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Archive: 2013

December

• FCC Order Heralds Hope for Reform of Prison Phone Industry by John Dannenberg (p 1)
• Prison Phone Companies Fight for Lucrative Florida DOC Contract by David Ganim (p 24)
• Consolidated Footnotes – Charts A to D (p 24)
• From the Editor by Paul Wright (p 26)
• Habeas Hints: Staring Down the Two-Headed Monster: Richter-Pinholster by Kent A. Russell (p 28)
• BOP Compromises on Plan to Transfer Prisoners from FCI Danbury by Derek Gilna (p 32)
• Telemedicine Behind Bars (p 34)
• Third Circuit Allows Prisoner's Substitution of Deceased Guard’s Estate (p 35)
• Under Fire, the Federal Bureau of Prisons Audits its Use of Solitary Confinement - and Buys a New Supermax Prison by James Ridgeway (p 36)
• BOP Settles Lawsuits Related to Food Poisoning at Pennsylvania Prison by Derek Gilna (p 38)
• The Invisible Crisis of Correctional Health Care by Cara Tabachnick (p 38)
• California Supreme Court Addresses CDCR Gang Associate Validation (p 40)
• Ninth Circuit Affirms Finding that Claim Accrues Each Time a Request for Conjugal Visits is Denied (p 40)
• Ninth Circuit Reinstates Disabled Prisoner's Deliberate Indifference Claim (p 42)
• Kansas Supreme Court Holds Inpatient Drug Treatment Time Counts as Jail Time in Consecutive Non-Drug Case (p 42)
• Eighth Circuit Initially Allows Non-Delegation Challenge to SORNA, then Reverses Course by Derek Gilna (p 45)
• No Summary Judgment on Claim that Guard Stole Prisoner’s Wedding Ring (p 46)
• Wyoming Sheriff Granted Qualified Immunity for Jail Guard’s Sexual Assault (p 46)
• Ninth Circuit: Residential Reentry Center Walkaway is Not Escape (p 47)
• Kansas Supreme Court Vacates Attorney Fee Reimbursement Order (p 48)
• Minnesota: Favorable Resolution of Charges Establishes Rebuttable Presumption of Expungement (p 48)
• Possession of Cell Phone Doesn’t Violate Nevada Escape Device Statute (p 48)
• Iowa Voting Rights Restoration Process Becomes Slightly Less Onerous (p 50)
• Massachusetts Warden Removed After Eight Months on the Job (p 50)
• Elder Abuse in Prisons: The Call for Elder Justice and Human Rights Protections Behind Bars by Tina Maschi (p 52)
• New York City’s Revised Indigent Defense Services Plan Upheld (p 54)
• British Court Blocks Sex Offender’s Extradition to U.S. Due to “Draconian” Civil Commitment Policies (p 54)
• News in Brief (p 56)

November

• The Too-Many Prisoners Dilemma by Dan Froomkin (p 1)
• This Draconian System of Punishment and Abuse: An Interview with Former Political Prisoner Ray Luc Levasseur by Aviva Stahl
• Voices from Solitary: A Prison Where the Building Becomes the Shackles by Ray Luc Lavasseur
• From the Editor by Paul Wright (p 8)
• Texas Judges Rarely Disciplined, Seldom Publicly by Matthew Clarke (p 9)
• Habeas Hints: Staring Down the Two-Headed Monster: Richter-Pinholster by Kent A. Russell (p 12)
• The Real Costs of Incarceration in the United States (p 15)
• Attorney Fees Not Exempt from Disclosure Under California Public Records Act (p 17)
• PLN Files Censorship Suit Against Nevada DOC (p 18)
• Traumatic Brain Injury Rate High Among Prisoners by Matthew Clarke (p 18)
• Debtors' Prisons Returning to America by David Reutter (p 20)
• Hell on Earth: Sexual Victimization of the Criminally Insane by David Rosen (p 22)
• China Vows to Finance Incarceration with Public Funds, Not Prison Profits (p 23)
• PLN Challenges Postcard-only Policy at Tennessee Jail (p 24)
• Oregon Considers Subsidizing Prison Medical Costs Through Medicaid (p 24)
• Federal Justice Grants Favor Prosecution, Law Enforcement Over Indigent Defense (p 26)
• Texas Prison Population Drops but Savings Evaporate by Matthew Clarke (p 26)
• Minnesota Judge Condemns System that Jails Mentally Ill (p 28)
• Federal Prisoners Paid During Government Shutdown, but Not Prison Guards by Derek Gilna (p 28)
• GEO Group Pulls out of Mississippi Prisons by David Reutter (p 30)
• Gun Found in Segregation Cell at Privately-operated Mississippi Prison (p 33)
• New Exonerations Registry Catalogs Over 2,400 Wrongful Convictions (p 34)
• New York City Jail Chaplain Fined for Accepting Bribe, Pleads Guilty to Fraud Charges (p 34)
• New Hampshire Supreme Court Revives Prisoner's Negligence Action (p 35)
• Prisoners in Texas Jail Providing Less Slave Labor (p 36)
• Book Review: Against Their Will: The Secret History of Medical Experimentation on Children in Cold War America by Christopher Zoukis (p 36)
• Third Circuit Reverses More Stringent Conditions of Supervised Release by Derek Gilna (p 38)
• Second Circuit: Bankruptcy Automatic Stay is No Excuse for Non-payment of Restitution by Derek Gilna (p 38)
• Best Criminal Defense Pleading Ever! by Alex Friedmann (p 40)
• Connecticut Supreme Court Reverses FOIA Disclosure of NCIC Printout (p 40)
• California: No-Gang-Contact Probation Condition Struck Down (p 41)
• Ninth Circuit: Adam Walsh Detention Doesn’t Toll Term of Supervised Release by Derek Gilna (p 42)
• Four West Virginia Officials, including Circuit Court Judge, Face Federal Charges by Christopher Zoukis (p 42)
• U.S. Department of Justice Reports Statistics on State Prosecutors by Matthew Clarke (p 44)
• Eighth Circuit Upholds North Dakota Transient’s Failure-to-Register Conviction (p 44)
• California: Enhanced Presentence Conduct Credits Not Available to Defendants Who Committed Crimes Before Statute’s Effective Date (p 45)
• Philippines Prison Suspends Thriller Dancers (p 46)
• California: State Not Liable for Failure to Provide Needed Treatment so Long as Medical Care is Summoned (p 46)
• ICE Directive May Limit Solitary Confinement of Immigrant Detainees by Derek Gilna (p 48)
• Denial of Contraceptive Pill to Prisoner States Cause of Action (p 48)
• Anonymous PREA Hotlines Not So Anonymous (p 50)
• Montana Jail Fresh Air/Exercise Lawsuit Certified as Class Action, Then Settles (p 50)
• D.C. Circuit Clears Terrorism Suspect after 11-Year Ordeal by Derek Gilna (p 51)
• Audit Reveals Federal Prison Industries Faces Declining Revenue, Job Losses by Derek Gilna (p 52)
• Fifth Circuit: No Right to RDAP for Non-citizen Federal Prisoner (p 53)
• Court Baffled by BOP's Steel-toe Boot Requirement for Prisoners by Derek Gilna (p 54)
• Prison Sentence Imposed for Sole Purpose of Drug Treatment Vacated by Eighth Circuit by Derek Gilna (p 54)
• News in Brief (p 56)

October

• How Many Inmate Deaths is too Many? by Dave Maass (p 1)
• From Tiger Cages to Control Units by Nancy Kurshan
• From the Editor by Paul Wright (p 20)
• Sex Offenders Who Fail to Register May Receive Life Sentence Under California’s “Three Strikes” Law (p 21)
• Five Prisoner Deaths in Eighteen Months at Small Ohio Jail by Matthew Clarke (p 22)
• New York Promised Help for Mentally Ill Prisoners – But Still Sticks Many in Solitary by Christie Thompson (p 24)
• Widespread Sexual Abuse Alleged at Alabama Women’s Prison (p 26)
• Idaho: Federal Court Unseals Pleadings, Holds CCA in Contempt for Violating Settlement Agreement (p 28)
• Third Circuit Finds Just Cause or Excuse Defense Not Applicable in Prison Assault Case by Derek Gilna (p 30)
• Special Sex Offender Release Conditions Vacated by Tenth Circuit by Derek Gilna (p 31)
• Hunger Striking Illinois Jail Prisoner Dies by Matthew Clarke (p 32)
• Texas Prison Burials Surprisingly Well Done (p 34)
• Former Federal Prisoner Claims to be Most Litigious Person (p 34)
• IFRP Payment Schedule May Not be Delegated to BOP by Sentencing Judge by Derek Gilna (p 36)
• Georgia: Civil Rights Law Firm Demands Return of Fines Illegally Collected by State Court Judge by Ryan Primerano (p 36)
• Ninth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Nevada Prisoner’s First Amendment Retaliation Claims (p 38)
• Eighth Circuit Denies Civilly Confined Minnesota Patients 1983 Action by Derek Gilna (p 38)
• Former Georgia DOC Official Charged for Embezzling Public Funds by Christopher Zoukis (p 39)
• Effective Counsel Required in Kansas Civil Commitment Proceedings (p 40)
• CDCR to Block Contraband Cell Phone Signals at all Facilities (p 40)
• California: Court May Not Award Increased Presentence Conduct Credits to Categorically Disqualified Prisoners (p 41)
• D.C. District Court Reaffirms Access to Counsel for Guantanamo Detainees by Derek Gilna (p 42)
• Declining Prison Populations Leave Towns with Empty Jails, Debt by David Reutter (p 45)
• Private Detention Facility Forced into Bankruptcy, Sold at Auction (p 46)
• PLN Files Federal Lawsuit Over Censorship at Virginia Jail (p 47)
• Brain Imaging Research Conducted on Prisoners by Greg Dober (p 48)
• Massachusetts: Overcrowding Forces Changes in Correctional Facilities by David Reutter (p 50)
• Death Row Prisoners in Two States File Suit over Hip Replacements by David Reutter (p 52)
• Montana Agrees to Change Policies for Treatment of Mentally Ill Juveniles in Adult Prison by David Reutter (p 54)
• Oregon DOJ Intentionally Destroyed Records; Target of Abusive Criminal Investigation Settles Suit for $1 Million (p 54)
• News in Brief (p 56)

