Skip navigation
Prison Legal News
× You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Jail Detainee’s Urine Not a ‘Noxious or Filthy Substance’

Loaded on April 1, 2023 by David Reutter published in Prison Legal News April, 2023, page 36
Filed under: False Charges (Disciplinary Hearings), Sanitation. Location: Massachusetts.

by David M. Reutter

In an opinion issued on November 22, 2022, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that urine is not a “noxious or filthy substance.” Therefore, the Court affirmed dismissal of vandalism charges against a detainee for urinating on a jail’s floor.

Angel O. Perez Narvaez was ...

 

Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.

As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.

Subscribe today

Already a subscriber? Login

More from this issue:

  1. “I Was Scheduled to Die in Solitary Confinement” – and May Soon Be Again, by Mark Wilson
  2. From the Editor, by Paul Wright
  3. Detainees Awaiting Psychiatric Beds Suffer Permanent Harm in Jails, by Eike Blohm, MD
  4. Monterey County Sheriff’s Office Poised for Much-Needed Cleanup, by Kevin Bliss
  5. Federal Judge Tells BOP Officials They “Are Not Above the Law”, by Casey Bastian
  6. U.S. Response to Haitian Crisis: Fund More Prisons, by Jayson Hawkins
  7. California Halted from Re-Integrating “Sensitive Needs” Prisoners Into General Population, by David Reutter
  8. Circuit Court Orders Hawaii to Release Names of Prisoners Who Die in State’s Jails and Prisons, by Keith Sanders
  9. Former CoreCivic Guard Pleads Guilty to Deprivation of Tennessee Prisoner’s Rights, by Harold Hempstead
  10. $1.9 Million Paid by L.A. County for Detainee’s Suicide, by Chuck Sharman
  11. Sixth Circuit Revives Claim Over Michigan Prisoner’s Fatal Overdose on Allegedly Smuggled Fentanyl, by David Reutter
  12. Santa Clara County Sheriff Accused of Coverup After $10 Million Payout to Mentally Ill Detainee Who Severely Injured Himself During Jail Transport, by Benjamin Tschirhart
  13. Polling Stations Inside Jails Combat Voter Disenfranchisement, by Keith Sanders
  14. New Mexico Supreme Court Rules Both Prisoners and Nonprofit Plaintiffs Subject to Requirement to Exhaust Administrative Remedies, by Jacob Barrett
  15. Nevada DOC Director Sacked After Prisoner Escape Goes Unnoticed Four Days, by Ashleigh Dye
  16. Almost $650,000 Paid by Illinois to Prisoner Who Lost Leg to Untreated Diabetes, by Keith Sanders
  17. $11.75 Million Settlement for Prisoner Beating in Pheonix Jail, by Casey Bastian
  18. SCOTUS Ruling Forces Ninth Circuit U-Turn on Damages Suit by Federal Prisoner in California “Snitch Jacketed” by Guard, by Kevin Bliss
  19. BOP Revives Plans for Controversial Prison in Kentucky, by Kevin Bliss
  20. Second Circuit Takes Back $20,000 Emotional Damage Award from Former Federal Prisoner in New York, by Benjamin Tschirhart
  21. California Extends Medi-Cal Health Benefits to Prisoners Nearing Release, by Eike Blohm, MD
  22. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Jail Detainee’s Urine Not a ‘Noxious or Filthy Substance’, by David Reutter
  23. Iowa Ombudsman Calls Out DOC For Unfair Prisoner Discipline, by Kevin Bliss
  24. Virginia DOC Resists Prisoner Fee Cuts, by Ashleigh Dye
  25. Washington Racks Up More Than $98 Million in Fines for Failure to Timely Hold Competency Hearings, by Jacob Barrett
  26. Third Circuit Unbothered by Pennsylvania’s Discrimination Against Sex Offenders in Denying Parole to Halfway Houses, by David Reutter
  27. Indiana Will Now Send Low-Level Felons to Prison Instead of Jail, by Casey Bastian
  28. Fourth Circuit: Religious Headwear Policy Violated Virginia Prisoner’s Rights, by David Reutter
  29. A Lesson in Pleading: Utah Jail Suicide Complaint Fails for Alleging Failure to Train Rather than Failure to Provide Care, by David Reutter
  30. Texas Prison Warden and Brother Charged with Shooting Two Migrants, Killing One, by Ashleigh Dye
  31. Sixth Circuit Says Ohio Prisoner’s Lack of Tablet Access May Have Prevented Grievance Exhaustion, by David Reutter
  32. California Makes Calls Free for State Prisoners and Juvenile Detainees, Prohibits Telecom Kickbacks to Prisons and Jails, by Benjamin Tschirhart
  33. $35,000 Awarded to Federal Prisoner in Kentucky Who Accused Guards of Using Excessive Force, by Benjamin Tschirhart
  34. Educating Prisoners: New Meta-Analysis Reinforces That It Reduces Recidivism, by Keith Sanders
  35. $2.375 Million Settlement in Over-Detention Suit at Santa Clara California Jail, by David Reutter
  36. Montana Supreme Court Grants State Prisoner 604 Days in Sentence Credit, by David Reutter
  37. En Banc Ninth Circuit Voids Portion of California Law Banning Private Federal Prisons in the State, by Jacob Barrett
  38. Report Shows How Perverse Financial Incentives Drive Mass Incarceration and Inequity in Criminal Justice System, by Matthew Clarke
  39. Arizona Prisoner Waits in Excruciating Pain While Incompetent Executioners Fumble, by Eike Blohm, MD
  40. How the Newest Federal Prison Became One of the Deadliest, by Christie Thompson and Joseph Shapiro
  41. No More Second Chances for New York Jail Guard Convicted of Smuggling, by Benjamin Tschirhart
  42. No Pay for Iowa Prisoners Overdosed With COVID-19 Vaccine, by Benjamin Tschirhart
  43. “Ban the Box” Hiring Law Sets National Standard for Federal Contracts, by Keith Sanders
  44. Former State Prison Guards in Georgia Sentenced for Prisoner Assaults and Cover-Up, by Jayson Hawkins
  45. Suspended Colorado Work Release Program Exposes Companies’ Reliance on Low-Wage Labor, by Benjamin Tschirhart
  46. Seventh Circuit Revives Claim of Wheelchair-Bound Wisconsin Prisoner Denied Access to Handicapped Toilet, by David Reutter
  47. Seventh Circuit Overturns Class Decertification in Cook County Jail Disability Lawsuit, by David Reutter
  48. Despite Official Claims, Stopping Mail to Missouri Prisoners Has No Effect on Drug Overdoses, by Benjamin Tschirhart
  49. Former Georgia Sheriff Gets 18 Months for Punishing Detainees in Restraint Chair, by David Reutter
  50. Gun Safety Group Defeats Re-Election of “Constitutional Sheriff” in Massachusetts, by Keith Sanders
  51. $1.2 Million Paid by St. Louis County for Jail Detainee’s Death from Untreated Ulcer, by David Reutter
  52. Voters in Four States Change Constitution to Ban Prison Slavery, by Keith Sanders
  53. News in Brief

More from David Reutter:

More from these topics: