by David M. Reutter
On July 21, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit modified a judgment against a prisoner in a civil rights lawsuit he filed and lost against a doctor at Indiana’s LaPorte County Jail (LPCJ). The Court capped the cost amount of a witness’ ...
by David M. Reutter
A Mississippi law that became effective on July 1, 2022, gives the state Department of Corrections (DOC) the discretion to choose the method of execution for a condemned prisoner. In addition, it added nitrogen hypoxia, electrocution, and firing squad as execution options, while declaring intravenous injection ...
by David M. Reutter
Florida took a significant step towards charging more ex-convicts with voter fraud, eight days after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced the first 20 arrests in August 2022. [See: PLN, Jan. 2023, p.18.] On August 26, 2022, the state Department of Corrections (DOC) revised its “Instructions ...
by David M. Reutter
On December 6, 2022, a former guard at Oklahoma’s Kay County Detention Center was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for violating the civil rights of detainees. Former Lt. Matthew Ware, 53, was convicted on three charges by a jury in the federal court for ...
by David M. Reutter
On August 2, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed dismissal of a lawsuit alleging a private North Dakota juvenile home was liable for the suicide of a 12-year-old detainee. Because the facility and its employees were operating under contract with the ...
by David M. Reutter
Twice in July 2022, the federal court for the District of Arizona spanked Centurion of Arizona, healthcare provider for the state Department of Corrections (DOC), issuing injunctions to correct mismanagement of prisoner medication.
On July 1, 2022, the Court issued a preliminary injunction requiring the state ...
by David M. Reutter
On August 18, 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced the first fruits of an investigation into allegations of voter fraud tied to the 2020 election. The state Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) arrested 20 ex-felons that day for voting illegally. That’s 20 potentially ineligible votes ...
by David M. Reutter
On June 15, 2022, in a precedential ruling that might help the next prisoner plaintiff, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that “a prisoner has a valid access-to-courts claim” when “denial of access to legal materials — before and/or during trial — ...
by David M. Reutter
On June 14, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed the grant of summary judgment to a Missouri prison food service director accused of interfering with a prisoner’s medical diet and then retaliating against him for filing grievances.
Before the Court was ...
by David M. Reutter
On June 10, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that a Florida jail’s policy requiring detainees to sign up for Passover meals 45 days in advance did not violate the constitution or the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). ...