September

• Prison Rape Elimination Act Standards Finally in Effect, but Will They be Effective? by Alex Friedmann (p 1)
• The Wealthy 'Make Mistakes', the Poor Go to Jail by Chris Arnade
• Prisoners Raped and Sexually Abused While PREA Standards Pending (p 17)
• U.S. Supreme Court Denies Stay of California Prisoner Release Order (p 21)
• From the Editor by Paul Wright (p 22)
• Employee Disciplinary Problems Persist at Houston Jails by Matthew Clarke (p 23)
• How Privatization Destroyed an Illinois Jail's Award-winning Suicide Prevention Program by Brian Dolinar (p 24)
• Missouri: Arrestees Billed for Cost of Police Tasers by Christopher Zoukis (p 25)
• High-Tech, High-Risk Forensics by Osagie K. Obasogie (p 26)
• The Americans with Disabilities Act and Prisoners by Thomas Weiss (p 28)
• Michigan County Sanctioned for Defrauding Federal Court in Prisoner Death Case by David Reutter (p 30)
• Solitary Confinement for Death Row Prisoners a Blot on U.S. Justice System by Derek Gilna (p 32)
• Oklahoma’s DNA Law Means Post-Conviction Testing Available in All 50 States by Christopher Zoukis (p 33)
• Habeas Hints: Actual Innocence by Kent A. Russell (p 34)
• Second Circuit Establishes Property Seizure Standards for Civilly Committed Persons (p 36)
• 500 Escape from Abu Ghraib and Taji Prisons in Iraq by Christopher Zoukis (p 37)
• Illinois DOC’s Failure to Accommodate Disabled Prisoners States Rehabilitation Act Claim (p 38)
• Seventh Circuit: Indiana Tolling Provision May Excuse Time-Barred Suit; Rule 12(b)(6) Dismissal Improper (p 40)
• PLN Resolves Censorship Suit Against Oregon County Jail for $51,000 Plus Fees and Costs by Alex Friedmann (p 40)
• After Ten Years, FCC Votes for Prison Phone Reforms! by David Ganim (p 42)
• Pennsylvania: Parole Board May Expound on Court-ordered Probation Conditions (p 44)
• First Circuit: Rejection of Settlement Offer Does Not Justify Defendants’ Attorney Fee Award (p 44)
• Seventh Circuit Retires “De Minimis” Standard for Use of Physical Force (p 46)
• Washington Community Custody, Sex Offender Registration and Release Conditions Modified (p 46)
• New Mexico Prison Doctor Fingered in Lawsuits (p 47)
• Minnesota: Remedies for Civil Commitments are Limited (p 48)
• Qualified Immunity for NY Prison Officials who Failed to Award Parole Jail Time (p 48)
• Wrongful Immigration Detention Suit Reinstated by Second Circuit, Dismissed on Remand by Derek Gilna (p 50)
• California Supreme Court: Cutting Through Fences May Not Constitute Attempt to Escape (p 52)
• Ninth Circuit Requires Notice to Pro Se Prisoner Litigants for Motions to Dismiss for Failure to Exhaust (p 52)
• Seventh Circuit Upholds CCA’s Victory in Indiana Jail Conditions Suit (p 53)
• California: Victim’s Post-Death Economic Losses Not Subject to Mandatory Restitution (p 54)
• Second Circuit: No Social Security Payments for Prisoners (p 54)
• News in Brief (p 56)

