Alabama Work Release Transportation, Medical and Drug Screen Costs Not “Incidental to Confinement”
by David M. Reutter
Alabama’s Supreme Court has held that the plain language of § 14-8-6, Ala. Code 1975 does not prohibit the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) from collecting, over and above the 40% threshold established ...
Settlement Opens Georgia Courtrooms to the Public
by David M. Reutter
Human rights groups have applauded efforts to open Georgia courts to members of the public, putting an end to a widespread practice of courtrooms being declared off limits – a practice that was condemned as a violation of the ...
Private Debt Collection Companies Contract with District Attorney’s Offices
by David M. Reutter
Numerous lawsuits have been filed against companies that contract with prosecutors to collect debts in bad check cases because, opponents say, the firms contact debtors on official district attorney letterhead and use draconian tactics such as harassing ...
Qualified Immunity to Iowa DOC Director for Recalculating Prisoners’ Release Dates
by David M. Reutter
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a district court’s grant of qualified immunity in a civil rights action brought by four ex-prisoners who were held beyond their release dates.
The prisoners, Richard Scott, ...
ACLU Granted Preliminary Injunction Requiring Michigan Jail to Deliver Legal Mail
by David Reutter
A federal district court in Michigan granted a preliminary injunction that requires officials at the Livingston County Jail (LCJ) to deliver letters sent by the ACLU to specific prisoners and to return the mail if a ...
"Mass Chaos" Reigns at Georgia Prisons
by David M. Reutter
Five former Georgia prison guards have pleaded guilty and three were convicted by a federal jury in connection with a severe beating that left a handcuffed prisoner hospitalized with acute brain damage. The charges followed state and federal law enforcement ...
Judge May Resolve Exhaustion Issue; No Policy on Grievance Non-decisions Means Remedies Unavailable
by David Reutter
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals held on August 26, 2013 that a judge may resolve factual disputes relevant to the exhaustion of administrative remedies without the participation of a jury. It also held ...
Seventh Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment in Dental Care Suit
by David M. Reutter
On July 19, 2013, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a grant of summary judgment to three defendants, holding there was sufficient evidence for a jury to find they acted with deliberate indifference to a prisoner’s ...
Flimsy Reasons for Prolonged, Frequent Lockdowns State Eighth Amendment Claim
by David Reutter
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that an Illinois prisoner’s complaint that frequent lockdowns for substantial periods of time deprived him of exercise and caused him various health problems stated an Eighth Amendment claim. However, ...
Brady Violations Result in Habeas Relief for Pennsylvania Death Row Prisoner
by David Reutter
To correct a “grave miscarriage of justice,” Pennsylvania U.S. District Court Judge Anita Brody granted a writ of habeas corpus to a state prisoner and vacated his conviction and death sentence for a murder that “in ...
