by John E. Dannenberg
In what appears to be the first attempt to comply with federal court orders to reduce California’s prison population, the State Legislature enacted Senate Bill 18, which, effective January 25, 2010, places over 20% of the parole population on a new non-revocable parole (Penal Code (PC) ...
by John E. Dannenberg
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court’s decision granting summary judgment to Orange County, California jail officials who allegedly used excessive force while restraining a detainee. The appellate court found that because there were triable issues of fact, summary judgment was not appropriate. ...
by John E. Dannenberg and Alex Friedmann
On August 8, 2008, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) discharged disabled prisoner Michael R. McHone from FCI Edgefield in South Carolina to spend his first night at a motel. The next day – a Saturday – a prison employee drove McHone to ...
Ninth Circuit: “Three Strike” Conviction Does Not Allow Use of Old Offenses for Impeachment Purposes in § 1983 Suit; Heck Does Not Bar Admission of Evidence
by John E. Dannenberg
In a case of first impression, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that when defending against a prisoner’s ...
by John E. Dannenberg
On March 24, 2009, motions by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to terminate the Receivership now operating the state’s prison healthcare system under a longstanding federal lawsuit were denied by the U.S. District Court.
Judge Thelton E. Henderson found that the Prison Litigation ...
by John E. Dannenberg
The Nebraska Court of Appeals has upheld administrative regulation 205.3 (AR 205.3) of the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), which restricts prisoner phone calls to land-line, nonconference-call recipients and authorizes tape-recording of all non-attorney phone calls. In reversing an earlier district court injunction enjoining AR 205.3, ...
by John E. Dannenberg
The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that restrictions on prisoners in administrative segregation (ad seg) at the jail in Orange County, California, related to exercise and group religious programs, violated their federal rights. The appellate court further held that inadequate physical facilities at the ...
Alameda County, CA Settles Juvenile Detainee Strip Search Suit for $4.3 Million
by John E. Dannenberg
In July 2008, Alameda County, California settled a class-action civil rights suit brought by former juvenile detainees of the Alameda County Jail for $4,286,600. The suit was brought on behalf of all juvenile detainees ...
California Prison’s Drinking Water Cited for Excessive Arsenic Levels
by John E. Dannenberg
Whenever prisoners at California’s Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) watch the classic 1944 movie Arsenic and Old Lace, they have to swallow hard. That’s because the drinking water supply at KVSP was cited in December 2008 by ...
by John E. Dannenberg
The Indiana Court of Appeals has rejected a class-action suit brought by families and friends of prisoners who challenged prison telephone contracts as monopolistic and prison phone rates as oppressive. The appellate court held that it was not illegal for the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) ...