August

• Ninth Circuit Finds “Two-Step” Interrogation Requires Suppression of Confession in Drug Conviction
• Los Angeles County Proposes $350,000 Settlement in Suit Arising from Vehicle Collision Caused by Deputy Sheriff
• $800,000 Settlement in Illegal Strip Search Claim Against Kentucky Jail
• An Innocent Man Speaks: PLN Interviews Jeff Deskovic (p 1)
• 8th Circuit: Qualified Immunity Denied to Nebraska Investigative Team Which Manufactured False Evidence to Secure Murder Conviction of Innocent Party
• City of Chicago Sanctioned for Obstructing Discovery in Case of Wrongful Murder Prosecution
• Angry Oregon Prisoner's Excessive Force Suit Dismissed Mid-Trial
• Texas Lie Detectors Go Without Effective Regulation
• Affordable Housing Reduces Crime
• A Federal Prisoner Found Guilty of Making False Statements
• Tenth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Strip Search
• The Justice Project Calls for Jailhouse Snitch Reforms
• Pennsylvania Attorney’s Disciplinary Matter Exempt from Disclosure
• Maryland Police Covertly Spy on Peace, Anti-Death-Penalty Groups
• $450,000 Settlement in Prisoner’s Heroin Withdrawal Death Suit
• Attorney’s Fees Not Automatic Under Florida Rule 1.380
• Washington DOC May Rehear Bungled Disciplinary Infractions While First Outcome Is Under Judicial Review
• Florida’s Prison Bond Scheme Obscures Real Costs of Expansion
• TN Public Records Act Requires Disclosure of Police Report
• Airline Mechanic’s Termination for Failure to Provide Urine for Drug Testing Affirmed
• Michigan Family Donating $2.2 Million Settlement for Police Officer’s Killing of Unarmed Man
• Audit Report Recommends Michigan Privatize Prisoner Food Services
• Third Circuit Vacates Lifetime Computer/Internet Ban
• Washington’s Criminal Justice System Racially Biased; VRA Claim Fails
• Washington Prison Instructors Teach Racism and Brutality
• Washington Work Release Reduces Recidivism
• Washington DOC Can’t Impose 5 Years Flat Time for All 1st Degree Assault Convictions with Deadly Weapons Enhancements
• Deficiencies Found in Georgia Prison Maintenance Program
• Attorney’s Violation of Court’s Limine Order Requires New Trial
• TN Attorney General Says Public Records Act Requires Disclosure After Redaction of Exempt Portions of Records
• Damages for Improper Segregation Needs Resolution by Jury
• Sixth Circuit Vacates Section 1915(e)(2) Dismissal of Discrimination Claim
• NY Prison Disciplinary Hearing that Doesn’t Consider Insane Prisoner’s Mental Health Held Invalid
• Ninth Circuit Reverses Denial of RFRA DNA Challenge
• National Sex Offender Registry Delayed by Costs and Questions
• Prisoner Denied Pornography in a Wisconsin Prison
• Mentally Ill Federal Prisoner Denied Due Process in Disciplinary Hearing without Adequate Assistance
• Records Requested from Washington DOC Under Public Records Act May Be Rejected as Contraband
• Trustee Awarded $335,407 for Job-Related Accident
• Ninth Circuit Vacates Plethysmograph & Medication Conditions
• Ninth Circuit Enjoins Arizona’s Race-Based Traffic Stops
• Serial Killer Pleads Guilty to Cellmate Murder; County Pays Victim’s Family $120,000
• Sexual Harassment and Retaliatory Termination Nets $275,000
• Teen Assaulted by Cop Settles for Military School
• NY Prisoner’s Disciplinary Hearing Upheld Against Timeliness and Sufficiency of Evidence Challenges
• PLRA Administrative Exhaustion an Affirmative Defense
• Seventh Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Wisconsin Retaliation Suit
• Pennsylvania “Gunslinger” Guard Breaks Hand on Prisoner’s Face; Prison Officials Offer $5,000 Hush Money
• Two Victims of Police Misconduct Settled Lawsuit for $550,000
• SF Jury Finds Deputies Used Excessive Force, Should Pay $200,000 in Punitive Damages
• Rooker-Feldman Doctrine Bars Review of State Court Order by District Courts
• Oklahoma Guard Acquitted in Prisoner’s Death
• NY FOIL Requires Disclosure of Teacher’s Negotiated Guilty Plea in Disciplinary Action
• NY Prisoner’s Sanction for Not Providing Urine Sample for Drug Screening Affirmed
• New York Prisoner Awarded $25,000 in Slip and Fall
• ODOC to Taser Prisoners
• PA Cop’s Settlement Agreement in Termination Proceedings Exempt from Disclosure
• Prison Officials Not Liable for Injuries to Officer Incurred While Responding to Orchestrated Gang Fight
• Third Circuit Permits Institutionalized Persons to Challenge Proposed Class Action Settlement Agreement
• Sheriff May Be Liable for Cell-Check Policy that Led to Teenager’s Suicide
• Premature Appeal Not Frivolous Under PLRA
• PA Prison Might Unconstitutionally Restrict Prisoners’ Court Access
• Prisoners Pay the Price of Food Cost Increases
• California: Sacramento County Settles Medical Suit for $2,000
• California: Court Upholds Governor’s Authority to Contract with Out-of-State Private Prisons during Prison Overcrowding State of Emergency
• Ensign Amendment Upheld; BOP’s Failure to Retain Rejected Publications During Period of Administrative Review Violates Due Process
• Massachusetts Jail Subject to Department of Public Health Inspections and Regulations
• Justice Department Releases Report on Justice Expenditures and Employment by Matthew Clarke
• Dismissal for IFP Prisoner’s Failure to Provide Copies for Service Improper
• LA Prison Conditions Held Unconstitutional
• Eighth Circuit Seeks Clarification from Arkansas Supreme Court; Arkansas’ “Conscious Indifference” Equals Federal “Deliberate Indifference”?
• Federal Rehabilitation Act Provides No Cause of Action Against Federal Government When Acting in Regulatory Capacity
• Judicial Estoppel Bars Government’s Shifting Legal Positions
• Kansas Supreme Court Clarifies Procedures to be followed in Addressing Requests for DNA Testing
• Excessive Gas May Substantially Burden Religion Under RLUIPA
• Florida Prisons End Religious Diet Accommodation
• California: Joint Pre-Trial Settlement Offer Valid in Wrongful Death Actions
• Maryland Prisoner Gets Sentence Reduction Credits for “Special Project” Work
• Fourth Amendment: Unclear When Social Workers Violate
• Massachusetts Incarcerated Felon Disenfranchisement Constitutional; Voting Rights Act Claim Survives
• Habeas Relief Unavailable for Civil Rights Violations
• Indiana Overcrowding Suit Certified as Class Action; Grievances Specific Enough to Satisfy PLRA
• Colorado DOC Investigates Multiple Murders of Prisoners at Sterling by Matthew Clarke
• Closure Proper Remedy if Court’s Order Balked by Officials
• Maryland Court of Appeals Upholds Breathalyzer DNA Seizure
• Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity
• Fifth Circuit Says Private Prisons Liable Under Section 1983
• D.C. Guards Fired for Failing to Recognize Female Prisoner in Male Unit
• Delaware Supreme Court Reverses Escape Conviction
• FOIA: Administrative Appeal Remedies Deemed Exhausted when Agency Fails to Timely Determine Scope of its Intended Response
• Deliberate Indifference Among Claims Surviving Dismissal in Detainee’s Death
• Florida Sheriff’s Moonlighting Activities Under Investigation
• City of Los Angeles Settles Suit with ACLU over Policing Practices on Skid Row
• $2,000 Settlement in Failure to Treat Dental Problems
• $5,001 Paid for Failing to Protect Florida Prisoner
• 9th Circuit: Sanctions Under FRCP 45(c)(1) Not Justified Merely Because Party Seeking Discovery Failed to Prevail
• Connecticut Prohibits Disclosure to Prisoners of Investigation Reports Against Guards
• $30,000.00 Settlement Reached in False Imprisonment Suit Against Washington Department of Corrections
• BOP Good Time Regulation Promulgated in Violation of the APA; No Relief for Violation Ninth Circuit Holds
• California: City Not Liable for Police Officer’s Sexual Assaults on Minor
• 9th Circuit Remands Case to District Court to Explain Its Order Reducing Prevailing Party’s Fee Request
• Bureaucracy Errors that Result in Overdetention Not Deliberate Indifference
• Comingling of Meanest and Greenest Prisoners Ordered to Cease in Maryland Prisons
• 8th Circuit Allows Reckless Investigation Suit to Proceed After DNA Evidence Leads to Pardons for Four Convicted Murderers
• Bodily Injury Enhancement in Federal Guidelines Requires Significant Injury
• Ninth Circuit Upholds BOP Boot Camp Termination
• Report: BOP Fails to Monitor Effects, Conditions of Segregated Housing by Derek Gilna (p 15)
• From the Editor by Paul Wright (p 16)
• Supreme Court Holds Padilla Not Retroactive by Derek Gilna (p 16)
• Sixth Circuit Addresses Spoliation Sanction Standard (p 17)
• Please Stop "Reforming" Pelican Bay by Maya Schenwar (p 18)
• West Virginia Court-Supervised Parole and Condition Barring Association with Spouse Upheld (p 19)
• Federal Court Orders California to Release 9,600 More Prisoners by John Dannenberg (p 20)
• Fourth Circuit: Sex Offender Registration Not "Custody" for Section 2254 Jurisdiction (p 22)
• Federal Court Rules Against Alabama DOC in Class-action HIV Discrimination Suit (p 24)
• Canadian Prisoners Receive $3.5 Million in Settlements by Derek Gilna (p 25)
• HRDC Invited to Speak at Unprecedented FCC Workshop on Prison Phone Rates by David Ganim (p 26)
• Fifth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of PLN's Censorship Suit Against TDCJ by Matthew Clarke (p 28)
• Trial Held in Texas Prison Courtroom Not Open to the Public (p 29)
• Qualified Immunity Denied to Nurses who Ignored Prisoner's Symptoms of Active TB; $2.28 Million in Damages, Fees and Costs on Remand (p 30)
• Millions in Security Equipment Wasted at Rikers Island (p 30)
• Supreme Court Upholds DNA Collection as Part of Jail Booking Procedures by J.R. Bloom (p 32)
• New Tennessee Parole Board Members have Apparent Bias Against Granting Parole by Alex Friedmann (p 34)
• HRDC Receives First Amendment Award (p 34)
• No Justice: Sex Offenses, No Matter How Minor or Understandable, Can Ruin You for Life by Charlotte Silver (p 36)
• California Jail Installs New Microgrid to Cut Energy Costs by Derek Gilna (p 39)
• Genetic and DNA Evidence: The Emperor Has No Clothes by Ernest P. Chiodo (p 40)
• Third Circuit: Requiring Admission of Guilt to Participate in Mandatory-for-Parole SOTP Not a Fifth Amendment Violation by Matthew Clarke (p 41)
• Montana Town Gives up on Failed Jail Venture (p 42)
• Seventh Circuit Remands Illinois Prisoner's Hernia Case for New Trial (p 42)
• Seventh Circuit Remands Case Concerning Treatment of Prisoner's Hemorrhoids (p 44)
• "Mere Possession" of a Prison Shank Constitutes a "Crime of Violence" by Derek Gilna (p 44)
• Suicides at CCA-run ICE Detention Center Spark Investigation by Derek Gilna (p 46)
• Longest-Serving Texas Prisoner Makes Parole; Other Long-term Prisoners Not so "Lucky" (p 46)
• Seventh Circuit: Health Hazard without Physical Injury Can State a Claim (p 48)
• DC Circuit: Qualified Immunity for Retroactive U.S. Parole Commission Regulations (p 48)
• Mexican Prison Guards Implicated in Deadly Riot (p 49)
• Louisiana Supreme Court Reverses Sentence for Escape, but Sentence Affirmed on Remand (p 50)
• Blowup at KPFT Radio's "Prison Show" in Texas (p 50)
• Seventh Circuit Asks Illinois Supreme Court to Interpret "Frivolous" Litigation Statute (p 52)
• Jail Detainee Dies after Altercation with Deputies at Arizona Jail (p 54)
• New York Federal Court Finds Victim's Hearsay Accusation Insufficient in Prison Disciplinary Case; Suit Settles for $67,000 by Matthew Clarke (p 54)
• Utah DOC Ends "English Only" Visitation Requirement by Christopher Zoukis (p 55)
• News in Brief (p 56)

July

• Arizona Prison System Plagued by Politics, Privatization and Prisoner Deaths by Joe Watson (p 1)
• Louisiana Supreme Court Rejects Ex Post Facto Challenge in Sex Offender Supervision Case by Derek Gilna (p 13)
• From the Editor by Paul Wright (p 15)
• Italian Prison Program Trains Female Prisoners in Fashion Industry by Derek Gilna (p 15)
• Pennsylvania DOC's Hepatitis C Protocol Challenged in Class-action Lawsuit by Greg Dober (p 16)
• Sixth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Suit Due to Non-Exhaustion and Statute of Limitations (p 18)
• Sixth Circuit: Failed Cancer Diagnosis Not Deliberately Indifferent (p 19)
• Sixth Circuit Orders Judgment Against Three Defendants in Prisoner's Retaliation Case (p 20)
• A Prolonged Stay: The Reasons Behind the Slow Pace of Executions by Raymond Bonner (p 22)
• Seventh Circuit: Summary Judgment Partially Reversed in Jail Death Caused by Medication Withdrawal (p 24)
• Oregon: Post-Escape Conduct Justifies Enhanced Escape Sentence (p 25)
• Oklahoma Prison Employees Disciplined by Matthew Clarke (p 26)
• Valley Fever Declared a Public Health Emergency at Two California Prisons; Court Orders Prisoner Transfers by John Dannenberg (p 28)
• Congress Amends PLRA Physical Injury Requirement for Sexual Abuse Cases by John Boston (p 30)
• Tennessee Judge Convicted Following Drug and Sex Scandal (p 32)
• $737,500 Settlement after Seventh Circuit Finds No Qualified Immunity for Prisoner's Suicide (p 32)
• Ninth Circuit: Enemy Combatant Detention/Torture Not Clearly Established (p 34)
• Prisoners Respond to Call for Prison Phone Justice; SCI-Huntingdon Delivers! by Mel Motel (p 34)
• Illinois: Conditions Lawsuit Filed by Civilly Confined Sex Offenders Dismissed by Derek Gilna (p 36)
• Tenth Circuit: No Section 2241 Jurisdiction for BOP Supermax Challenge; Claims Must be Brought as Bivens Action (p 36)
• Arkansas: Sentencing Court Cannot Order Prison Treatment (p 37)
• CCA Loses Four Private Prison Contracts in One Month (p 38)
• California: Eastern District Jury Pool Alleged to be Biased Against Prisoners (p 38)
• Seventeen Years Pending Re-trial Fails to State Speedy Trial Violation under § 1983 (p 40)
• Collateral Consequences Weighed for Corporations, Not for Individuals by Russell Mokhiber (p 40)
• Re-incarceration Not Grounds to Dismiss Wisconsin Civil Commitment Petition (p 42)
• PLN Files Public Records Suit Against CCA in Vermont (p 42)
• Some Jails Turning to Video Visitation Only by Matthew Clarke (p 44)
• Washington Sex Offender's Conviction for Failure to Report Reversed (p 45)
• California: Probation Condition Cannot Prohibit Court Access (p 46)
• Fourth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Case Challenging Virginia DOC Grooming Policy (p 46)
• Three New Mexico Jail Guards Convicted of Assault, Obstruction of Justice (p 47)
• Ninth Circuit: Idaho Ordered to Allow Viewing of all Stages of Execution by David Reutter (p 48)
• South Carolina Sex Offender Registration Amendment Requires Actual Notice (p 48)
• California Guard Fights Prisoner, Faces Charges for Falsifying Reports (p 49)
• Third Circuit: Prison Officials Liable for Failing to Protect Informant (p 50)
• Deadly Prison Fire Kills Hundreds in Honduras (p 52)
• Third Circuit Discusses FRCP 17(c) Guardian Appointment; Evidence of Incompetency Requires Sua Sponte Inquiry (p 52)
• Former Maryland Governor Acknowledges Politics Behind Life Means Life Policy (p 53)
• Former Mississippi Mayor Sent to Prison (p 54)
• Seventh Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Illinois Prisoner's Lawsuit Related to Shooting (p 54)
• South Dakota Non-profits Lose Cheap Prison Labor by Derek Gilna (p 55)
• News in Brief (p 56)
• Thirteen CEC Employees Indicted for Smuggling at Texas Private Prison by Matthew Clarke
• "Prison Grievances: When to Write, How to Write" - Graphic Book on the Basics by Matthew Clarke
• Newest Texas Criminal Justice Lobbyist is Powerful Texas Business Group by Matthew Clarke
• Irregularities Undermine Legitimacy of Second Version of 9/11 Trials by Matthew Clarke

