by David M. Reutter
The Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) agreed on January 15, 2004, to settle a lawsuit brought by diabetic prisoners by upgrading their medical care. The agreement sets a precedent for management and care of diabetic prisoners that is a first in the nation.
An investigation in ...
by David M. Reutter
An independent investigation into the deaths of seven prisoners concludes that Vermont Department of Corrections (VDOC) policies were partly to blame for some of the deaths. The deaths occurred between November 25, 2002, and October 7, 2003. After the suicide death of PLN contributing writer James ...
by David M. Reutter
The public entrusts its law enforcement officials to protect it from crime and to use the tax dollars it provides to fulfill that duty. The manipulation of that trust has come to light. An Atlanta audit reveals that police officers caused more than 22,000 crime reports ...
by David M. Reutter
Since the 2000 presidential election, Florida's voting laws have been under scrutiny. One of the issues being debated is Florida's constitutional provision that permanently disenfranchises felons.
When Florida gave blacks the right to vote as a condition of the state being readmitted to the Union after ...
by David M. Reutter
A Connecticut federal district court vacated a jury award of $30,000 because the prisoner plaintiff failed to exhaust administrative remedies. Connecticut prisoner Lori Hock sued guard Paul Thipedeau for violating her Eighth Amendment right to be free of cruel and unusual punishment.
By sending letters to ...
Florida Prisoner Awarded Costs in Successful
Records Request Litigation
by David M. Reutter
Florida's First District Court of Appeals has held that a prisoner who successfully challenges a public agency's failure to produce public records is entitled to recover all reasonable costs of the litigation. Florida prisoner Dale William Weeks ...
by David M. Reutter
"The Court is totally out of patience with the assurances and promises that compliance will be achieved" with the Final Settlement Agreement signed on January 24, 2000. So said Judge Shoeb, U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia, when ordering Fulton County, Georgia, to ease overcrowding ...
Florida Work Release Prisoners Ripped Off
by Private Transport Company
by David M. Reutter
In response to a new law, effective Oc-tober 1, 2003, that prohibited state prisoners from driving state vehicles, the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) hurriedly entered into a no bid contract with Sunshine Transportation to transport ...
Private Settlement Agreement Prohibits Award
of Attorney Fees and Costs
by David M. Reutter
In a case of great importance to lawyers litigating prisoner actions where private settlement agreements are a consideration, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a $379,000 award for attorney fees and costs granted after ...
by David M.Reutter
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held the failure to file an opposing pleading, as required by local rule, in response to a motion for summary judgment is not grounds for entry of final judgment against the non-moving party when genuine disputes of material facts exist; additionally, ...
