by David M. Reutter
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the postcard only policy of the Baxter County, Arkansas Jail and Detention Center (BCJ) constituted a de facto permanent ban on the First Amendment rights of publishers.
The Court’s June 8, 2021 opinion was issued in an appeal ...
by David M. Reutter
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals found a Georgia Sheriff’s Deputy employed excessive force by detaining a pretrial detainee “in a hot, unventilated, and unair-conditioned transport van for approximately two hours” and was deliberately indifferent to the detainee’s serious medical needs. The court concluded the deputy ...
by David M. Reutter
Colorado’s El Paso County Jail, the state’s largest jail, received almost $16 million in federal funds to cover costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It used most of those funds in jail renovations that were part of a longstanding wish list. Meanwhile, staff and detainees were ...
by David M. Reutter
Residents of Allegheny County voted to restrict the use of solitary confinement. The ballot measure was overwhelmingly approved during a May 18, 2021 election.
PLN has previously reported on the brutalizing by guards and the improper use of solitary confinement within the Allegheny County Jail (ACJ). ...
by David M. Reutter
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the grant of summary judgment for the defendants in a civil rights lawsuit alleging they were deliberately indifferent to a prisoner’s serious medical needs. This case highlights the need for expert medical testimony to win in such cases.
The ...
by David M. Reutter
Private prison operator CoreCivic, formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), paid $56 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging it violated securities laws that resulted in a loss to stock holders.
The lawsuit was filed August 23, 2016, on behalf of the class ...
by David M. Reutter
A $1 million settlement was reached in a civil rights lawsuit alleging officials at Georgia State Prison (GSP) failed to take action to prevent a prisoner’s suicide attempt, which resulted in his death three years later.
Prisoner Nicholas Baldwin was 17 years old when he was ...
by David M. Reutter
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that when a prisoner deliberately misrepresents their financial status when seeking in forma pauperis (IFP)status, the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) requires dismissal. In another case in the same opinion, the court held a lawsuit was improperly dismissed without ...
by David M. Reutter
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a prisoner does not have a “reasonable expectation of privacy” in his HIV status while in a prison medical unit. The court further held that individuals have no private right of action under the Health Insurance Portability and ...
by David M. Reutter
The death of a Black man who was Tasered multiple times at South Carolina’s Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center in Charleston is the latest case to raise questions about law enforcement’s use of force in dealing with mentally ill prisoners. Likewise, the continued assertion that Tasers ...
