by David M. Reutter
In a precedential opinion issued on August 21, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that a federal prisoner incarcerated in the state need not satisfy a state-law requirement for a certificate of merit in order to proceed with a …
by David M. Reutter
On September 30, 2023, the federal court for the Eastern District of Arkansas gave final approval to a settlement agreement under which for-profit prisoner transport firm Inmate Services Corp. (ISC) agreed to pay a total of $949,379.48 to resolve claims that it violated the …
by David M. Reutter
The federal court for the Middle District of Louisiana found on July 18, 2023, that a guard at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center (EHCC) violated a prisoner’s Eighth Amendment rights by failing to intervene when he was assaulted by another prisoner. After a bench trial, …
by David M. Reutter
On June 28, 2023, Florida prisoner Quincy Williams reached a settlement with the state and its Department of Corrections (DOC), which agreed to pay him $9,000 to resolve claims he was retaliated against—repeatedly—for exercising the right to grieve his conditions of confinement. The case …
by David M. Reutter
Observing that “Eighth Amendment claims for the deprivation of medical care are not analyzed body-part by body-part,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled on July 14, 2023, that a lower court erred in dismissing a Connecticut prisoner’s claim he was …
by David M. Reutter
On June 9, 2023, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed denial of defendant state prison officials’ motion to dismiss all but a negligent supervision and training claim that arose from a sexual and physical assault on a pretrial detainee at Potomac …
by David M. Reutter
In June 8, 2023, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia held that the Medical Professional Liability Act (MPLA), W. Va. Code §§ 55-7B-1 to 12, does not apply to the state Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR).
Before the court was …
by David M. Reutter
On July 31, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit rejected an argument by the Florida Department of Corrections (DOC) that a state prisoner’s suit should be dismissed because he was required to file a Petition to Initiate Rulemaking before proceeding …
by David M. Reutter
On December 20, 2022, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDJC) said that a prisoner reported missing the day before at the Stiles Unit in Beaumont had been “found within the prison’s perimeter fence.” But in a letter to PLN, fellow prisoner David W. …
by David M. Reutter
As of March 2023, a long-term California prisoner now paroled had received settlements totaling $26,500 in two lawsuits that alleged his First Amendment rights were violated when prison officials took retaliatory actions because of grievances and litigation he filed.
The most recent victory …
