California: Ex-Prisoners on Community Supervision Secure Major Voting Rights Victory
by Lonnie Burton
Tens of thousands of convicted felons in California will have their voting rights restored after Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced he will not pursue an appeal of an Alameda County Superior Court ruling that struck down an edict issued by former Secretary of State Debra Bowen, which directed county clerks to deny the right to vote to certain offenders.
“If we are serious about slowing the revolving door at our jails and prisons, and serious about reducing recidivism, we need to engage – not shun – former offenders,” Padilla said in announcing his decision. “Voting is a key part of that engagement; it is part of a process of becoming vested and having a stake in the community.”
Padilla’s decision not to challenge the court ruling means that low-level felons serving sentences under the community supervision provisions of the state’s 2011 Criminal Justice Realignment Act will now be eligible to vote. An estimated 58,000 offenders are serving their sentences under the Realignment Act, though officials noted that number includes underage offenders and non-citizens who are barred from voting.
The announcement marked a victory for the ACLU ...
Fourth Circuit Finds Strip Searches and Delousing of Arrestees Constitutional
by Lonnie Burton
On November 14, 2014, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the defendants in a case brought by two former prisoners who alleged that strip search and delousing procedures at two regional jails violated ...
CA: Persons on Community Supervision Eligible to Seek Transfer to Another State
by Lonnie Burton
Reversing a lower court’s ruling to the contrary, the Court of Appeal for the Fourth District of California held on October 22, 2014 that a defendant released into the community as part of a prison ...
Three Strikes Litigant Required to Show Ongoing “Imminent Danger” to Proceed on Appeal
by Lonnie Burton
On January 7, 2015, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a pro se prisoner litigant who had accumulated three strikes under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) for filing frivolous lawsuits must demonstrate that ...
Nevada DOC’s “One Eye Policy” Challenged; Summary Judgment Reversed
by Lonnie Burton
In an October 24, 2014 corrected ruling, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals addressed a Nevada prison policy that denies prisoners with one good eye medical treatment for their other eye. The 2-1 decision reinstated a lawsuit that ...
Seventh Circuit Orders New Trial due to Shackling of Prisoner Plaintiff
by Lonnie Burton
On April 4, 2014, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted a new trial to a prisoner who had sued jail guards alleging claims of excessive force, who was required to be visibly shackled throughout the ...
Lifetime GPS Monitoring of Sex Offenders Upheld in South Carolina
by Lonnie Burton
South Carolina’s Supreme Court hasrejected a challenge to a state law that requires lifetime GPS monitoring of certain sex offenders who violate the terms of their probation, parole or community supervision. The statute, known as “Jessie’s Law,” ...
Seventh Circuit Reinstates Prisoner’s Eighth Amendment Suit; $26,875 Settlement on Remand
by Lonnie Burton
n July 17, 2014, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a lawsuit filed by a mentally ill Wisconsin prisoner who claimed he was subjected to months of cruel and inhumane living conditions.
While incarcerated at ...
Second Circuit Affirms Muslim Prisoner’s Right Not to Drink Water during Ramadan
by Lonnie Burton
Darryl Holland, a Muslim prisoner at the Wende Correctional Facility in New York, was faced with a tough choice on November 20, 2003. Unable to provide a urine sample when ordered to do so by ...
California Prisoner’s Conviction for Smuggling Tobacco Overturned
by Lonnie Burton
A California state prisoner convicted of a felony offense for smuggling tobacco into prison has had his conviction reversed by a California appellate court, although a related conviction for smuggling cell phones was affirmed.
In September 2011, Sherman Redd, incarcerated ...
