The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court’s denial of summary judgment on individual capacity claims against an Oklahoma sheriff related to a prisoner’s suicide. The appellate court held it lacked jurisdiction to consider official capacity claims.
On July 27, 2009, Charles Jernegan was incarcerated on an outstanding ...
Last year, the Oregon Court of Appeals held that a prisoner was improperly compelled to choose between having his mother or a legal assistant speak on his behalf at a parole hearing.
Oregon state prisoner Richard Hartwell is serving a life sentence for a 1985 murder. During an August 4, ...
Oregon prisoners who complete a parenting program are significantly less likely to engage in criminal behavior and substance abuse after release, a long-term study found.
More than half of America’s 2.3 million prisoners have children under the age of 18 according to a 2010 Pew study. In other words, one ...
A Wisconsin federal court held that a jail's disciplinary, mail, and publication rules were unconstitutional. The court declined to enjoin those practices, however, essentially rendering its holding a mere advisory opinion.
On September 29, 1970 pretrial detainees of the Milwaukee County Jail (MCJ) brought federal suit challenging jail practices and ...
The Washington Court of Appeals held that a prisoner's request to review his central file was a Public Records Act (PRA) request.
On May 3, 2010, an attorney for Washington prisoner Marvin Hunter requested the opportunity to review Hunter's Department of Corrections (DOC) central file. DOC denied the request.
On ...
The Oregon Court of Appeals reversed an Oregon man's rape convictions, finding that prosecutors improperly seized a handwritten manuscript from his jail cell without a warrant.
Kenneth Everett Moore was arrested on six counts of rape when his step-daughter, identified under the pseudonym "H," reported that he had been sexually ...
The Oregon Court of Appeals ordered a lower court to dismiss a prison guard's tort claims against a television broadcast company.
Around 10:00 p.m., on January 10, 2010, someone fired gunshots in a Salem, Oregon neighborhood. Some of the bullets struck the home of Patrick and Sarah Mullen.
Patrick Mullen ...
A Tennessee federal court dismissed deliberate indifference claims against a jail doctor for a prisoner's seizure death, absent allegations of his personal involvement or awareness. The court refused to dismiss claims brought against the private medical care company or the nurses who were present.
Sevier County, Tennessee, contracted with First ...
A North Carolina federal court held that material factual disputes precluded summary judgment on a prisoner's excessive force claims.
Randolph Watterson and Stephen Somerset were cellmates in protective custody at North Carolina's Gaston County Jail. Watterson claims that on the evening of August 7, 2009, guards Michael Grosch and Stephen ...
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an Ohio prisoner failed to prove that a three-week delay of treatment for a painful skin condition constituted deliberate indifference.
Ohio state prisoner Oscar Santiago complained of severe pain, swelling and a rash in his lower legs. On January 31, 2008, Assistant ...
