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Articles by Douglas Ankney

Monterey County, California Pays $365,000 for Jail Prisoner’s Death

by Douglas Ankney

Officials in Monterey County, California agreed to pay the family of Jacob Parenti $365,000 to settle a lawsuit over his death while he was held at the Monterey County Jail (MCJ).

In 2013, Parenti was on his way home from work when, during a traffic stop, police ...

Sixth Circuit Rules Suit May Proceed Where State Judge Offered Reduced Sentences for Sterilization

by Douglas Ankney

On April 4, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed a district court’s order that dismissed a lawsuit filed by former jail prisoners in White County, Tennessee as moot.

The case, brought by plaintiffs Christopher Sullivan, Nathan Haskell and William Gentry, alleged that ...

Cook County to Pay Over $5 Million for Depriving Prisoners of Dental Care

by Douglas Ankney

In May 2018, commissioners in Cook County, Illinois agreed to establish a $5,263,000 fund to settle four lawsuits, including one certified as a class-action, alleging a complete denial of dental treatment for prisoners at the Cook County Jail (CCJ). The claims arose because, in a 2007 “cost-cutting ...

Director of Nonprofit that Locked Up Thousands of Immigrant Children Resigns Amid Federal Investigation

by Douglas Ankney

Juan Sanchez spent 32 years at the helm of Southwest Key Programs (SKP), a private contractor that operates shelters for the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which has custody of unaccompanied migrant children apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as well as the children ...

Michigan Hit with Multiple Lawsuits Related to Women’s Prison

by Douglas Ankney

The State of Michigan and the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) have been named defendants in three separate lawsuits concerning the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility (WHV).

In August 2018, the state agreed to pay almost $750,000 to settle a complaint that was brought by the U.S. ...

New Jersey County Pays $1,975,000 to Settle Suit Over Unlawful Strip Searches

by Douglas Ankney

Ocean County, New Jersey has agreed to pay $1.975 million to settle a class-action lawsuit, where the class was defined as “All persons who were admitted into the Ocean County Correctional Facility during the period between November 28, 2005 through December 28, 2007, after being arrested only ...

California: Placer County to Pay up to $1.44 Million to Settle Class Action Suit for Jail Beatings

by Douglas Ankney

In March 2019, Placer County, California agreed to create a fund of $1,449,700 to settle potential claims arising from a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of prisoners who were beaten by guards at the county’s two jails. Placer County had previously settled six suits and a claim ...

Los Angeles County to Pay Almost $4 Million for Sexual Abuse by Jail Deputy

by Douglas Ankney

In November 2018, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors agreed to pay $3.9 million to settle claims against the county, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LACSD), Sheriff James McDonnell and Deputy Giancarlo Scotti. The Board’s decision ended a lawsuit brought by two former female prisoners ...

Landlords Challenge Ordinance that Protects Former Prisoners’ Rental Rights

by Douglas Ankney

In May 2018, landlords in Seattle, Washington filed a lawsuit claiming the city’s controversial “Fair Chance Housing Ordinance” violates their constitutional rights. The Ordinance prohibits any person from refusing to rent to a prospective tenant, or evicting a current tenant, based on arrest records, conviction records or ...

Attorney-Client Privilege Under Attack in Jails Across the Nation

by Douglas Ankney

As previously reported in PLN, the constitutional rights of prisoners at the Leavenworth Detention Center (LDC) in Kansas were violated by CoreCivic, the private operator of the facility for the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), when the company not only recorded phone calls between prisoners and ...