Mental Health Care in South Carolina Prisons Found Unconstitutional
by David M. Reutter
On January 8, 2014, a South Carolina state court entered judgment in a decade-long class-action lawsuit, finding that mental health care in the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) exposed seriously mentally ill prisoners to a substantial ...
Federal Court Orders Cameras to Cover Blind Spots at North Carolina Prison
by David Reutter
On August 22, 2013, a North Carolina federal district court ordered attorneys representing the state prison system to present a plan to ensure adequate security camera coverage at the Central Prison in Raleigh. The court’s ...
Rejecting Foreign Language Letters after Interpretation May Violate Prisoner’s Rights
by David M. Reutter
A Michigan federal district court denied summary judgment to prison officials in a civil rights action involving First Amendment violations. State prisoner Ali Musaid Muthana alleged that his incoming and outgoing mail was destroyed because it ...
Michigan: Perjured Testimony at Trial Results in Habeas Relief, but Reversed on Appeal
by David M. Reutter
A Michigan federal district court ordered the immediate release of a man convicted in a “sham” trial that involved the police, prosecutor and a trial judge who knowingly allowed witnesses to perjure themselves. ...
Automatic Placement of Death Row Prisoner in Segregation Does Not Violate Due Process
by David M. Reutter
A Virginia federal district court held in November 2013 that automatic and indefinite placement of a death-sentenced prisoner in solitary confinement constitutes a deprivation of liberty without due process of law. The state ...
Liability against Taser for Negligence Upheld but $5.5 Million Damages Award Reversed
by David M. Reutter
In November 2013, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury’s finding that Taser International was liable for negligence in the death of a teenager tased by a police officer. However, the appellate ...
Tennessee Prisoners Suing Private Prisons Not Required to File in Local Venue
by David Reutter
The Tennessee Supreme Court has held that a state statute requiring a local venue for lawsuits filed by indigent prisoners does not apply to actions that accrued while a prisoner “was housed in a correctional ...
Kentucky Jail Prisoners Make Mattresses
by David Reutter
The Daviess County Detention Center (DCDC) in Western Kentucky has a program that uses prisoners to manufacture mattresses. The program is expected to save the 700-bed facility $10,000 a year and provide a service to the local community.
Previously, DCDC purchased around ...
Notorious Psych Ward at Miami-Dade Jail Finally Shuttered
by David Reutter
In a historic culmination to decades of “horrific” living conditions and a pattern of constitutional violations, the Miami-Dade County Jail in Florida has finally closed the “Forgotten Floor” – the notorious ninth floor at the facility that was used ...
Nebraska Law Unconstitutionally Forfeits Good Time for Refusal to Submit DNA Sample
by David M. Reutter
The Nebraska Supreme Court has held that a retroactive state law which requires prisoners to submit DNA samples violates the Ex Post Facto Clause for increasing “the quantum of punishment” when a prisoner refuses ...
