by David M. Reutter
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed the dismissal of an Iowa prisoner’s lawsuit alleging violations of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Newton Correctional Facility (NCF) former prisoner Michael T. Rinehart had been diagnosed with diverticulitis, a chronic colon condition that causes ...
by David M. Reutter
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals held that to proceed under the Prison Litigation Reform Act’s (PLRA) three-strikes exception, the three-strike prisoner must demonstrate that he or she faced imminent danger when filing the lawsuit and upon filing the notice of appeal. The court also held ...
by David M. Reutter
On April 23, 2020, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the grant of summary judgment to defendants in a civil rights action alleging they failed to protect a prisoner from an attack from another prisoner.
Before the court was the appeal of Nevada prisoner Robert ...
by David M. Reutter
In March 2020, Florida-based GEO Group formally asked the government of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, to terminate a five-year, $264 million contract, which it signed in 2018 to manage the county’s George W. Hill Correctional Facility (GWH). The firm’s request to be relieved of its obligations by ...
by David M. Reutter
Just because prisoners get sick with COVID-19 in a jail too crowded to practice safe social distancing does not make jail officials liable because so long as they say they are doing “their best,” they can’t be guilty of “deliberate indifference” to the problem.
That was ...
by David M. Reutter
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld on June 8, 2020, that a pretrial detainee’s First Amendment claim that officials violated his right to free speech by opening incoming and outgoing legal mail outside his presence. It affirmed judgment on claims alleging violation of the Fourth ...
by David M. Reutter
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s order denying a prisoner’s motion for recruitment of counsel.
This was the second appeal brought by Wisconsin prisoner Randy McCaa. His civil rights action alleged that the defendants were deliberately indifferent to his threats to commit ...
by David M. Reutter
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a report that found the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) violates prisoners’ Eighth Amendment rights by frequently using excessive force. The report found overcrowding and understaffing are major contributors to the improper use of force.
The DOJ’s July 23, ...
by David M. Reutter
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals held on April 27, 2020 that a district court erred when ruling against a Pennsylvania prisoner’s civil rights complaint and allowed the case to proceed
Prisoner Casey Dooley, pro se, filed a civil rights action in state court that ...
by David M. Reutter
A New Jersey prison guard was acquitted on charges of official misconduct and conspiracy to commit sexual assault. It is the second acquittal for guard Brian Y. Ambroise, who worked at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility, New Jersey’s only women’s prison.
The March 13, 2020, verdict by ...
