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Articles by Matthew Clarke

Ninth Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment in Lawsuit For CoreCivic Causing BOP Detainee’s Prolonged Detention Without Court Appearance or Attorney

by Matt Clarke

On May 28, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that Corrections Corporation of America (now known as CoreCivic) was not entitled to summary judgment in a lawsuit over a pretrial detainee held for 355 days in solitary confinement without a court ...

Fifth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Federal Prisoner’s Bivens Action Challenging Due Process in 280-Day SHU Stay and Alleging Retaliation

by Matt Clarke

On June 2, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a federal prisoner’s claims of insufficient due process used in maintaining his Special Housing Unit (SHU) status for 280 days. In doing so, the court refused to expand the ...

Decapitated Prisoner Shows CDCR Safety Standards Still Headed in the Wrong Direction

California Inspector General’s office issues another reports highly critical of  health care at Corcoran and statewide prison employee disciplinary process

by Matt Clarke

In April 2021, the California Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a report highly critical of the medical care prisoners received at the 2,976-man California State Prison ...

Fifth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Texas Prisoner’s Failure-to-Protect Suit

by Matt Clarke

On May 5, 2021, the Fifth Circuit court of appeals reversed the dismissal of a federal civil rights lawsuit brought by a Texas state prisoner who alleged an assistant warden failed to protect him from an attack by a prisoner who had previously threatened him.

According to ...

California Appeals Court Holds Habeas Action Over Censorship of Tattoo Magazine Mooted By Delivery

by Matt Clarke

On June 8, 2021, a California court of appeals held that a prisoner’s habeas corpus challenging San Quentin State Prison’s withholding of eight issues of Artists Magazine was mooted when the prison allowed him to receive the censored issues.

California Code of Regulations, title 15, section 3006(c)(l7) ...

Two Albuquerque Jailers Indicted for Killing Prisoner

by Matt Clarke

On May 18, 2021, two jail guards at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico were indicted for involuntary manslaughter in connection with the asphyxiation death of a prisoner at the jail in 2019.

Video recordings show that guards used force on MDC prisoner Vicente ...

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rules on Medical Parole Despite Death of Prisoners Who Sought Judicial Review

by Matt Clarke

On May 19, 2021, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled on three questions relating to medical parole despite the two prisoners who filed for judicial review having since died.

Raymond Harmon and Brian Racine were Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC) prisoners who applied for release under ...

Florida Supreme Court Disbars Attorney For Making Sex Films in Jail Visiting Room

Andrew Spark allegedly used his Florida Bar card ...

New York State Law Ends Long-Term Solitary Confinement in Prisons and Jails

“Having spent a lot of time with the advocates who have direct stakes in this bill, this is deeply meaningful,” ...

Seventh Circuit Reinstates Illinois DOC Prisoner’s Suit Against Wexford Psychiatrist

On February 9, 2021, the Seventh Circuit court of appeals held that a district court erred when it departed significantly from Pruitt v. Mote, 503 F.3d 647 (7th Cir. 2007) in its consideration of a mentally ill Illinois prisoner’s motion to recruit counsel. The court held ...