: Cell Searches, Lockdowns
Two-Week Texas Prison Lockdown Ends With Puny Contraband Haul by After locking down almost 129,000 prisoners for nearly two weeks to search for contraband, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) announced on September 18, 2023, that “normal operations” had resumed at 64 of its 98 facilities. But prison officials …
Article • June 1, 2023 • from PLN June, 2023
Hawaii Guard One of Four Convicted in Smuggling Scheme at Honolulu Prison by Chuck Sharman by Chuck Sharman A guard and a prisoner at Oahu Community Correctional Center in Honolulu were among four people convicted on federal conspiracy charges in a drug-and-gun-smuggling scheme at the lockup. All but the guard …
Article • May 9, 2023
Filed under: Cell Searches, War on Drugs
Four Charged with Using Drones to Smuggle Drugs into California Prisons by Jordan Arizmendi by Jordan Arizmendi In an indictment unsealed on April 13, 2023, four people were accused of using drone aircraft to deliver drugs into California state prisons. The indictment was brought in federal court for the Eastern …
Prisoner Health Update: K2 by Eike Blohm, MD by Eike Blohm, MD Drugs are ubiquitous behind prison walls, but screening of items sent to prisoners and random drug testing incentivizes the use of substances difficult to detect and easy to conceal. Synthetic cannabinoids, known under numerous monikers such as K2 …
Article • March 1, 2023 • from PLN March, 2023
Smuggling Ring Busted in Georgia Jail, 11 Arrested Including Four Guards and Former Nurse by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott On December 19, 2022, a six-month investigation into contraband smuggling at the Dougherty County Jail (DCJ) in southwest Georgia resulted in charges against 11 suspects. In a stunning …
Article • February 7, 2023
Welsh Prisoner Used Phone Hidden in Rectum to Snag Guards with “Flirty” Calls by Jo Ellen Nott by Jo Ellen Nott A former guard and a former nurse at a prison in the United Kingdom – who both fell for “flirty” calls on a contraband cellphone from a “Romeo inmate,” …
Brief • December 10, 2021
Williams v. CDCR, CA, Class Action Complaint, Conditions of Confinement, 2021 Case 5:21-cv-09586 Document 1 Filed 12/10/21 Page 1 of 39 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Felicia Medina (SBN 255804) fmedina@medinaorthwein.com Jennifer Orthwein (SBN 255196) jorthwein@medinaorthwein.com Shauna Madison (SBN 299585) smadison@medinaorthwien.com Mackenzie …
Article • October 1, 2021 • from PLN October, 2021
Filed under: Cell Searches
Virginia Department of Corrections Confirms Visitation Not Primary Means of Contraband Introduction by Kevin Bliss by Kevin Bliss The Virginia Mercury reported this year that the COVID-19 pandemic has proven that a vast majority of contraband being introduced into the Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) has not been coming from …
Brief • May 21, 2019
United States v. Yandell, et al., CA, affidavit in support of complaint, conspiracy to engage in a racketeer influenced corrupt organization, 2019
NACDL Fourth Amendment Center Compelled Decryption Primer, 2019 Reprinted With Permission from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 2019. To download the original PDF of this primer, please visit www.nacdl.org/fourthamendment Compelled Decryption Primer The Supreme Court recognized in Riley v. California that cell phones The majority of Americans now …
Article • April 24, 2017
Crowd Control Techniques Subject of West Virginia Jail Abuse Suits by Lawsuits filed in 2015 against the West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority (WVRJCFA) claim a special response teams used excessive force on routine searches and cell extractions.  The alleged force involves techniques normally used for crowd control. …
Orange Crush: The Rise of Tactical Teams in Prison by Brian Dolinar by Brian Dolinar, Truthout Since Ferguson, there has been a public outcry over militarized police who shoot down African Americans on the streets of our cities, but less is known beyond prison walls about guards who regularly brutalize those …
A Primer on Prisoners’ Constitutional Rights by Alex Friedmann Prison Legal News (PLN) regularly reports on prison and jail-related court decisions involving violations of prisoners’ constitutional rights. Those who are new to the arena of civil rights litigation and unfamiliar with prisoners’ few remaining rights may need a basic introduction …
Warrantless Jail Cell Manuscript Seizure Vacates Oregon Rape Convictions by Mark Wilson The Oregon Court of Appeals reversed an Oregon man's rape convictions, finding that prosecutors improperly seized a handwritten manuscript from his jail cell without a warrant. Kenneth Everett Moore was arrested on six counts of rape when his …
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