Dismissal of Wrongfully Convicted Prisoner’s Fabricated Evidence Claims Upheld on Appeal
by David Reutter
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a grant of judgment on the pleadings to two officers from North Carolina’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in a civil rights case that alleged they had fabricated evidence.
In ...
Tasering Detainee as Corporal Inducement Violates Eighth Amendment
by David Reutter
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has held a pre-trial detainee’s claim that a guard used excessive force could proceed where a jury could find the guard used a Taser on a non-aggressive detainee as corporal inducement to comply ...
$12,500 Settlement for Pennsylvania Prisoner Denied Medication
by David Reutter
Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County Jail (ACJ) agreed to pay $12,500 to settle two lawsuits claiming guards and medical staff had failed to treat a prisoner’s epilepsy.
The suits involved the treatment of prisoner Tonja Jackson at ACJ. Following her arrest in ...
A preliminary report by two human rights organizations concluded that a toxic fly ash dump which surrounds State Correctional Institution (SCI) Fayette in Pennsylvania may be causing cancer and other serious health ailments to both prisoners and staff at the facility. While more study is needed to empirically prove the ...
New York’s Appellate Division, First Department, has reversed a Bronx County supreme court’s dismissal of a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint that also raised claims of negligence and medical malpractice.
The suit was filed by the estate of Eva Luckey, 46, who died at a Rikers Island jail facility in ...
Tennessee County Not Required to Pay for Medical Costs after Prisoner’s Release
by David Reutter
The Tennessee Court of Appeals has held that a prisoner does not have a private right of action for being released early from jail, in a case in which a prisoner alleged he was freed ...
Claim Alleging Guard Slammed Prisoner’s Head into Wall Defeats Summary Judgment
by David Reutter
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a grant of summary judgment in a prisoner’s civil rights action, holding that a reasonable jury could conclude a guard had “inflicted serious pain” on the prisoner “with malicious ...
Sovereign Immunity Doesn’t Bar Attorney Fee Award Against Georgia DOC
by David Reutter
The Georgia Supreme Court held on June 16, 2014 that sovereign immunity does not bar an award of attorney fees and litigation costs against the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDOC).
The ruling resulted from certiorari review of ...
GEO Group’s Florida Immigration Detention Center “Horrifying”
by David M. Reutter
Hundreds of undocumented immigrants are housed at the GEO Group-operated Broward Transitional Center (BTC) in Pompano Beach, Florida, and many are victims of mistreatment and policy violations according to a report issued by an immigrants’ rights group.
The 71-page ...
Georgia Deputies Liable for Detaining and Stripping Man in Debt Judgment Execution
by David Reutter
The Georgia Court of Appeals held in March 2014 that Fulton County sheriff’s deputies who detained a man to execute a debt judgment can be held liable for violating his rights.
Brooke Payne, the former ...
