by David M. Reutter
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a state driver's license examiner who exercised supervisory control over a prisoner acted as a state actor and can be held liable for raping her. Pamela Smith, a former prisoner of Oklahoma's Tulsa Community Correction Center (TCCC), ...
by David M. Reutter
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has held that the public and press enjoy a qualified First Amendment right of access to court docket sheets. This case was filed by the Hartford Courant and The Connecticut Law Tribune, challenging the Connecticut state court system's practice of ...
Exculpatory Evidence Must be Disclosed at Prison Disciplinary Hearing
by David M. Reutter
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a prisoner is entitled to receive exculpatory evidence in a prison disciplinary hearing when a liberty interest is implicated. This habeas corpus proceeding was brought by Clyde Piggie, ...
by Ken Kopczynski, 111 pp. 2004, Authorhouse, softbound
Reviewed by David M. Reutter
As the prison industrial complex has expanded, the privatization of prisons has increased. The pages of PLN have chronicled the mental and physical abuse, as well as medical neglect, suffered by those warehoused in privatized prisons. Private ...
by David M. Reutter
The Keys to Success report issued by the Vermont State Auditor on May 26, 2004, concludes the Vermont Department of Corrections' (VDOC) "failure to monitor its contracts with private companies and individuals has resulted in significant financial impacts, services that were paid for and not received, ...
"Therapeutic Seclusion" of Civilly Committed Sex Offenders Contrary to Professional Judgment
by David M. Reutter
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that civilly committed sex offenders are entitled, as a matter of due process, to the exercise of professional judgment as to the needs of residents, and fact ...
by David M. Reutter
A class action suit filed in Florida's Leon County Circuit Court challenges a new law enacted by the Florida Legislature in its 2004 session. That Legislature amended § 944.516, Florida statutes, to add subpart (1)(h), effective July 1, 2004. The new law allows the Florida Department ...
The Eleventh Circuit Court held the attorney fee cap of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) applies to parole cases and is constitutional and allows a fees-on-fees award. Georgia prisoner Coleman Jackson filed a joint motion for habeas corpus and complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Jackson alleged the Georgia ...
by David M. Reutter
A federal class action has been filed in the Federal District Court in Ft. Myers by eight residents of the Florida Civil Commitment Center (FCCC), seeking to enforce their rights to mental health services and treatment under the United States Constitution and the Americans with Disabilities ...
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 ...
