$1.35 Million Total Settlement for South Carolina Detainee Beaten by Jail Guard
by David M. Reutter
Richland County, South Carolina has agreed to pay $750,000 to a pretrial detainee who was seriously injured after being beaten by a guard. The jail’s private medical contractor, Correct Care Solutions (CCS), paid $600,000 ...
Alabama DOC Agrees to Protect Women Prisoners from Systemic Sexual Abuse, Harassment
by David M. Reutter
The State of Alabama has agreed to implement reforms designed to protect prisoners at the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women from what investigators with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) described as a “toxic, ...
Georgia’s Privatized Probation Statute Facially Constitutional, but Problems with Administration
by David M. Reutter
While declining to rule on the constitutionality of a state law authorizing privatized probation services, on November 24, 2014 the Georgia Supreme Court issued a 41-page decision that alters the administration of that statute.
The Court ...
Chicago Systematically Denies Medical Care to Detainees; $1 Million Verdict
by David M. Reutter
An Illinois federal jury awarded $1 million to a prisoner’s estate after finding the city of Chicago had a policy and practice of systematically depriving detainees in police lockups of needed medical attention and/or medication.
When ...
Successful Defense of Consent Decree Merits Award of Untimely Attorney Fees
by David Reutter
On September 8, 2014, a California federal district court awarded $7,826.60 in fees and costs to the attorneys and certified law students who successfully defended against a motion to terminate a decades-old consent decree.
At issue ...
Explosion at Florida Jail Kills Two Prisoners as Officials Negotiate Reforms for Unconstitutional Conditions
by David Reutter
As negotiations continued between the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Escambia County, Florida officials over correcting major deficiencies at the county’s Central Booking and Detention Facility, the jail was rocked by an ...
Iowa Supreme Court Holds Miller Retroactive; Governor’s Commutation Cannot Cure Violation
by David Reutter
The Iowa Supreme Court held that the Governor Commutation of sentences of life without parole imposed upon juveniles cannot circumvent the holding in Miller v. Alabama. The court’s ruling further held Miller applies retroactively and a ...
Georgia Prison Guard Receives Litany of Criminal Charges after Traffic Stop
by David Reutter
Following an August 2013 traffic stop, a Georgia prison guard was slapped with seven criminal charges and jailed. It marked the second time in a month that a Georgia guard was arrested on drug charges after ...
Following Suspension and Reprimand for Misconduct, Ex Kentucky Judge Remains Unrepentant
by David Reutter
The Kentucky Judicial conduct Commission (JCC) publicly reprimanded a retired judge for “reprehensible” behavior that included a threat to strangle a lawyer and refusing to allow a pro se civil litigant to argue his case.
The ...
Florida Withdraws Rule Proposal to Ban Prisoner Internet Presence
By David Reutter
The Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) has withdrawn a proposed administrative rule that would have prohibited prisoners from using any form of Internet. The proposed rule was withdrawn after three prisoner rights advocacy organizations warned the FDOC it ...
