by Bob Williams
On March 16, 2020, the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded a lower court decision dismissing a suit brought by a released prisoner over the fees charged to use the release funds placed on a debit card. The Human Rights Defense Center represented the plaintiff in this case. ...
Safety at Any Price - Massachusetts Corrections Fiscal Failure
by Bob Williams
The guiding fiscal model of the Massachusetts criminal justice system for decades has been “safety at any price,” according to a December 2009 report by The Boston Foundation (Report). Analyzing corrections spending between 1998 and 2008, the report concluded that the massive growth in spending was driven neither by an equal growth in corrections populations nor by improved public safety (including reduced recidivism).
Nationally, corrections budgets have enjoyed a nearly 300 percent increase over the past 20 years as approximately one in 31 adults are under some form of correctional supervision in the United States. That’s 2.3 million people in prisons and jails and another 5 million on probation or parole—more than any other country in the world. In 1982, corrections budgets nationally totaled $9 billion. By 2007, they ballooned to $44 billion.
Between the nature of corrections and public fear, budgets have avoided deep cuts during lean economic times, and have received large increases during a normal economy. “Sentencing, parole and release policies often have been driven by headlines rather than by research into public safety and the reduction of victimization,” the Report concludes. The latest recession ...
Tenth Circuit: Heck Not Applicable To Diversions; Notice Required Before Statute Of Limitations Dismissal
by Bob Williams
In December 2009, the Tenth Circuit held that Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994) did not bar § 1983 actions where pre-trial diversion agreements resulted in no underlying conviction that could be ...
By Bob Williams
In another unpublished decision, a unanimous Colorado Court of Appeals has held that if a prisoner's administrative disciplinary conviction is vacated on district court review, expungement and not a rehearing is mandatory if the reversal is on substantive and not procedurals grounds.
Mark Garcia was using the ...
By Bob Williams
The Colorado Court of Appeals rejected a plea by a state prisoner to avoid Colorado's Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP) which the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) requires based on sexually based disciplinary infractions.
Timothy Reeves was classified an SI on the S1 S5 Sexual Violence Scale ...
For the second time, the Tenth Circuit has reversed the dismissal of a pro se prisoner’s lawsuit alleging he was denied basic hygiene items when his available money was spent on court-related expenses.
Colorado state prisoner Michael Whitington filed a § 1983 complaint that accused the Colorado Department of Corrections ...
In a July 2009 report funded by the Public Safety Performance Project of the Pew Center on the States, author Christine S. Scott-Hayward examines how shrinking budgets are impacting state corrections policies and practices.
The story is in the numbers, and the numbers are staggering. More than one out of ...
In a 2009 report by the Brennan Center for Justice, a think tank and public interest advocacy group at New York University School of Law, the authors conclude that the state of Maryland’s assessment of a $40 monthly parole supervision fee is “a penny-wise, pound-foolish policy” that likely does more ...
In a July 2009 report by The Sentencing Project, a national non-profit organization engaged in research and advocacy on criminal justice policy issues, Ashley Nellis and Ryan S. King examine the consequences of the expanding use of life sentences in America and make recommendations for changes in law, policy and ...
Pennsylvania Contractor Prohibited from Using State and Federal Funds for Religious Purposes
by Bob Williams
Citizens in Bradford County, Pennsylvania filed a federal lawsuit against the County and state and federal officials after government funds allegedly were used for religious prosetylizing of jail prisoners. A consent order was entered that ...
