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Reading Death Row Prisoner’s Legal Mail States Sixth Amendment Claim
Reading Death Row Prisoner’s Legal Mail States Sixth Amendment Claim
by David Reutter
The Ninth Circuit has held that a prison guard’s act of reading a prisoner’s legal mail – not merely inspecting or scanning it – constitutes a Sixth Amendment violation.
The Court of Appeals reversed a district court’s ...
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More from this issue:
- $1.56 Million Settlement for Texas Jail Death Due to Drug Withdrawal, by Matthew Clarke
- Pharmacist Associations Take Stand Against Death Penalty, by Greg Dober
- Crime Labs Still in Crisis, by Matthew Clarke
- The Spread of Electronic Monitoring: No Quick Fix for Mass Incarceration, by James Kilgore
- News in Brief
- Maine Jail Raises Pigs to Feed Prisoners, Expands Organic Farm
- Third Circuit: Lack of Training for Jail Guards Bars Summary Judgment; $150,000 Settlement, by Mark Wilson
- Nebraska Supreme Court Upholds One-Hour Law Library Access, by Mark Wilson
- New York: Companies Settle Claims for Discriminating against Ex-Felons, by Gary Hunter
- California Supreme Court Restricts Life Without Parole Sentences for Juveniles
- Deferred Sentence Completion Automatically Restores Civil Rights in New Mexico, by Mark Wilson
- Seventh Circuit Reinstates Prisoner’s Eighth Amendment Suit; $26,875 Settlement on Remand, by Lonnie Burton
- Dismissal of Challenge to Texas City’s Sex Offender Restrictions Reversed, by Matthew Clarke
- Oregon Courts Must Give Notice before Amending Judgment, by Mark Wilson
- Civilly Committed Sex Offenders Increasingly Released in Wisconsin, by Matthew Clarke
- Lawsuit Over Suicide of Oregon Prisoner Settles for $100,000, by Mark Wilson
- Reading Death Row Prisoner’s Legal Mail States Sixth Amendment Claim, by David Reutter
- Third Circuit: No Supervisory Qualified Immunity for Prisoner Suicide, by Mark Wilson
- $345,000 Settlement in Michigan Detainee’s Suicide, by David Reutter
- Book Review: Abolishing the Broken U.S. Juvenile Justice System, by Hannah K. Gold
- San Antonio, Texas Leads the State in Jail Suicides, by Matthew Clarke
- Dismissal of Wrongfully Convicted Prisoner’s Fabricated Evidence Claims Upheld on Appeal, by David Reutter
- New York Settles Wrongful Conviction Claim for $2.7 Million, by Michael Brodheim
- Tasering Detainee as Corporal Inducement Violates Eighth Amendment, by David Reutter
- Video Shows Tulsa Jail Prisoner Subjected to “Horrific” Treatment Prior to Death
- Fifth Circuit Dismisses Female Immigration Detainees’ Sexual Assault Claims, by Matthew Clarke
- Overdose, Taser and Restraint Chair Combine to Kill Washington Prisoner
- $12,500 Settlement for Pennsylvania Prisoner Denied Medication, by David Reutter
- Report Highlights Health Concerns Related to Coal Ash Dump at Pennsylvania Prison, by David Reutter
- Locked Down, Locked Out: Why Prison Doesn’t Work and How We Can Do Better, by Maya Schenwar, by Gary Hunter
- Doctor of Death: Former Jail Physician Leaves Trail of Prisoner Deaths, Injuries, by Matthew Clarke
- Oregon Prison Guard Union Sues Mentally Ill Prisoners
- Second Circuit: Requiring Pretrial Detainees to Perform Forced Labor Unconstitutional; $15,000 Settlement on Remand, by Matthew Clarke
- Washington Enacts Wrongful Conviction Compensation Law; County Reneges on $10.5 Million Settlement with Exonerated Prisoners
- Second Circuit Affirms Muslim Prisoner’s Right Not to Drink Water during Ramadan, by Lonnie Burton
- New York Appellate Court Reverses Dismissal of Rikers Island Wrongful Death Suit, by David Reutter
- Unauthorized Oregon “Offense Surcharges” Reversed, by Mark Wilson
- Oregon: State Must Prove Defendant’s Ability to Pay Attorney Fees, by Mark Wilson
- Sixteen Maryland Prison Guards Sentenced for Severely Beating Prisoner
- Forty Defendants, Including 24 Guards, Convicted in Widespread Corruption Scandal at Baltimore City Jail, by Christopher Zoukis
