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New York Prisoner Gets Mixed Verdict in Retaliatory Beating Ruling
Loaded on June 15, 2010
published in Prison Legal News
June, 2010, page 40
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a mixed verdict in an appeal by New York state prisoner Cesar A. Espinal. Espinal’s § 1983 suit, which was filed pro se, accused a total of 14 guards and other prison officials of the New York State Department of Correctional Services (DOCS) …
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More from this issue:
- Secret Justice: Criminal Informants and America’s Underground Legal System, by Alexandra Natapoff
- New Details Regarding Race Riot at USP Florence, by Brandon Sample
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Dozens of CIA “Ghost” Detainees Unaccounted For, by Matthew Clarke
- ACLU Report Applauds Michigan’s Efforts to Reduce Prison Population, by David Reutter
- Report on Prison Privatization Plagued with Political Connections, Conflicts of Interest, Faulty Data
- Habeas Hints: Certificate of Appealability, by Kent A. Russell
- $315,000 Settlement in Illegal Arizona Police Strip Search
- Salt Lake County Agrees to Pay $75,000 to Settle Jail Suicide Suit
- 50,000 Illinois Felons Released Without DNA Collection
- California Jail Detainee Attacked by Cellmate, Family Accepts $1.85 Million, by Michael Brodheim
- Book Review: Anne-Marie Cusac, Cruel and Unusual: The Culture of Punishment in America, 336 pp, Yale University Press, $27.50, by Amy Vanderwarker
- Georgia’s Privatized Probation System Traps the Poor, by David Reutter
- Judge Finds Unconstitutional Conditions at Massachusetts Jail, 11 Years After Suit is Filed, by Brandon Sample
- Ninth Circuit: California Lifers Have No Inherent U.S. Constitutional Right to Parole, by John Dannenberg
- Report Details Societal Effects of High School Dropout Rates – Including Incarceration, by David Reutter
- $1,500 Settlement for Wisconsin Prisoner’s Cold Cell Conditions Claim
- California: Budget Cuts Target Rehabilitation Programs, by Michael Brodheim
- Pennsylvania Judges Involved in Corruption Case Face Liability; 5,000 Convictions Thrown Out, by David Reutter
- $2,750 Settlement in California Prisoner’s Denial of Exercise Claim
- Montana State and County Officials May be Liable for Injuries Caused by Private Prisoner Transport Company
- NACDL Releases Report on U.S. Drug and Mental Health Courts, by Matthew Clarke
- PLN Prevails in Public Records Suit Against GEO Group, by Alex Friedmann
- Fifth Circuit: RLUIPA Does Not Create Individual Capacity Cause of Action
- Virginia Sheriff Sentenced to 19 Months on Corruption Charges
- Prison Psychologist Shoots Ex-Prisoner Boyfriend, Loses Her License
- Georgia Jail Settles PLN Censorship Suit, Pays $149,759.21 in Damages, Attorney Fees
- Oregon Prison Officials Treat Heart Failure with Antacid, Tylenol, Heat Pack, by Mark Wilson
- BOP Agrees to Pay $30,000 to Prisoner Assaulted by Guards
- New Jersey: Class-Action Status Granted in Suit Challenging Conditions of Confinement at Passaic County Jail, by Michael Brodheim
- Oregon Youth Authority Warden Gives Agency a Black Eye
- U.S. Attorney Nominees Involved in Hiding Court Records, by David Reutter
- $60,000 Settlement in New York Jail Captain’s Assault on Prisoner
- California: Furloughing Prison Employees Costing Taxpayers More, by Michael Brodheim
- Sixth Circuit: Shy Bladder Suit Returned to District Court
- Florida Prisoner Exonerated by DNA After Serving 35 Years, by David Reutter
- Being in Unauthorized Jail Area Without Escape Intent Not a Crime in Indiana
- Fourth Circuit Holds Individual Capacity Damage Claims Unavailable Under RLUIPA
- Ninth Circuit Holds Prosecutors Immune for Parole Recommendations, by Mark Wilson
- New York Prisoner Gets Mixed Verdict in Retaliatory Beating Ruling
- Ninth Circuit: Race-Based Prison Lockdowns Must Satisfy Strict-Scrutiny Standard
- Federal Circuit Rejects Prisoner’s Claim of Copyright Infringement
- DC Circuit Reverses CCA/TransCor Non-Exhaustion Dismissal
- Summary Judgment Reversed in Illinois Jail Suicide Suit
- California: Indefinite Civil Commitment of Sexually Violent Predators May Violate Equal Protection
- Reversal of Summary Judgment on 55-Day New York SHU Placement Claim
- Mental Health Specialist May be Liable in California Jail Detainee’s Suicide
- New York’s Catch-All Contraband and Anti-Smuggling Rules Unconstitutionally Vague
- No Liberty Interest Under Utah Parole Scheme
- No Qualified Immunity for Excessive Force at Ohio Jail
- Sixth Circuit: RLUIPA Does Not Permit Monetary Damages
- Ineffective Attempts to Protect Texas Prisoner Were Sufficient
- No Qualified Immunity for Denial of Protective Custody to Ohio Prisoner
- Illinois: Disabled Detainees’ Discrimination Claims May Proceed to Trial
- New York City Jail: $275,000 Settlement in Prisoner-on-Prisoner Assault
- California: Prison Appeals Coordinator Who Rejected Dental Complaints Held Liable for $1,500 in Damages
- News in Brief:
More from these topics:
- Differing Judicial Outcomes for the New York Guards Who Killed Robert Brooks, Feb. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Pending Appeal/Sentencing.
- The New York Prison System’s Culture of Cruelty and Impunity, Feb. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death).
- $404,000 Verdict for Ohio Prisoner Brutalized by Trio of Guards, Kept in Solitary for Two Years, Jan. 1, 2026. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Retaliatory Segregation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.
- Maryland Agrees to Pay $30,000 to Prisoner Who Was Beaten by Guards While Handcuffed, Jan. 1, 2026. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Snitch Jacketing, Liberty Interests, Evidence, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity for Michigan Jailer Accused of Retaliatory Assault, Jan. 1, 2026. Retaliation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Qualified Immunity, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- U.S. District Court in Arizona Grants Summary Judgment in Favor of Prisoner Denial of Forms for Challenging 455 Days of Solitary, Jan. 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Chemical Spraying of Mentally Ill Inmates, Deliberate Indifference.
- Second Circuit Vacates Finding that Prisoner Failed to Exhaust Administrative Remedies; Remands Conditions of Confinement and Due Process Claims, Dec. 1, 2025. Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Municipal Liability, Ad-Seg Hearings.
- Eighth Circuit: Former Prisoner’s Amended Complaint Filed After Release Not Subject to PLRA Exhaustion Requirement, Dec. 1, 2025. Failure to Treat, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Complaints, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Deliberate Indifference.
- One Guard Pleads Guilty, Another Receives Light Sentence in New York Prisoner’s Killing, Dec. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Obstruction of Justice, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
- Record $42.75 Million Verdict in Louisiana Detainee’s Death in LaSalle Jail, Dec. 1, 2025. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Contractor Liability, Failure to Train/Supervise, Deliberate Indifference.

