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Justice Sotomayor Slams Solitary Confinement, but Supreme Court Declines to Accept Colorado Solitary Case

Article • November 6, 2018 • from PLN November, 2018

Filed under: Judiciary, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

Justice Sotomayor Slams Solitary Confinement, but Supreme Court Declines to Accept Colorado Solitary Case by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna The U.S. Supreme Court receives thousands of petitions for writ of certiorari from federal appellate rulings each term and denies the vast majority of those applications, generally with a one-sentence …

Louisiana Judge’s Views May Warrant Recusal in All Death Penalty Cases

Article • August 8, 2018 • from PLN August, 2018

Filed under: Judiciary, Recusal, Death Penalty

Louisiana Judge’s Views May Warrant Recusal in All Death Penalty Cases by David R. Bailey by David R. Bailey Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Scott Crichton’s self-recusal from hearing “Angola 5” David Brown’s death penalty appeal ensured that Brown’s due process rights would not be compromised. Brown feared he could not …

The Catalyst: Thelton Henderson Transformed California’s Criminal Justice System. Now Comes the Backlash

Article • August 6, 2018 • from PLN August, 2018

Filed under: Prison Reform, Criminal justice system reform, Judiciary

The Catalyst: Thelton Henderson Transformed California’s Criminal Justice System. Now Comes the Backlash by Abbie Vansickle by Abbie Vansickle, The Marshall Project As the judge climbed the watchtower stairs in Pelican Bay prison, he heard muffled gunshots below. When he reached the top, he looked into the prison yard and …

Studies on Financing of Judicial Campaigns Indicate Need for Reform

Article • February 8, 2017 • from PLN February, 2017

Filed under: Judicial Misconduct, Organizing, Lobbying, Advocacy, Prison Reform, Judiciary

Studies on Financing of Judicial Campaigns Indicate Need for Reform by Derek Gilna Several recent reports have examined the impact that skyrocketing campaign spending has on state court judicial elections, and whether the infusion of cash into such races is compromising judicial impartiality and integrity. One study, “Bankrolling the Bench: …

Model Mental Health Care Diversion System Started by Miami Judge

Article • January 10, 2017 • from PLN January, 2017

Filed under: Advocacy, Prison Reform, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Judiciary, Mental Health, Drug Treatment/Rehab, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Civil Commitment

Model Mental Health Care Diversion System Started by Miami Judge by David Reutter Thanks to the efforts of Florida Eleventh Circuit Court Judge Steve Leifman, Miami-Dade County is leading the way in how police and the courts deal with the mentally ill. As PLN has reported over the years, jails …

Ninth Circuit Vacates Generalized Order to Shackle Pretrial Defendants, En Banc Review Granted

Article • January 10, 2017 • from PLN January, 2017

Filed under: Restraints, Court Access, Judiciary

Ninth Circuit Vacates Generalized Order to Shackle Pretrial Defendants, En Banc Review Granted by The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held in August 2015 that a full restraint policy imposed on pretrial detainees in non-jury proceedings “ought to be justified by a commensurate need.” Before the Court were the consolidated …

Prominent Texas Capital Defense Attorney Suspended for a Year

Article • December 7, 2016 • from PLN December, 2016

Filed under: Judicial Misconduct, Retaliation, Retaliation for Litigating, Advocacy, Prison Reform, Public Defenders, Attorney, Judiciary, Contempt (Civil Procedure), Sanctions, Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty, Death Row

Prominent Texas Capital Defense Attorney Suspended for a Year by David Dow has near-legendary status among death penalty attorneys in Texas. He works pro bono for clients whose lives literally depend on him; he takes their cases after they arrive on death row, often seeking to right the wrongs committed …

New Politics of Judicial Elections, Justice at Stake, 2006

Publication • December 1, 2016

Filed under: Court Access, Judiciary

New Politics of Judicial Elections, Justice at Stake, 2006 THE NEW POLITICS OF JUDICIAL ELECTIONS 2006 How 2006 Was the Most Threatening Year Yet to the Fairness and Impartiality of Our Courts—and How Americans are Fighting Back by James Sample and Lauren Jones Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School …

IFRP Restitution Issues May Not Be Delegated to BOP by Sentencing Judge

Article • September 8, 2016

Filed under: Judiciary, Restitution

IFRP Restitution Issues May Not Be Delegated to BOP by Sentencing Judge by Derek Gilna The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has ruled that "a sentencing court must review the issue of defendant restitution, not simply order "immediate" repayment and delegate the details of the actual payment …

Supreme Court: Judges Who Were Significantly Involved in Cases as Prosecutors Must Recuse

Article • September 6, 2016

Filed under: Judicial Misconduct, Judiciary, Recusal

Supreme Court: Judges Who Were Significantly Involved in Cases as Prosecutors Must Recuse by There is a risk of bias that is impermissible under the Due Process Clause where the judge in a case previously had significant, personal involvement in a critical decision in the case while serving as prosecutor.  …

MN Judge Sends HIV-Positive Prisoner to Psych Hospital, Blasts System that Jails Mentally Ill

Article • August 26, 2016

Filed under: Prison Reform, HIV/AIDS, Failure to Protect (General), Judiciary, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Failure to Protect (Staff)

MN Judge Sends HIV-Positive Prisoner to Psych Hospital, Blasts System that Jails Mentally Ill by A Minnesota judge in April 2012 blamed political indifference for a justice system that warehouses the mentally-ill in county jails and ultimately led to a guard's death 10 weeks after he fought with a schizophrenic …

Regaining Perspective - Constitutional Criminal Adjudication in the U.S. Supreme Court, Crespo, 1985

Publication • August 12, 2016

Filed under: Court Access, Judiciary, Due Process

Regaining Perspective - Constitutional Criminal Adjudication in the U.S. Supreme Court, Crespo, 1985 Article Regaining Perspective: Constitutional Criminal Adjudication in the U.S. Supreme Court Andrew Manuel Crespo† INTRODUCTION A classic is a work that lives on through time, not because it is static and inert, but because it speaks continuously …

The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2000-2009, Brennan Center for Justice, 2010

Publication • August 10, 2016

Filed under: Court Access, Judiciary

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Porn and Referral Fee Scandals Force Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice’s Retirement

Article • August 5, 2016

Filed under: Judicial Misconduct, Judiciary

Porn and Referral Fee Scandals Force Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice’s Retirement by David Reutter In the midst of a pornographic email scandal, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Seamus P. McCaffery retired. That move came just a week after his colleagues issued an order suspending him from all judicial work and instructing …

Elected Judges and the Death Penalty in Texas, Bright, 2000

Publication • August 3, 2016

Filed under: Judiciary, Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty

Elected Judges and the Death Penalty in Texas, Bright, 2000 Elected Judges and the Death Penalty in Texas: Why Full Habeas Corpus Review by Independent Federal Judges Is Indispensable to Protecting Constitutional Rights Stephen B. Bright* Texas Law Review, Volume 78, page 1806 (2000) Copyright c 2000 Texas Law Review …

Texas Judge Indicted for Making Secret Deal with Red-light Camera Company

Article • August 2, 2016 • from PLN August, 2016

Filed under: Judicial Misconduct, Judiciary

Texas Judge Indicted for Making Secret Deal with Red-light Camera Company by Smith County, Texas Judge Joel Patrick Baker was suspended without pay on June 21, 2016 after being arrested the previous week on three misdemeanor counts of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act. Baker, who has denied any wrongdoing, …

The Gavel Gap: Who Sits in Judgement on State Courts, ACSLP, 2016

Publication • 2016

Filed under: Organizing, Court Access, Judiciary, Civil Procedure

Can Judicial Independence Be Attained in the South, GA State University Law Review (Bright), Vol 14, P 817, July, 1998

Publication • February 15, 2016

Filed under: Court Access, Judiciary

Can Judicial Independence Be Attained in the South, GA State University Law Review (Bright), Vol 14, P 817, July, 1998 CAN JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE BE ATTAINED IN THE SOUTH? OVERCOMING HISTORY, ELECTIONS, AND MISPERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE ROLE OF THE JUDICIARY By Stephen B. Bright* Volume 14, Georgia State University Law Review, …

Federal Judges Very Rarely Sanctioned for Misconduct

Article • February 2, 2016 • from PLN February, 2016

Filed under: Judicial Misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Judiciary

Federal Judges Very Rarely Sanctioned for Misconduct by Matthew Clarke Federal judges, who have lifetime appointments, hold positions that give them unique power to control the future of defendants who appear before them in public proceedings. However, when it comes to examining the personal behavior of those same jurists, they …

Supreme Court Sets Aside Florida’s Death Penalty Sentencing Procedure

Article • February 2, 2016 • from PLN February, 2016

Filed under: Judicial Misconduct, Judiciary, Death Penalty

Supreme Court Sets Aside Florida’s Death Penalty Sentencing Procedure by Derek Gilna The U.S. Supreme Court, in an 8-1 decision, has ruled that Florida’s system of allowing juries to make death penalty recommendations that judges may or may not follow is unconstitutional. According to Justice Sonia Sotomayer, the “jury’s recommendation …