June

• Slowly Closing the Gates: A State-by-State Assessment of Recent Prison Closures by Christopher Petrella (p 1)
• Fourth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Bail Bondsmen; $100,000 Damages Award Upheld (p 1)
• Solidarity and Solitary: When Unions Clash with Prison Reform by James Ridgeway (p 12)
• TN Court of Appeals Rules Against CCA for Second Time in PLN Public Records Case (p 14)
• From the Editor by Paul Wright (p 16)
• New York Commission of Correction Says Jails Don't Need Law Libraries (p 16)
• How the Prison - Industrial Complex Destroys Lives by Mark Karlin (p 18)
• Charting a New Justice Reinvestment by Nicole D. Porter (p 21)
• Oregon Juvenile Department Employee Gets Jail Time for Sexualizing Booking Photos (p 23)
• Florida Proceeds with Privatization of Prison Medical Care (p 24)
• New Law Gives Parents Behind Bars in Washington State a Way to Hold onto Their Children by Victoria Law (p 26)
• U.S. Supreme Court Reinstates BOP Prisoner's FTCA Suit by J.R. Bloom (p 28)
• Reprieved Oregon Prisoner Wages Legal Fight to be Executed (p 30)
• Eighth Circuit: Heck Bars False Imprisonment Claim (p 31)
• Research Study Finding Benefits from Prison Privatization Funded by Private Prison Companies (p 32)
• CCA Pays $100,000 after Exiting Contract to Operate Florida Jail (p 32)
• New York DOCCS Settles Statewide PLN Censorship Suit for $155,000 by Alex Friedmann (p 34)
• TransCor May Face Punitive Damages for Prisoner's Death by Christopher Zoukis (p 34)
• Sixth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Prisoner's Sexual Orientation Discrimination Suit (p 36)
• Plata and Coleman Showdown in California by John Dannenberg (p 36)
• New Hampshire Cancels Private Prison Bids, but Bill Prohibiting Prison Privatization Fails to Pass (p 38)
• Oregon Rape Victim's Rights Clash with Rights of Accused Rapist (p 40)
• PLN Prevails in Challenge to Postcard-only Policy at Oregon Jail (p 42)
• Oklahoma: Hospital Sues Sheriff over Unpaid Medical Bills, for Third Time by Christopher Zoukis (p 42)
• Former Michigan Assistant Attorney General Held Liable for Targeting Gay Student (p 43)
• Millions Owed in Unpaid Restitution in Oregon (p 44)
• Maryland Repeals Death Penalty by Christopher Zoukis (p 44)
• Canadian Prisoners Escape via Helicopter by John Dannenberg (p 45)
• Supermax: Controlling Risk Through Solitary Confinement, by Sharon Shalev (Willan Publishing, September 2009). 346 pages, $39.95 by Julie Etter (p 46)
• Prison Legal News Files Public Records Suit Against CCA in Texas (p 46)
• Oregon Pays Record $5.85 Million for Abuse of Foster Child and Abuser's Death in Prison (p 48)
• Florida Legislator Resigns in Wake of Texting Scandal (p 48)
• Survey Finds Disturbing Trends in Childhood Violence, Racial Dynamics for Juvenile Lifers (p 50)
• Pennsylvania Prison Guards, Sergeants Out-earn Supervisors by David Reutter (p 50)
• Oregon State Police Handwriting Analysis Unit Closed, under Investigation (p 52)
• Former Halfway House Director Sentenced to 18 Months (p 52)
• Oklahoma Escapee Surrenders to Police after 14 Years on the Run by Christopher Zoukis (p 53)
• CDCR to Open New Mental Health Facility (p 54)
• Tennessee Supreme Court: No Separate Parole Dates for Consecutive Sentences by Matthew T. Clarke (p 55)
• News in Brief (p 56)

