Fifth Circuit Holds Prison Guard’s Injury-Causing Reckless Driving States Nonfrivolous Claim
by Matt Clarke
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held last year that a district court erred when it dismissed a prisoner’s claim that he was severely injured when a guard driving a transport van slammed on the brakes, ...
Eighth Circuit Holds No SORNA Registration Requirement after Leaving U.S.
by Matt Clarke
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held in August 2013 that the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) does not require a registered sex offender (RSO) who moves to a foreign country to notify the state ...
First Circuit Dismisses Appeal of Court’s Failure to Sanction Federal Prosecutor
by Matt Clarke
On July 22, 2013, the First Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed an appeal by the Massachusetts Bar Counsel challenging the failure of a district court and a three-judge disciplinary panel to discipline an Assistant U.S. Attorney ...
Eighth Circuit Upholds Injunction Over Cameras in Restrooms at Civil Commitment Center
by Matt Clarke
In April 2013 the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction granted by a federal district court in a lawsuit challenging the placement of video cameras in bathrooms at the Iowa Civil Commitment ...
Seventh Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Suit Over Placement on Suicide Watch
by Matt Clarke
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the dismissal of a prisoner’s lawsuit over his placement on suicide watch and in administrative segregation.
Daryise L. Earl, a Wisconsin prisoner, filed a civil rights action pursuant ...
Fifth Circuit: Prisoner Who was Raped May Proceed with Lawsuit against Lock Company
by Matt Clarke
In a July 9, 2013 opinion, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the statute of limitations in a federal lawsuit against a manufacturer of cell door locks at a county jail, brought ...
Massachusetts: Acquittal on Additional Sex Offense Doesn’t Trigger Reevaluation of Sex Offender Classification
by Matt Clarke
On September 11, 2013, the Massachusetts Supreme Court held that a prisoner who had been convicted of a sex offense, then given a level three classification by the Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB) due ...
New Report Cites Fewer HIV-Positive State and Federal Prisoners
by Matt Clarke
A recent study revealed that the number of HIV-positive prisoners in both state and federal facilities nationwide is declining and, for the first time, the AIDS mortality rate for prisoners has fallen below the national average among the ...
Texas: Unconstitutional to Revoke Probation Due to Refusal to Self-Incriminate During Polygraph or Therapy
by Matt Clarke
On May 8, 2013, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals held that a probationer’s term of community supervision cannot be revoked because he had refused to answer incriminating questions while taking a lie ...
Report: Prisons in Honduras are Dangerous, Violent and Corrupt
by Matt Clarke
When a February 2012 fire at a prison in Comayagua, Honduras killed 361 prisoners after guards abandoned their posts – leaving the prisoners to die in their cells – there was hope that the resulting international attention focused ...
