by Matt Clarke
In the middle of the night of October 18, 2007, Phoenix New Times founders Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin were arrested at their homes and charged with revealing grand jury information for publishing an article revealing that they had been subjected to a grand jury subpoena of ...
by Matt Clarke
Prosecutors have a great deal of power and discretion. They choose whether to prosecute a case, what charges to file against a defendant and what plea bargain to offer. They can influence the court when imposing sentence and can even seek the death penalty. Prosecutors are also ...
by Matt Clarke
The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Economic Mobility Project and Public Safety Performance Project issued a collaborative report in September 2010 on the impact of incarceration on economic mobility. The report found a strong negative effect of incarceration on upward economic mobility not only for former prisoners but also ...
by Matt Clarke
On March 19, 2010, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a federal district court violated Rule 32.l(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure when the judge used videoconferencing technology to appear at a supervised release revocation hearing.
Christopher R. Thompson was convicted in federal ...
by Matt Clarke
The Fifth Circuit court of appeals reversed a Louisiana district court’s denial of qualified immunity for a prison doctor.
Anthony Gobert, a former Louisiana state prisoner, was incarcerated at the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center (EHCC) and on work release when his leg was accidentally crushed below the ...
by Matt Clarke
A Texas court of appeals has conditionally granted a prisoner’s petition for a writ of mandamus, voiding a district court’s order garnishing funds from the prisoner’s trust fund to pay court costs in an old case.
Roger L. Keeling, a Texas state prisoner, was convicted in 1992 ...
by Matthew T. Clarke
A Texas court of appeals has reinstated the pro se, in forma pauperis negligence and premises defect tort suit brought by a Texas prisoner against Dallas County and the Sheriff of Dallas County after finding that the trial court abused its discretion in dismissing the suit. ...
By Matt Clarke
A Texas court of appeals has held that a state prisoner properly pleaded damages within the minimum jurisdictional limits of the district court.
Jeffery D. Westbrook, a Texas state prisoner incarcerated at the Allred Unit, filed suit pro se in state district court alleging prison officials on ...
by Matt Clarke
On September 20, 2007, the Supreme Court of Nevada held that parole release meetings were exempt from the requirements of the Nevada Open Meetings Law (OML), N.R.S. Chapter 241.
John Witherow, a Nevada state prisoner, filed a complaint in state court against the Nevada Board of Pardons ...
By Matt Clarke
The Idaho Court of Appeals has ruled that an indigent prisoner’s legal action cannot be dismissed for failure to post the bond required by I.C. § 6-610 of persons filing suit against a “law enforcement officer.”
Steven Lee Hyde, an Idaho state prisoner and adherent of the ...