May

• Prison Visitation: A Fifty State Survey by Chesa Boudin (p 1)
• Arkansas Sheriff Took Kickbacks for Card Fees, Class-Action Suit Says by Erik De La Garza (p 1)
• Ohio Appellant Wins Mandamus Order Disclosing Attorney Fees Statements by Derek Gilna
• CCA Warden's Title VII Claims Dismissed
• California Prisoner's Deliberate Indifference Claims Settled for $910.00
• Additional Attorney's Fees Allowed in Ohio Voter-Registration Suit by Derek Gilna
• Pennsylvania: Public Records Requests Under Right-to-Know Law Should Not be Derailed by Technicalities
• California Appellate Court Balks at Permitting Pay Raises for Corrections Medical Employees Without First Obtaining Legislative Approval
• Counsel May Review "Confidential" Oregon Parole Board Evidence
• California: Medical Records of Prisoner Being Evaluated for Civil Commitment Not Constitutionally Protected from Disclosure
• California Prisoner Paid $5,150 for Medical Shoe Denial
• $1 Million Settlement Reached in Michigan Teen Stun Gun Death
• $57,500 Settlement for Texas Prison’s Discriminatory and Retaliatory Occurrences
• $75 Awarded for Magazine Denial; Access to Personal Law Books Denied
• ADX Prisoner Wins Settlement for Injuries Incurred in Unlit Cell by Derek Gilna
• California Excessive Force Case Settled for $10,000
• California Medical & Retaliation Claims Settled for $21,300
• City of Chicago Settles Police Brutality Suit
• City of Boston Settles in Excessive Use of Force Claim
• Rearrest Improperly Frustrates Oregon Speedy Trial Rights
• Federal Government Sues and Settles for Oregon Police Excessive Force
• Los Angeles County Settles in Sexual Assault by an Officer
• Fifth Circuit Reverses District Court's Denial of Appointment of Counsel
• New York $1.25 Million False Arrest Verdict Upheld
• Massachusetts Supreme Court Affirms Lower Court Order to Suppress Drug Evidence
• Public Strip Search Nets Oregon Prisoner $9,601
• Oregon Guards Challenge Schedule Changes Without Collective Bargaining
• Ohio Court Stays Prisoner Suit Pending Supreme Court Action by Derek Gilna
• Maine Supreme Judicial Court Affirms Sheriff’s Entitlement to Discretionary Function Immunity
• Registered Sex Offender Not Required to Reregister After Overnight Jailing
• Absolute Prosecutorial Immunity Denied
• $95,664 in Attorneys’ Fees Awarded in Texas Public Records Suit
• 9th Circuit Reverses District Court Dismissal of FISA and ECPA Complaints by Derek Gilna
• Seventh Circuit Permits Insurance Company to Deny Coverage of Civil Rights Claims by Derek Gilna
• Supreme Court of Alaska Directs Human Rights Commission to Re-investigate Complaint
• Tenth Circuit Holds Prisoner Not Entitled to Equitable Tolling
• No Collateral-Order Review of Refusal to Quash; Seventh Circuit Would Affirm on Merits
• W. Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Rejects Constitutional Challenge to State’s Sex Offender Registration Act
• New Mexico Allows Sibling Loss-of-Consortium Claims
• Georgia Prison Doctor Sued for Illegally Importing Drugs Used to Execute Troy Davis by David Reutter
• U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Parole Board
• Due Process Requirements Not Met in Washington Probation Violation Notice
• Connecticut Process Server Entitled to Copy Fee
• California Prisoner's Excessive Force Claims Settled for $1,750
• Alabama Supreme Court Upholds Exemption for DOC Driver’s Liability
• Appeal Court Criticizes Jury Instruction, Upholds Conviction
• Arkansas Supreme Court Affirms FOIA’s Emphasis on Disclosure of Public Records
• Court of Appeals Upholds Judicial Immunity in Civil Rights Claim
• Denying Male Domestic Violence Victims Aid is Unconstitutional
• Mississippi Supreme Court Reverses $12.7 Million Tax Overpayment Award in AT&T’s Favor
• Department of Justice Expands Definition of Rape to "Ensure Justice" by Derek Gilna
• Ohio Supreme Court: Due Process Not Satisfied by Procedure Requiring Parties to Monitor Internet for Property Foreclosure Sales
• Eighth Circuit Denied an Escapee's Insufficient Psychiatric Claim
• Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals Strips Plaintiff of Punitive Damages
• Ex-prisoners' Petition for Restoration of Firearm Rights Denial Reversed
• Florida Supreme Court Bars Repetitious Prison Litigant
• Hearst Television Wins Right to Know Case against Pennsylvania Coroner
• Associated Press Loses Bid to Unseal Settlement in Suit Against CCA
• Sixth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Jail Medical Indifference Suit by Matthew Clarke
• Oregon Prison Officials Not Immune for Sentence Miscalculation
• Sex Offender Conditions Permitted on Washington Non-Sex Offenses
• California: CDCR Pays $475,000 to Settle Wrongful Death Suit
• New York: USDC Grants Opposition to Quash Depositions in Murder/Rape
• North Carolina Court Dismisses Petition for Judicial Review and Upholds Execution Protocol
• $30,000 Settlement for Juvenile Assaulted by Riker’s Island Guard Gang
• Sex Offender Housing Restrictions Imposed by Jessica's Law Temporarily Stayed in Los Angeles County
• Wisconsin Appeals Court Orders Appointment of Examiner in Commitment Case by Derek Gilna
• Washington State District Court Oversees §1988 Settlement against Spokane Police
• Washington: Failure-to-Protect Suit against King County Allowed to Proceed
• Religious Diet Qualified Immunity Test Outlined
• USDC New York Finds for Bloomberg Newsgroup in Copyright Suit
• Pennsylvania: USDC Grants Habeas Bond Hearing for Alien
• Washington State Court of Appeals Upholds Denial of Prisoner's Public Record Claim
• Texas Pays $230,000 to Settle Lawsuit under the Texas Whistleblower Act
• Supreme Court Rules on Terrorist Issue
• Maine Prisoner’s Contraband Conviction Vacated (p 11)
• Pennsylvania: No Prison Time for Guards Convicted of Abusing Prisoners by Christopher Zoukis (p 12)
• My Life with Lifers, by Dr. Elaine J. Leeder. (E-Books Unbound, 2012). 140 pages, $4.99 (e-book) or $14.95 (paperback) by John Dannenberg (p 13)
• Mandatory Lifetime Monitoring a Direct Consequence of Sex Offense Plea Bargain in Michigan (p 14)
• Governmental Highway Robbery: Asset Forfeiture and the Pillaging of the American People by John W. Whitehead (p 16)
• Virginia Prisoner Pardoned After Accuser Admits She Lied (p 18)
• $17.75 Million Settlement for Victims of Pennsylvania “Kids for Cash” Scandal by David Reutter (p 18)
• Ex-Felons are About to Get Health Coverage by Michael Ollove (p 20)
• CCA Admits to Falsified Staffing Records, Violating Contract with Idaho DOC (p 22)
• Utah: Private Company Offers to Pick Up Prison Tab by Eric S. Peterson (p 24)
• Iowa Sex Offender Special Sentence Provisions Interpreted: Time-Served Credit, but Not Earned-Time, Reduces Revocation Term (p 25)
• North Carolina County Conned into Building $100 Million Jail (p 26)
• California: Parole Placement of Serial Killer’s Accomplice in Remote County Upheld (p 26)
• Seventh Circuit Vacates Summary Judgment for Nutriloaf Diet (p 28)
• Oklahoma Parole Board Members Charged with Violating Open Meeting Act by Christopher Zoukis (p 30)
• Eighth Circuit Overturns Jury’s $850,000 Verdict for Nebraska Detainee’s Suicide (p 30)
• No Room for 900 New Washington Prison “Rugs” (p 32)
• CCA Excludes Shareholder Resolution Requiring Company to Fully Disclose Information about REIT Conversion (p 32)
• Faulty Background Checks Blamed on Digitized Records, Greedy Amateurs by Joe Watson (p 34)
• Prison Health Care Provider under Fire in Illinois by Christopher Zoukis (p 36)
• Lawsuits Filed Over Unrelated Deaths of Two Oregon Prisoners (p 38)
• Muslim Prisoners Challenge Ohio’s Denial of Halal Meals; Pork Producers Protest by Joe Watson (p 40)
• New York: $225,000 Settlement for Prisoner’s Suicide Attempt, Abuse at Rikers Island (p 40)
• California District Attorney Sued by Former Colleague (p 41)
• Administrative Remedies “Unavailable” when Prisoner under Threat of Intimidation or Retaliation (p 42)
• California: Lifer Entitled to Credit for Time Served Following Governor’s Erroneous Veto of Parole Grant (p 42)
• Oregon Parole Board’s Notice-of-Rights Form Violates APA (p 44)
• Kentucky DOC May Not Alter Presentencing Custody Credits (p 44)
• New York Creates “All Crimes DNA Database” (p 45)
• Federal Court Limits New York’s Civil Commitment Statute, but Injunction Vacated on Appeal by Derek Gilna (p 46)
• California State Bar Recommends District Attorney’s Disbarment by Christopher Zoukis (p 48)
• $695,000 Settlement in Discrimination Suit by Deaf Colorado Detainees (p 48)
• New York Sex Offender Registration Determination is Exception to Article 78 Review (p 49)
• California: Nine Detainees Charged in Jailhouse Killing; Five Sentenced to Life Terms (p 50)
• Sixth Circuit: Disciplinary Conviction Does Not Bar Excessive Force Claim by Christopher Zoukis (p 50)
• Oregon Jail Guard Gets Three Years for Sex with Prisoner (p 52)
• Oregon: Only Voluntary Surrender Avoids Fugitive Dismissal Rule (p 52)
• U.N. Considers Revisions to Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners by Christopher Zoukis (p 54)
• Arkansas Prisoner’s Ad-Seg Reviews Held to be Meaningless; Case Remanded to Recalculate Damages (p 54)
• News in Brief (p 56)

