Companies Pitch Tablets for Prisoners to Maintain Family Ties, Aid in Reentry ... and Generate Profit
by Derek Gilna
The Pennsylvania DOC is joining a small number of state prison systems that allow prisoners to purchase specially-modified tablet computers, and that number could grow as more and more corrections officials ...
New Jersey County Seeks New Jail Phone Contract, Increases Commission Rate
by Derek Gilna
Officials in Bergen County, New Jersey are seeking bids on a new jail phone contract that will include an increase in the “commission” kickback the county receives from calls made by prisoners, which will go from ...
Supreme Court Holds Equitable Tolling Excuses Missed Federal Tort Claim Filing Deadlines
by Derek Gilna
It’s not easy to sue the United States for damages. According to the Supreme Court, “The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA or Act) provides that a tort claim against the United States ‘shall be forever ...
Supreme Court Holds Juror’s Alleged Lies During Voir Dire Not Grounds for New Trial
by Derek Gilna
In a decision with serious implications for criminal defense attorneys as well as civil litigants, the U.S. Supreme Court held on December 9, 2014 that a juror’s allegedly untruthful responses during voir dire ...
$6.2 Million Settlement Reached in D.C. Jail Strip Search, Overdetention Suit
by Derek Gilna
An eight-year-old lawsuit alleging illegal overdetention and strip searches of detainees at the District of Columbia Jail concluded with a $6.2 million settlement. The class-action suit had accused the jail of wrongfully strip-searching prisoners who should ...
BOP Prisoner Count Increases Despite Continuing Drop in State Prisoners
by Derek Gilna
Showing once again that the federal government continues to be out of step with declining crime rates nationwide, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) noted “that the federal prison population increased by 1,453 ... in 2012, while ...
Supreme Court Reinstates Challenge to North Carolina Post-Release GPS Sex Offender Monitoring
by Derek Gilna
In a March 30, 2015 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed a North Carolina law that requires certain sex offenders to wear a satellite-tracking device following their release from prison. Torrey Dale Grady had been ...
Federal Court Strikes Down Pennsylvania Law that Restricts Prisoners’ Speech
by Derek Gilna
Pennsylvania state lawmakers and former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett both claimed they had good intentions when they enacted legislation that restricted prisoners’ free speech rights if their speech might upset crime victims. A federal judge disagreed, however, ...
California Tests State Prisoners for Valley Fever Amid Lawsuits, Deaths
by Derek Gilna
The State of California is taking steps to minimize the number of cases of coccidioidomycosis, a fungal infection commonly known as “valley fever,” at two prisons in the rural Central Valley area, including testing prisoners for the ...
