by Matt Clarke
On July 26, 2017, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a Wisconsin federal district court’s denial of qualified immunity to a jail guard and privately-contracted nurse after they ignored a prisoner’s risk assessment indicating a maximum risk of suicide.
Ryan L. Clark’s breath test showed he ...
by Matt Clarke
In 2009, Iowa state prisoner Joe Byrd was accused of participating in a prison gang rape along with four other prisoners. He not only asserted his innocence, but steadfastly maintained that the crime never happened. After a seven-year battle over disciplinary charges, the Iowa Department of Corrections ...
by Matt Clarke
On June 15, 2017, in an unpublished ruling, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a lawsuit brought by a former jail prisoner alleging he was denied adequate medical care at the Nueces County jail in Corpus Christi, Texas.
When Adam A. Balle was arrested by two ...
by Matt Clarke
On July 24, 2017, a Massachusetts court held that state law provides no authority for court officers to arrest and hold an individual, solely on the basis of a federal civil immigration detainer, beyond the time he or she would otherwise be entitled to release.
Sreynuon Lunn ...
by Dale Chappell and Matt Clarke
Connecticut has closed another prison as the state Department of Correction’s population continues to fall. Officials confirmed that Enfield Correctional Institution, a 700-bed medium-security facility, closed in January 2018.
State officials cited falling crime rates, demographic trends and sentencing reform for the decline in ...
by Matt Clarke
On August 16, 2017, the ACLU of Nebraska, ACLU National Prison Project, Nebraska Appleseed, National Association of the Deaf and two law firms, DLA Piper and Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP, filed a federal class-action suit against the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NDCS), Nebraska Board ...
by Matthew Clarke
On October 24, 2107, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a lawsuit brought by a federal prisoner who complained that prison authorities were deliberately indifferent to her safety and violated the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, by identifying her as an informant to other prisoners. ...
by Matthew Clarke
On February 7, 2018, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of an Illinois prisoner's civil rights lawsuit.
Guards at the Menard Correctional Center were preparing prisoners to be walked to the chow hall when Joseph Wilborn emerged from his cell and attacked them. He ...
by Matthew Clarke
On February 1, 2018, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that generalized law enforcement records such as training manuals and guidelines could fall under Exemption 7 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7), without requiring the agency seeking to withhold the documents ...
by Matthew Clarke
On January 31, 2018, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a district court erred when it mandated a maximum-allowable heat index measure for a Louisiana’s death row. The court upheld the lower court’s finding of an Eighth Amendment violation due to excessive heat and requiring ...
