by David M. Reutter
A monitor with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU/SC) witnessed the brutal beating of a prisoner at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility by two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies. Twin Towers is part of the county’s jail system.
The January 24, 2010 incident ...
by David M. Reutter
The estate of a prisoner who died at Alabama’s Washington County Jail has agreed to accept $450,000 to settle a wrongful death suit.
Shawn Desmond Woodard, 33, was being held at the Washington County Jail on a probation violation when he became sick on the evening ...
by David M. Reutter
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held on May 27, 2010 that Arizona’s felon disenfranchisement law does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment. The law is based on Arizona’s Constitution, which provides that anyone convicted of treason or a felony may not vote unless their civil rights ...
By David M. Reutter
In settling direct conflicts between two district courts of appeals decisions, the Florida Supreme Court has held that applying a statute retroactively to assess costs is not an ex post facto violation.
The Court accepted review of Griffin v. State, 946 So. 610 (Fla. 2d DCA ...
By David M. Reutter
The Virginia Supreme Court has held that there is no vested right under state law to have juvenile records destroyed. The Court, however, found that an expert’s testimony was inadmissible because that testimony was based upon an improper finding that the conduct charged in the juvenile ...
By David M. Reutter
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has held the state’s media shield law prohibits the compelled disclosure of a confidential source’s identity, or any information that could expose the source’s identity, rejecting an invitation to fashion a non-textual, “crime-fraud” exception to the operation of the statute.
The original ...
By David M. Reutter
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that 42 U.S.C. 1997e’s prohibition against a prisoner bringing a federal civil action for emotional injury without a prior showing of physical injury is an affirmative defense.
Before the Court was the appeal of Florida prisoner Lawrence W. ...
by David M. Reutter
The Washington Department of Corrections (WDOC) has agreed to change its policies that relate to preventing, reporting and investigating sexual abuse of prisoners by staff members. The changes resulted from a settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed by five female prisoners who claimed they were sexually ...
by David M. Reutter
Things that are seemingly inconsequential to people outside of prison can quickly become something of great importance when made available to prisoners. The honey bun is one such item, which has taken on its own lore and become a beloved sticky-sweet staple among prisoners.
Why are ...
by David M. Reutter
Compact video cameras smuggled into prison have allowed New Jersey prisoner Omar Broadway to become an amateur documentarian of life behind bars. His first video, taken inside a New Jersey state facility in 2004, has been turned into a full-length feature, and he plans to use ...
