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, ...
Applicability of FTCA to BOP
Causes Circuit Split
by David M. Reutter
Three recent federal circuit court rul-ings exhibit a dispute between the circuits as to whether the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) applies to property claims against the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Each of these cases, filed by ...
Tennessee Officials Pay $450,000 to Settle Lawsuit
in Detainee's Murder by Guards
by David M. Reutter
Wilson County and City of Lebanon, Tennessee, jail officials agreed to pay the widow of Walter Steven Kuntz $450,000 to settle a lawsuit that charged jail guards beat him to death. Following a traffic ...
Ohio Native American Prisoner Granted Injunction
to Grow Long Hair
by David M. Reutter
An Ohio federal district court has granted a prisoner at Ohio's Madison Correctional Institute (MCI) a preliminary injunction that allows him to grow his hair in accordance with his religious beliefs. Prisoner Cornelius Wayne Hoevenaar is ...
Constitutional Amendment Effort Launched
to Bar Florida's Prison Privatization
by David M. Reutter
The Florida Police Benevolence As-sociation (PBA) has launched a petition drive to enact an amendment to Florida's constitution that would bar privatization of prisons, jails, and offender supervision. The PBA represents over 30,000 law enforcement, corrections, and ...
Second Circuit Holds Confidential Informant's Reliability Alone
Insufficient to Support Hearsay or Conclusionary Statements
By David M. Reutter
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has held that prison officials, in assessing the reliability of evidence at a prisoner's disciplinary hearing, must reference the totality of the circumstances and that an ...
by David M. Reutter
A bungled escape attempt at Florida's Charlotte Correctional Institution (CCI) on June 11, 2003, resulted in the first death of a female guard. Darla Lathram, 38, began working at CCI in June 2002. She was beat with a sledgehammer and pronounced dead at the scene. Her ...
by David M. Reutter
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a New Jersey federal district court's grant of a motion for summary judgment in separate 42 U.S.C. §1983 actions filed by prisoner's Joel Fraise, Alexander Kettles, and John Harris. Their suits challenged the constitutionality of a New Jersey ...
by David M. Reutter
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that prison guards at the Florida State Prison (FSP) who beat prisoner David. C. Skrtich are not entitled to dismissal. Two of the defendants, Timothy A. Thornton and Jason P. Griffis, are the same guards recently acquitted in ...