April

• Sixth Circuit Court Reverses a First Amendment Retaliation Issue
• Second Circuit Upholds FRCP 4(m) Dismissal for Untimely Service
• Oregon Jury Awards $11,250 for False Arrest
• Ninth Circuit: Officer May Be Liable for Unlawful Seizure and Conspiracy
• Sixth Circuit Upholds Kentucky Sex Abuse Case Dismissal; Case Filed Outside 1-Year Limitation Period
• Tenth Circuit Reverses $8,000 Awarded for Attorney's Fee as Too Arbitrary
• Oregon Prison Assault Brings Attempted Murder Charge
• Sixth Circuit of US Court of Appeals Affirms Grant of Habeas Corpus
• Sixth Circuit US Court of Appeals Redefines Michigan Prisoner’s Mandamus
• Ohio Supreme Court Affirms Denial of Cincinnati Enquirer's FOI Request
• North Dakota Supreme Court Clarifies Child Support Lien Issues Regarding State Prisoner
• Nebraska Sex Offender Argues Due Process in Appeal of Commitment Order
• Seventh Circuit: No Minimum Wage for Civilly Committed Sex Offenders
• Nurse Settles Washington DOC Wrongful Termination Suit
• Tenth Circuit: Individual Damage Claims Improper Under RLUIPA; Right Against Rastafarian Haircut Not Clearly Established
• Ninth Circuit Affirms Confiscation of Book about Black Panthers Sent by Mail to Prisoner
• NJ Supreme Court Hears Defamation Suit against Local Newspaper
• Oregon Schizophrenic Gets 7.5 Years for Stabbing Guard
• Fourth District Court of Appeals Reverses PLRA Case on Removal of Jurisdiction
• Third Circuit Holds No RLUIPA Damages
• Nevada Public Records Act Requires State to Provide Log of Basic Information About Withheld Information
• Supreme Court of Arkansas Weighs Hospital's Private Doctors Against FOIA
• US 7th Circuit Affirms Judgment for Defense in "Tawdry Tale"
• Non-Sentencing Court Cannot Adjust Sentence on Habeas
• Montana Supreme Court Questions Court Costs for Indigent Defendant
• Sixth Circuit Holds FTCA Bars False Arrest Claim; Summary Judgment for Media Upheld
• Missouri Supreme Court Remands Child Custody Case
• Missouri Private Jail Assessed Back Sales and Use Taxes
• Ninth Circuit: Dismissals Not Strikes Until Appeals Final; Interference With Court Access and Retaliation Claims Reversed
• Mississippi Judge Suspended 30 Days; Publicly Reprimanded; Fined $500; Assessed $100 Court Cost
• El Salvadorian Hangs Himself in Oregon Jail
• Former Kansas Prisoner Civil Rights Suit Dismissed by 10th Circuit by Derek Gilna
• Former OK Guard Sentenced to 21 Months in Federal Prison
• Dismissal of §1983 Challenge to Alabama's Lethal Injection Procedure Reversed
• Maryland Prisoner Challenges State Indecent Exposure Laws
• Two Women Sue for Oregon Guard's Sexual Abuse
• First Circuit: No Deposition Testimony of Incarcerated Witness; Incarceration Does Not Make Witness "Unavailable"
• Fifth Circuit Upholds Summary Judgment for Jewish Prisoners' Religious Practice
• Jury Awards Oregon Man $306,000 Excessive Force Verdict
• Georgia Prison Disturbance Linked to Contraband Cell Phones
• Delaware Supreme Court Reverses Lawyer "Fast One"
• Fifth Amendment Right Waived, If Not Invoked During Polygraph Test
• Dismissal of Massachusetts Prisoner's ADA/RA Claims Reversed
• Massachusetts Court Releases Mental Health Detainee After State Blows Deadline by Derek Gilna
• Eighth Circuit Vacates District Court Commitment Order Issued Without a Hearing
• Statute of Limitations Kills Oregon False Imprisonment Suit
• Kentucky DOC Cannot Alter Time Served Credit
• Oregon Cop Sued for On-duty Forced Fellatio
• Idaho Supreme Court Reverses Attorney Fee Case
• Mom’s E-mail Forces Hawaiian Lawmakers to Tour “Hellhole” Prison by Joe Watson
• Disabled Oregon Detainee's ADA, Retaliation and Deliberate Indifference Claims Go to Jury
• Minnesota Supreme Court Halts Confinement Fees for Pre-Conviction Inmates
• Indiana Supreme Court Affirms Sentence after Botched Jailbreak
• State Official Charged with Sex Crime
• Oregon Cop Guilty of Federal Child Porn Charge; State Charges Still Pending
• Federal Jury Awards $561,582 to Survivors of California Man Killed by Police
• $8 Million Settlement by Michigan Jail over Baby's Injuries
• Fifth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Suit for Delay Bringing Arrestees Before a Judge
• Former Detroit Officers Award $6.5 Million in Whistleblower Lawsuit
• Denial of Washington Misdemeanor Electronic Monitoring Credit Upheld
• California Prison Officials Ordered to Provide Prisoners with Copies of their Administrative Appeals
• California Court of Appeals Affirms Grant of Parole
• Heck Does Not Apply to Released Prisoner Seeking Damages for Sentence Miscalculation by Brandon Sample
• Second Circuit: SORNA Applies to All Sex Offenders by Mark Wilson
• Third Circuit: Prison Disciplinary Hearing Officer Must Examine Potentially Exculpatory Evidence
• Pre-SORNA Offenders Not Required to Register Until Attorney General’s Regulations Issued by Brandon Sample
• Eighth Circuit Vacates Special Condition of Supervised Release on Possessing Materials Depicting Nudity by Brandon Sample
• California: Stanford Report Analyzes Lifer Paroles
• DC District Court Denies Motion to Compel Production Request on Fees by Derek Gilna
• 7th Circuit: Minimal Use of Force Not an Eighth Amendment Violation
• Connecticut Supreme Court Holds for DOC to End Hunger Strike
• 7th Circuit: Reasonable Attorney Fees Not Properly Reduced Due to Existence of Contingent Fee Agreement
• Minnesota Study Shows Prisoners Receiving Visits Have Lower Recidivism Rates by Matthew Clarke
• 10th Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Oklahoma Conditions-of-Confinement § 1983 Lawsuit
• 9th Circuit: Constitution Protects Homeless Persons from Government Seizure and Destruction of Their Unattended but Unabandoned Personal Property
• City Council Candidate Pays Juvenile Program for Campaign Work
• No More Than 20 Percent Can Be Deducted To Pay Filing Fees by Brandon Sample
• Alabama: District Court Certifies Class of HS Students Alleging Excessive Force by School Resource Officers
• Ninth Circuit: Improper Screening of Prisoner's Grievances May Excuse Failure to Exhaust Under PLRA
• Alabama State Supreme Court Denies Mandamus for Payment of Defense Expenses
• Florida Supreme Court Affirms Prisoner’s Death Sentence
• Mississippi Supreme Court Upholds Outgoing Governor's 214 Messy Pardons by Joe Watson
• 10th Circuit Orders District Court to Reconsider Restrictive Sentencing Conditions by Derek Gilna
• Kansas Supreme Court Reverses Jail Suicide Summary Judgment
• Cook County Jail Agrees to Improvements by Brandon Sample
• Wisconsin Appeals Court Orders Photos Delivered to Prisoner by Michael Rigby
• Department of Justice Releases Report on Prison and Jail Deaths 2000-2009 by Matthew Clarke
• 9th Circuit Denies Double-Jeopardy Based Dismissal of Arizona Drug Case by Derek Gilna
• Court Upholds Guilty Plea Although Defendant Wasn't Advised of Adam Walsh Impact by Derek Gilna
• US Court of Appeals Reverses Federal Employee Assault Claim Against Coworker
• US Court of Appeals, DC Circuit, Upholds NSA Disclosure Exemption
• US District Court Denies Fla. DOC Wrongful Death Defense
• Volunteering Information to an Inmate Informant Does Not Require Miranda Warning
• U.S. Court of Appeals Upholds Immunity for Police after Arrest
• Wyoming State Prisoner's Suit for Access to Courts Denied by 10th Circuit by Derek Gilna
• U.S. First Circuit Court Upholds Judicial Estoppel in Bankruptcy Case
• US Court of Appeals Upholds CIA Glomar Response
• Tenth Circuit Vacates Denial of Prisoner's Rule 60(b) Motion by Matthew Clarke
• US Court of Appeals Finds for Judge in Gordian Knot of Interests
• US Court of Appeals Finds for Defendant District Attorney in Autopsy Photo Leak
• Washington Photo Confiscation/Destruction Not Negligent
• Washington State Supreme Court Clarifies Public Records Act Guarantees
• Vermont Supreme Court Orders Disclosure of Police Records
• Wrongfully Convicted New York Man Receives Settlements for $950,000
• Virginia's FOIA Ruled to Not Violate Some Constitutional Guarantees by Derek Gilna
• US District Court Orders Release of Records to Prisoner
• Washington Sexually Violent Predator Escape Law Upheld
• Report Critical of Maine DOC's Medical Contractors by Joe Watson
• Eighth Circuit Upholds $10,000 Excessive Force Verdict Against University Police
• 4th Circuit: Prisoner Alleges Sufficient Facts to Establish Imminent Danger, Permitted to Proceed Despite Three Prior “Strikes”
• 8th Circuit: Prisoner's Right to Avoid Involuntary Medication Safeguarded Only by Minimal Procedural Due Process Protections
• U.S. Immigration Policy: Dysfunctional, Profitable and Resistant to Reform by Derek Gilna (p 1)
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court Reinstates Homeless Man's Failure-to-Register Conviction
• Third Circuit Denies Claim against Government for Attorney’s Fees under EAJA by Derek Gilna
• Former California Deputy Sheriff Maintains Clean Record Despite Recent and Past Sexual Misconduct Allegations
• Eighth Circuit Court Considers Prison Religious Practices Suit
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court Upholds Right-to-Know Law on Public Records
• Preliminary Injunction Granted for Florida Prisoner's Medical Treatment
• Probationary State Employee Legally Terminated
• California Court of Appeal Grants Increased Award of Conduct Credit to Jail Detainee
• Supermax Prisoner Denied FOIA and Privacy Requests by 10th Circuit by Derek Gilna
• 1st Circuit Affirms Federal Tort Claims Judgment Against FBI in Bulger Cases by Derek Gilna
• $1,008 in Damages Awarded to Illinois State Prisoner
• US Court of Appeals Remands FOIA Suit for Dismissal
• US Tenth Circuit Court Defines Escape as Violent Felony
• 7th Circuit Affirms Finding of No Deliberate Indifference in 1983 Case by Derek Gilna
• US Court of Appeals Dismisses Freed Prisoner's §1983 Claim
• Anti-Immigrant Arizona Sheriff Outed by His Mexican Ex-Boyfriend (p 11)
• Report: Total State Prison Costs at Least $5.4 Billion Over Budget Nationwide (p 12)
• From the Editor by Paul Wright (p 12)
• From the Editor by Paul Wright (p 14)
• Los Angeles Jail Undersheriff Steps Down (p 15)
• A ‘Nobody’s’ Legacy: How a Semi-literate Ex-con Changed the Legal System by M. Alex Johnson (p 16)
• Iowa Pays Almost $500,000 to Fired Parole, Prison Supervisors by Joe Watson (p 18)
• California: Thousands of Sex Offenders Remove GPS Monitors (p 18)
• Fortresses of Solitude by James Ridgeway (p 20)
• CDCR Tried to Conceal Report on Prisoner Suicides (p 22)
• New York: Provision Requiring Independent Jail Oversight Board Ignored for 23 Years by Joe Watson (p 22)
• Life on the Inside and Death on the Outside: Complexities in Health Disparities Inside and Outside U.S. Prisons by Evelyn J. Patterson (p 24)
• Calls for Better Pregnancy Care in Georgia Jails after Death of Prisoner’s Baby (p 24)
• Colorado Pays for Unneeded Private Prison Beds to Subsidize Local Jobs by John Dannenberg (p 26)
• Seventh Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Case Challenging Conditions in Illinois Jail where Mentally Ill Prisoner Died by David Reutter (p 26)
• Illinois: Scathing Study on Solitary Buried by Politics by Adam Klasfeld (p 28)
• Louisiana Public Service Commission Postpones Prison Phone Reforms by Mel Motel (p 29)
• No Free Speech Protection for Prisoners Who Copy Excerpts from Books by Christopher Zoukis (p 30)
• ADX Prisoner Not Allowed to Communicate with Family Members or Receive Publications under SAMs by Christopher Zoukis (p 32)
• Lawsuit Filed Against Solitary Confinement of 800 “Seriously Mentally Ill” Prisoners in Pennsylvania by Sal Rodriquez (p 34)
• Oregon: Grand Jury Cites Problems at Multnomah County Jails by Sal Rodriquez (p 34)
• Former Pennsylvania DOC Director Hired to Run CDCR by Anne-Marie Cusac (p 36)
• CA Prison Guards’ Union Loses Appeal, Must Pay $4.96 Million Judgment (p 36)
• Second Circuit: Continuing Violations Exhausted with Single Grievance (p 38)
• Federal Court Enters Interim Fee Award Against BOP in FOIA Suit (p 38)
• Law Man: My Story of Robbing Banks, Winning Supreme Court Cases, and Finding Redemption, by Shon Hopwood and Dennis Burke (Crown, August 2012). 320 pages, $25.00 hardcover by Lisa McElroy (p 40)
• Ninth Circuit Vacates Federal Prison Sentence Imposed by Non-trial Judge (p 42)
• FBI’s National Crime Data Found to be Flawed, Manipulated (p 42)
• Colorado Seeks New Use for Empty Prison (p 43)
• Pennsylvania Officials Link Halfway House Payments to Recidivism Rates by Derek Gilna (p 44)
• Forcible Cutting of Illinois Prisoner’s Dreadlocks Found Unconstitutional (p 44)
• Delaware Court Decides Financial Dispute Involving Prison Healthcare Company by Derek Gilna (p 46)
• Defendants Must Challenge Joint and Several Liability for Attorney Fees on Initial Appeal or Issue is Waived (p 46)
• Court Upholds California Prison Guard’s Termination for Telling Prisoner to Hang Herself (p 47)
• South Carolina Sheriff Indicted; Fourth Sheriff to Face Criminal Charges in Three Years by Christopher Zoukis (p 48)
• Utah: Prisoners’ Education Should be Cheaper, More Efficient, Report Says (p 49)
• Florida Innocence Commission Makes Recommendations to Prevent Wrongful Convictions (p 50)
• California: Condition of Parole Restricting Parolee from Residing Near Victim’s Next of Kin Held Invalid (p 51)
• Native Americans Overrepresented in Prison; Problems with Tribal Police Cited (p 52)
• Utah Potentially Liable for Juvenile’s Death; Incarceration Exception to State’s Immunity Inapplicable (p 53)
• Time for Sentencing Reform by George Gascón (p 54)
• Seventh Circuit: Cost Bond Improper Tool to Address Prisoner’s Frivolous Filings (p 54)
• More Oregon Prison Employees Accused of Sexual Abuse (p 56)
• California Prison Industry Authority Loses $24 Million in Last Two Years but Reduces Recidivism (p 56)
• News in Brief (p 58)