- Maryland Cannot Compel Retroactive Sex Offender Registration
- Unexhausted Oregon Parole Claims Not Cognizable, by Mark Wilson
- Philadelphia Traffic Court Abolished; Seven Judges Convicted
- California Prisoner’s Conviction for Smuggling Tobacco Overturned, by Lonnie Burton
- Tenth Circuit Misses Chance to Limit Long-Term Solitary Confinement, by Derek Gilna
- Tennessee County Not Required to Pay for Medical Costs after Prisoner’s Release, by David Reutter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Lost and Improperly Destroyed Evidence Thwarts Post-Conviction DNA Testing, by Matthew Clarke
More from David Reutter:
- Philadelphia Agrees to $9.1 Million Settlement for Wrongful Murder Conviction, Feb. 15, 2025
- ‘Fictional Pleas’ and ‘Hidden Departures’: Failure to Collect Data on Binding Federal Plea Bargains Hinders Researchers, Feb. 15, 2025
- First Circuit: Two-Level Enhancement Under § 3B1.1(c) for Leadership or Managerial Role Vacated Because Government Failed to Prove Defendant’s Order Was Actually ‘Obeyed’ by Fellow Criminal Participant, Feb. 15, 2025
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Holds Witness Wearing Surgical Mask During Pandemic Is Denial of Sixth Amendment Right to Face-to-Face Confrontation and No General Exception to This Right for Pandemic or ‘Other Global Events’ Such as Wars and Natural, Feb. 15, 2025
- The Murky Waters of Parole, Feb. 1, 2025
- California Prisoner Awarded Over $1.26 Million in Suit Challenging Withheld Legal Mail Which Resulted in Habeas Loss, Jan. 15, 2025
- Muslim New York Prisoner’s Free Exercise of Religion Claim Reinstated, Jan. 15, 2025
- Fourth Circuit: Baltimore County Prisoners May Qualify as Employees under FLSA, Jan. 15, 2025
- In Failure-to-Treat Claims, Wellpath Denied Dismissal in Virginia, Settles in Pennsylvania, Dec. 15, 2024
- Trends Show Mortality Risks Increase with Higher Jail Turnover Rates, Dec. 15, 2024
More from these topics:
- Sixth Circuit: Leaman Doctrine Did Not Bar Ohio Prisoner’s Pro Se Federal Civil Rights Suit Over Interference with Legal Mail, Feb. 15, 2025. Legal Mail, Censorship, Lost Property.
- California Prisoner Awarded Over $1.26 Million in Suit Challenging Withheld Legal Mail Which Resulted in Habeas Loss, Jan. 15, 2025. Settlements, Habeas Corpus, Mail Regulations, Legal Mail.
- Nevada Supreme Court Holds That Violating Jail Phone Policy Does Not Waive Attorney-Client Privilege, Sept. 15, 2024. Attorney Client, Attorney Calls.
- Washington Prisoner’s Sentence Vacated After Attorney Calls and Visits Were Recorded, Aug. 15, 2024. Attorney Client, Prisoner Privileges, Disclosure of Records, Recordings, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of.
- In New Jersey, Yet More Privileged Phone Calls Between Prisoners and Attorneys Recorded and Used by Prosecutors, July 1, 2024. Attorney Client, Attorney/Client, Recorded Calls.
- Lawsuit Over Mailroom Abuses by Washington DOC Leads to Policy Changes, June 1, 2024. Retaliation for Litigating, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Photos, Sexually Explicit Materials, Mail Regulations, Due Process, Legal Mail.
- Eleventh Circuit Revives Claim Against Florida Jail That Forced Detainee to Scan Legal Mail Into Computer with Memory Chip, March 1, 2024. Jail Specific, Supervisory Liability, Municipal Liability, Legal Mail, First Amendment, rights, Attorney/Client.
- $9,000 Settlement for Florida Prisoner’s Retaliation and Excessive Force Claims Against Guards, Jan. 1, 2024. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Retaliatory Segregation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Legal Mail.
- California Appeal Court Won’t Let Prisoner Use Legal Mail to Send “Kites”, June 22, 2023. Legal Mail, Censorship, Prison Mail.
- $6,500 Settlement After Eleventh Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Florida Jail Officials Who Repeatedly Opened Detainee’s Legal Mail, June 1, 2022. Settlements, Legal Mail, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified.