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Third Circuit Agrees With Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Access-to-Courts Claim, But Grants Defendants Qualified Immunity
by David M. Reutter
On June 15, 2022, in a precedential ruling that might help the next prisoner plaintiff, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that “a prisoner has a valid access-to-courts claim” when “denial of access to legal materials — before and/or during trial — ...
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More from this issue:
- Cages Without Bars Are Widening the Net: The Explosion of Electronic Monitoring, by Brian Dolinar, James Kilgore
- Amended Consent Decree Entered in 11-Year-Old Class-Action Challenging Prisoner Healthcare in Illinois DOC, by Douglas Ankney
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Hawaii Inmate Deaths Are The Highest In 10 Years. But The State Can’t Say Why Corrections officials still aren’t providing a cause of death for 20 of the 23 prisoners who died in Hawaii prisons and jails last year., by Kevin Dayton
- Arizona Prisoners Win Preliminary Injunctions Requiring Centurion To Treat Them, by David Reutter
- Minnesota Department of Corrections Searching for Tattooist for New Prison Program, by Jacob Barrett
- Florida Arrests Ex-Felons for Voter Fraud, by David Reutter
- Music Stops in Fifth Circuit’s Qualified Immunity ‘Dance,’ Leaving Plaintiffs With Shortened Discovery Period, by Matthew Clarke
- Plastic Surgery Has a Troubled History Inside Prisons. Some Advocates Want It to Make a Comeback. Should cosmetic procedures be part of how society prepares prisoners to reenter it?, by Zara Stone
- Louisville Jail Counts 12 Deaths in Ten Months, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Third Circuit Agrees With Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Access-to-Courts Claim, But Grants Defendants Qualified Immunity, by David Reutter
- Rhode Island Prisoners Go on Hunger Strike, Staff Denies It, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- California City Ends Private Jail Operator’s Contract After Mass Employee Resignations, by Keith Sanders
- $3 Million From Forsyth County, No Stay in Civil Case Against Wellpath Nurse Indicted for Involuntary Manslaughter of N.C. Jail Detainee, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Eighth Circuit Revives Missouri Prisoner’s Claim Against Prison Food Manager for Denying Renal Diet, by David Reutter
- Nevada Muslim Prisoner Wins Suit Over Denial of Jumu’ah Prayer, by Harold Hempstead
- Guards Fleeing Texas Prisons, by Matthew Clarke
- California Prison Guards Sentenced for Assaulting Prisoners, by Jacob Barrett
- ‘Qualified Immunity Cannot Shield Them’: Fourth Circuit Advances Suit by Virginia Prisoners for Overlong Solitary Confinement, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Ohio Supreme Court Grants Records but No Damages for Prisoner Making Request, by Jacob Barrett
- Eleventh Circuit Says Passover Sign-Up Requirement in Florida Jail Passes Constitutional Muster, by David Reutter
- Will Overturning Roe v. Wade Kill the Right to Abortion Under BOP Policy?, by Dale Chappell
- California Guards Kill Two Prisoners Who Attacked a Third, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Second Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Wardens Accused of Violating Religious Freedom of Muslim Prisoners in Connecticut, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Idaho Cancels Execution Because It Cannot Obtain Lethal Injection Drugs, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Prisoner Health Update: MRSA Infections, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Arizona Jail Racks Up Four Deaths And Two Escapes In Less Than Two Months, by Chuck Sharman
- Fifth Circuit Holds PLRA’s ‘Three-Strikes’ Provision Does Not Apply to Actions Removed From State Court, by Matthew Clarke
- BOP Settles for $4.18 Million With Six Prisoners Raped by Guard at Now-Shuttered Manhattan Federal Jail, by Casey Bastian
- Incarceration Exacerbates Obesity in America, by Keith Sanders
- Ohio Pays $185,000 to State Prisoner Bitten in Genitals by K-9, by Keith Sanders
- Former Felons Elected to Rhode Island Legislature, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Investor Lawsuit Against GEO Group Trimmed, by David Reutter
- Federal Judge in South Carolina Holds BOP Liable for Delayed Treatment That Left Federal Prisoner Partially Blinded, by Casey Bastian
- California Prison Officials Cleared After Prisoner Murders Two Sex Offenders, by David Reutter
- $450,000 Settlement to Illinois Prisoner Whose Untreated Boil Left Him Paraplegic, by Harold Hempstead
- $3.5 Million Paid To Estate Of Iowa Jail Detainee Who Suffered Seizure And Died When Left Unattended, by Keith Sanders
- New Connecticut Law Restricts Use of Solitary Confinement, by David Reutter, Keith Sanders
- Daughter of Condemned Missouri Prisoner Unsuccessfully Sues to Witness His Execution, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Former South Carolina Sheriff Begins 46-Month Prison Term for Corruption, by Ashleigh Dye
- ‘Tragic and Wholly Unacceptable’ Gang Violence Erupts at Georgia Women’s Prison, by Jenifer Lockwood
- Virginia Swipes Sentence Credits From 560 Prisoners Just About to Get Out, by David Reutter
- Georgia Prisoner Sentenced to Death for Killing Two Guards Dies by Apparent Suicide, by Keith Sanders
- GEO Group Gets Another Extension to Biden’s Deadline for USMS at California Prison, by Jenifer Lockwood
- UCLA Study Finds Over Half of ‘Natural’ Deaths Inside L.A. County Jails Showed Signs of Physical Harm, by Keith Sanders
- Ex-Prisoner Re-Elected to New York State Assembly, by Keith Sanders
- Fifth Circuit: Martinez Report May Not Override Factual Allegations in Prisoner’s Complaint, by Matthew Clarke
- Over $237,000 Awarded in Wisconsin Prisoner’s Suit Accusing Guard of Unwanted Sexual Advances, by Kevin Bliss
- Potentially Fatal Legionella Bacteria Found at Six Illinois Prisons, by Casey Bastian
- OIG Report Defers Claims That ICE Detainees in Georgia Had Forced Hysterectomies, by Ashleigh Dye
- Second Circuit: N.Y. Detainee Didn’t Fail to Exhaust Administrative Remedies When Jail Grievance Procedure Excluded Matter Forming Basis of Claim, by Matthew Clarke
- ‘Time for Me to Go’: Troubled Oklahoma Jail Loses Administrator, by Matthew Clarke
- Mississippi Demands $1.9 Million From MTC For Short-Staffing Private State Prison, by Kevin Bliss
- Oklahoma Raises Pay for Execution Doctors From $300 to $15,000 Per Execution, Still Won’t Say Who They Are or What They Do, by Matthew Clarke
- Mississippi Reopens Walnut Grove Prison Just in Time for Prison Population Explosion, by Harold Hempstead
- HRDC Sues Wyoming Jail for Unlawful Censorship, by Douglas Ankney
- $115,000 Settlement for Excessive Pepper-Spraying of Maine Prisoner, by David Reutter
- Florida Supreme Court: Trial Courts Have Authority to Correct Sentencing Errors, But Subject to Time Limits, by David Reutter
- Massive Price Tags and Meager Results: The Legacy of Federal Monitors in New York City, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- ACLU Accepts $37,500 Settlement Over Redacted Records From New Mexico Prison Healthcare Provider, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- News in Brief
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:
- Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Missouri Guards in Transgender Prisoner’s Suit Alleging Retaliation and Unreasonable Search, Jan. 15, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Retaliatory Searches, Qualified Immunity, Discrimination (Transgender), Immunity - Absolute and Qualified.
- Ninth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for California Jail Nurse Who Cleared Detainee for Release Just Before His Suicide, Nov. 15, 2024. Failure to Treat, Suicides, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified.
- Third Circuit Affirms Qualified Immunity for Pennsylvania Guards Who Pepper-Sprayed Asthmatic Prisoner, Nov. 15, 2024. Guard Misconduct, Medical Experiments/Exploitation, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Qualified Immunity, Guards/Staff, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified.
- Eighth Circuit Upholds Denial of Qualified Immunity to Minnesota Guard Accused of Assaulting Restrained and Compliant Prisoner, Nov. 15, 2024. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Qualified Immunity, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified.
- Iowa Qualified Immunity Law Lets County Off the Hook for Guard’s Sex Abuse of Jail Detainee, Oct. 15, 2024. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Qualified Immunity, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified.
- Eleventh Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity to Georgia Jailers Who Housed White Detainee With Black Cellmate Held for Racially Motivated Attack, Aug. 15, 2024. Racial/Ethnic Bias/Profiling, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified.
- The Catch-22 of Qualified Immunity, Aug. 15, 2024. Police Misconduct, Qualified Immunity, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified.
- Eighth Circuit Largely Restores Qualified Immunity to Minnesota Jail Guards in Use of Force on Bipolar Prisoner, July 1, 2024. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Qualified Immunity, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified.
- Qualified Immunity Denied to Former New Mexico Warden in Prisoner’s Sexual Abuse Claim, May 1, 2024. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Discovery, Qualified Immunity, Supervisory Liability, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified.
- Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Illinois Jail Guards Who Relied on Nurse’s Opinion that Detainee Was “Faking” Symptoms Before He Died, April 26, 2024. Guard Misconduct, Failure to Treat, Jail Specific, Qualified Immunity, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Immunity - Absolute and Qualified, Deliberate Indifference.