March

• New Hampshire Supreme Court Affirms Order of Superior Court Denying His Motion to Amend the Conditions of His Suspended Sentence by Derek Gilna
• Pre-Suit Notice Not Required by Texas Tort Claims Act by Brandon Sample
• New York: Indigent Defendants' Suit Over Non-representation Ruled Justiciable by Michael Rigby
• Mass Incarceration Now, Tomorrow, Forever: Gov. Jerry Brown and the Politics of Court Bashing by Jonathan Simon
• Gang Colors Restriction Held Unconstitutional by Brandon Sample
• Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Denies Prisoner's Habeas Petition Challenging Calculation of Sentence by Derek Gilna
• Wisconsin Prisoner's Pro-Se AEDPA Action Dismissed, Reversed and Remanded by Derek Gilna
• Lasting Damage: A Rogue Prosecutor’s Final Case by Joaquin Sapien
• Trial and Conviction in Washington Jailhouse Courtroom Overturned by Michael Rigby
• U.S. Liable Under FTCA for Trauma of Home Raid Resulting from Postal Service Employee's Misinforming Law Enforcement by Michael Brodheim
• Aramark Food Contract with Kentucky under Scrutiny by David Reutter
• Tenth Circuit: No Clearly-Established Right to Oklahoma Trust Fund Money by Matthew Clarke
• EEOC finds BOP Workplace Retaliation Widespread by Derek Gilna
• Amid Improvements, Maricopa County Jail Medical Services Still Deficient by Matthew Clarke
• Martin Luther King: Letter from the Birmingham Jail 1963
• Wisconsin Prisoner's Pro-se AEDPA Action Rejected by Seventh Circuit by Derek Gilna
• Third Circuit: Non-Sex-Offender Prisoners Entitled to Due Process Before Prison Requires Sex Offender Treatment by Matthew Clarke
• Wisconsin Supreme Court Upholds Disciplinary Result by David Reutter
• Report Lauds Canada's Prison Tattoo Program, but Government Won't Bring it Back by Joe Watson
• BOP Dentist Convicted, Sentenced in Sex Assault Case by Brandon Sample
• Fifth Circuit Upholds Blanket Strip Search Prohibition in Texas Jails
• Fifth Circuit Disallows Louisiana Deputy's Interlocutory Appeal by Matthew Clarke
• Tenth Circuit Faults Kansas Prisoners' Representation; Upholds Dismissal of Compulsory Savings Account Challenge
• Excessive Force Claim Against Virginia Jail Settled
• Washington Prisoner's Judgment Garnished to Pay Conviction Related Expenses
• Nurse's License Suspended for Relationship with Civil Sex Offender Detainee
• Seventh Circuit Affirms Imprisonment Does Not Promote Correction and Rehabilitation by Derek Gilna
• Texas Parolee Dies Under Mysterious Circumstances After Arrest
• Restoration of Voting Rights a Mixed Bag by David Reutter
• California: Corrections Department Donates Confiscated Cell Phones to Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention Organizations
• Idaho Supreme Court Denies Bail Bondsmen Damage Claims by Derek Gilna
• Denial of Satanic Bible Results in $100 Settlement by Brandon Sample
• Prepaid Telephone Credits Theft Leads to Change of Provider in Wisconsin Jail
• California: Confidential Lifer Files Found Discarded in Dumpster Outside Prison
• California: CDCR Pays $5,000 to Settle Failure-to-Protect Suit Brought by Pre-Operative Transsexual Prisoner
• Wisconsin Prisoner Injured Dismantling Horse Stalls Awarded $14,000
• Israeli Supreme Court: Private Prisons Violate Human Dignity
• Conflict of Interest Alleged in Termination of Probation Services Contract
• Seventh Circuit Rules for State Officials in Prisoner Medical Co-pay Dispute by Derek Gilna
• Sixth Circuit Remands Wrongful Death Case to Reduce Punitive Damage Award by Derek Gilna
• Dismissal for Inability to Pay Monetary Sanctions Reversed
• Oregon Service by Mail Adds 3 Days
• Washington Appeals Court Denies Prisoner's Prison Account Funds Suit
• NAACP Sues over Censorship of Criminal Justice Reform Ad
• South Carolina Prisoner's Case Dismissed Under Three Strikes Rule of PLRA by Derek Gilna
• Department of Justice Reports on State and Federal Prisoners in 2009 by Matthew Clarke
• NACDL Wins Appeal for Eyewitness Identification Data by Brandon Sample
• Maine Supreme Judicial Court: PUC Cannot Regulate Prisoner Phone Rates
• Corrupt Officials, Scandals, Indictments and Convictions Rock Rural Texas Counties by Gary Hunter
• Pennsylvania DOC Settles Accommodation Suit by Brandon Sample
• Deregulation of Telephone Rates in Florida Eliminates Caps on Prisoner Rates
• Pennsylvania Supreme Court Clarifies Incarcerated Parents’ Rights
• Dangerous Jails - LA Weekly
• California: CDCR Releases Latest Recidivism Report
• Legislature’s Taking of Civil Filing Fee Portion not Unconstitutional Tax
• Bid-Rigging, Sex, and Politicians: Welcome to Oklahoma by Brandon Sample
• Participation in Reentry Programming Leads Ex-Offenders Back to Prison, Study Says
• Iowa Supreme Court Supports Prisoner Suppression Motion by Derek Gilna
• Chicago Police Hit with Big Judgment and “Code of Silence” Finding by Derek Gilna
• Alabama: Deputy Sheriffs Immune from Suit for Damages
• Dismissal of Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Legal Mail Claim Reversed
• New Hampshire Supreme Court Reverses Guard’s $2 Million Verdict
• Newly Installed Florida Prison Chief Sacked by David Reutter
• Florence Strip-Search Decision Sends Iowa Case Back to Square One by Derek Gilna
• El Paso Prisoner Receives $80,000 Settlement by Derek Gilna
• 7th Circuit Limits Use of FOIA Requests in Case Against Federal EPA by Derek Gilna
• Eighth Circuit Affirms Post-Verdict Nominal Damages Request
• Life On the List
• New Jersey Supreme Court Turns Back Constitutional Challenge to the State's Sexually Violent Predator Act by Derek Gilna
• $300,000 Settlement Reached in Iowa Illegal Strip Search Case
• Sixth Circuit Explores Excessive Force Legal Twilight Zone; Finds Fourth, not Fourteenth Amendment Controlled by Mark Wilson
• DC Circuit Affirms Order Denying FOIA FBI Disclosure to Kentucky Prisoner by Derek Gilna
• Ordinary Discovery Rules Apply to Washington PRA Actions; FOIA Reasonableness Standard Governs PRA Searches
• Failure to Record Disciplinary Hearing, Allow Adverse Witnesses in Alaskan Prison Disciplinary Hearing Violates Due Process by Matthew Clarke
• Court Documents Prove I was Sent to Communication Management Units (CMU) for my Political Speech by Daniel McGowan
• Abuse in Los Angeles Jails Leads to Investigations, Lawsuits and Eventual Reforms by Michael Brodheim (p 1)
• Who Polices Prosecutors Who Abuse Their Authority? Usually Nobody by Joaquin Sapien
• Colorado Seeks New Use for Empty Prison (p 12)
• Nevada Prison Industries Exploiting Businesses and Workers by Bob Sloan (p 14)
• From the Editor by Paul Wright (p 14)
• The Color of Corporate Corrections: Overrepresentation of People of Color in the Private Prison Industry by Christopher Petrella (p 16)
• British Call Center Fires Employees to Hire Prison Slave Labor (p 17)
• Why Are Prisoners Committing Suicide in Pennsylvania? by Matt Stroud (p 18)
• Federal Court Grants Six-Month Extension to Reduce CDCR Prison Population (p 24)
• Alaska Supreme Court Revives Prisoner’s “Shy Bladder” Suit (p 25)
• Historic $45 Million Settlement in Washington State Prison Phone Class-action Suit by Matthew Clarke (p 26)
• China Pledges to Stop Harvesting Organs from Executed Prisoners (p 27)
• Prison Reforms Under Maine’s New DOC Commissioner by Lance Tapley (p 28)
• Former California Prison Guard Convicted of Lying about Injury Sustained at Sex Club (p 29)
• Colorado: CCA Doctor Disciplined for Role in Prisoner’s Death (p 30)
• $2.6 Million Jury Award for Prisoner Beaten in Los Angeles County Detox Cell by Matthew Clarke (p 30)
• $4.1 Million Settlement for Cook County Jail Prisoners Shacked During Labor (p 31)
• California Prison Psychiatrists Reap Rewards from State Bidding War (p 32)
• Tennessee DOC Accused of Covering Up Violent Incidents by Alex Friedmann (p 34)
• Prison Doctor’s Failure to Follow Prescribed Hernia Treatment States Claim (p 35)
• 7th Circuit Reaffirms Voluntariness of BOP’s Inmate Financial Responsibility Program by Derek Gilna (p 36)
• Second Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment for Non-Treatment of Prisoner’s HCV (p 36)
• Eighth Circuit: § 1997e(e) Bars Compensatory Damages for First Amendment Religious Claims; Qualified Immunity Upheld (p 38)
• DC Court Disbars Former Federal Prosecutor for Misconduct by Derek Gilna (p 38)
• Indigent Prisoner’s Damages Claim in Legal Mail Case Survives Summary Judgment (p 39)
• U.S. Citizens Mistakenly Snared, Deported by DHS and ICE by Derek Gilna (p 40)
• South Carolina Sex Offender’s Lifetime Satellite Monitoring Held Unconstitutional (p 41)
• Have the Media Stopped Covering Courts? (p 42)
• “Shocks the Conscience” Test Applied to Conditions at Civil Commitment Center (p 42)
• Unique Brazilian Prison Alternative Celebrates 40-Year Anniversary by Lyla Bugara (p 44)
• Eleventh Circuit: No Right to Spanish-language RDAP Program (p 45)
• $2 Million Settlement in Mailman’s Death at New York City Jail (p 46)
• Former New York Prisoner Exonerated, Receives $2 Million Settlement (p 46)
• Fifth Circuit Reverses $659,300 Katrina-Related Jury Award by Matthew Clarke (p 48)
• Equitable Tolling of AEDPA Includes Non-English Speaking Petitioners (p 48)
• Oregon ACLU Sues Jail over Mail Policy; County Quickly Capitulates (p 50)
• Illinois Woman Awarded $70,000 for Strip Search Based on Canine Alert (p 50)
• Eighth Circuit: Procedurally Defaulted Grievances Decided on Merits are Considered Exhausted (p 52)
• California Governor Approved Parole for 377 Life-Sentenced Murderers in 2012 by John Dannenberg (p 52)
• Eleventh Circuit: Corizon Policy Led to Prisoner’s Paralysis; $1.2 Million Verdict Upheld (p 54)
• Los Angeles County Settles Civil Detainee Wrongful Death Claim for $750,000 (p 55)
• Eighth Circuit Upholds Child Porn Supervised Release Condition (p 56)
• California Prison Town Files for Bankruptcy by John Dannenberg (p 56)
• Wisconsin Supreme Court Clarifies Sex Offender Registration for Homeless Prison Releasees (p 57)
• News in Brief (p 58)

February

• LaSalle Corrections: A Family-Run Prison Firm by Matthew Clarke (p 1)
• Tenth Circuit: Terrorism Prisoners Lack Liberty Interest in Transfer to ADX by Derek Gilna (p 8)
• From the Editor by Paul Wright (p 8)
• The Battle to Open Prisons to Journalists by Jessica Pupovac (p 10)
• Two Companies Acknowledge Exporting U.S. Prisoner-Made Goods to Canada by David Reutter (p 13)
• Reintroducing the Private Prison Information Act: An Interview by Mel Motel (p 14)
• GAO Examines How BOP Can Reduce Prisoners’ Time in Prison by Derek Gilna (p 16)
• In Memory of Jon E. Yount (1938-2012) by Peter Wagner (p 18)
• U.S. Imprisons the Most Women, Tops International List (p 22)
• Supreme Court Extends Qualified Immunity to Private Attorney (p 22)
• Supreme Court Adopts Strickland Prejudice Standard for Rejected Plea Bargains by Derek Gilna (p 24)
• NY Federal Judge Deals Rare SHU Placement Defeat to BOP by Derek Gilna (p 24)
• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Sets Aside Convictions Based on Actual Innocence by Matthew Clarke (p 26)
• Oregon Jail Guard Convicted of Assaulting Prisoner, Gets 30 Days in Jail (p 26)
• The Collapse of American Criminal Justice, by William J. Stuntz (Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2011). 432 pages, $35.00 by Derek Gilna (p 28)
• Pay-to-Stay Jail Programs Growing (p 30)
• Illinois: Current Insurer Must Pay Wrongful Conviction Award after Exoneration (p 30)
• Nevada DOC Audit: Doctors Work 5 Hours, Get Paid for 10 (p 31)
• Oregon Prosecutor’s Son Escapes Mandatory Prison Time for Sexual Assault (p 32)
• Idaho Supreme Court Affirms Firing of PHS Medical Director (p 32)
• Life After Murder: Five Men in Search of Redemption, by Nancy Mullane (Public Affairs Books, 2012). 384 pages, $26.99 (hard-cover) by John Dannenberg (p 33)
• Former California Prison Guard Resentenced Following Assault Conviction (p 34)
• Texas Supreme Court Rules Compensation Required in Schlup-type Innocence Cases by Matthew Clarke (p 34)
• FBI Loses Prisoner’s Property but Sovereign Immunity Foils Recovery by Derek Gilna (p 35)
• Supreme Court: No Bivens Actions for Federal Prisoners in Private Prison by Matthew Clarke (p 36)
• Pregnant Woman Suffers Needless Death in Oklahoma Jail by Matthew Clarke (p 36)
• Seventh Circuit Approves Illinois Prison’s Rejection of PDR and Drug Guide (p 38)
• Alabama Law Meant to Ensure Transparency in Judicial Elections Not Enforced for 16 Years by Derek Gilna (p 38)
• Idaho DOC Settles 30-year-old Class-action Lawsuit (p 40)
• New York Jail Profits from TV Ads by Joe Watson (p 41)
• Federal Prison Industries Contract Leads to Freeworld Job Losses (p 42)
• California: Denial of Kosher Diet to Messianic Jew Violates RLUIPA (p 44)
• New Hampshire: $450,000 Settlement in Suit Over Prisoner’s Opiate Detoxification Death (p 44)
• Ohio Supreme Court Sides with Defendant in Sex Offender Registration Case by Derek Gilna (p 45)
• TASER Liability Verdict Upheld, but Remittitur Granted (p 46)
• FCC Finally Moves on Wright Petition After Almost a Decade of Inaction (p 46)
• New York Court Limits Costs to $.25 per Page for Prison Medical Records Requests (p 47)
• Johnny Cash and His Prison Reform Campaign by Danny Robins (p 48)
• News in Brief (p 50)

January

• Forms of Judicial Deference in Prison Law by Sharon Dolovich (p 1)
• Louisiana Public Service Commission Votes to Lower Prison and Jail Phone Rates by Mel Motel (p 14)
• From the Editor by Paul Wright (p 16)
• FBI Reports Drop in Violent Crime; DOJ Reports Increase (p 17)
• Venezuelan TV Station Fined $2.16 Million for Prison Reporting by Matthew Clarke (p 18)
• Dramatic Increase in Percentage of Criminal Cases Being Plea Bargained by Matthew Clarke (p 20)
• Pennsylvania: Former BOP Warden Pleads Guilty to Cover-up (p 21)
• Despite Budget Crunch, Texas Rarely Grants Medical Paroles by Matthew Clarke (p 22)
• Iraqi Prison Breaks Likely Inside Jobs (p 23)
• Contraband Smuggling a Problem at Prisons and Jails Nationwide by Matthew Clarke (p 24)
• NH Corrections Officer, Suspended After Fight, Obtains Back Pay Plus $250,000 in Damages and Attorney Fees (p 26)
• California Lawsuit Challenges Voting Prohibition on County-level Offenders (p 28)
• Louisiana Sex Offender Internet Restrictions Unconstitutional (p 28)
• Law Enforcement Forfeiture Corruption Scandal in Michigan Includes Police Chief (p 30)
• Massachusetts Prisoners Receive Refunds for Illegal Fees Imposed by Sheriff (p 30)
• Obama Pardons Two Turkeys, No Prisoners in 2012 by Derek Gilna (p 32)
• Scientific Advances in Arson Investigations Reveal Wrongful Convictions by Michael Rigby (p 34)
• Georgia Judge Removed from Bench for Misconduct, Files Lawsuit Claiming Conspiracy (p 38)
• Virginia Considers Privatizing State’s Civil Commitment Center by Joe Watson (p 38)
• States Seek Federal Medicaid Reimbursements to Offset Prison Medical Costs (p 40)
• New Mexico Slaps Private Prison Companies with $1.4 Million in Fines (p 40)
• Oregon-Washington Prison Employee Logs 19-Hour Days (p 42)
• Nation’s Largest Private Prison Companies Trying to Do the REIT Thing (p 42)
• California and Oregon Prison Guards Fire Shots to Break up Fights (p 44)
• Tenth Circuit Cites PLN Case in Denying Oklahoma Newspaper’s FOIA Request (p 44)
• North Carolina Governor Pardons Wilmington 10 (p 45)
• California: Del Norte County DA Described as “Idiotic” (p 46)
• Cook County, Illinois Lowers Jail Phone Rates by Mel Motel (p 46)
• First Circuit: RLUIPA Does Not Provide Relief from Transfer to Remote Prison where Opportunities for Religious Exercise are Limited (p 48)
• 9th Circuit: Class-action by Civilly Committed Sexually Violent Predators May Proceed on Claims for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (p 48)
• News in Brief (p 50)