By all accounts, the three strikes sentencing law in California is a failure according to criminal justice experts. They point out that three strikes is applied more often than not to people of color, that it hasn't reduced crime, that it's overwhelming the court system and bankrupting the state treasury. ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 3
Afederal district court in Wisconsin granted a prisoner plaintiff's motion for in forma pauperis status holding that censorship of a rap music tape states a claim for a first amendment violation. James Golden, a Wisconsin state prisoner, filed suit challenging the censorship of a rap music tape he had ordered. ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 3
On June 20, 1996, the California Supreme Court decided People v. Romero (1996) 13 Cal.4th 497, 917 P.2d 628, 65 USLW 2017, 96 Daily Journal DAR 7229. The question posed in the case was whether trial judges retained discretion to strike prior felony convictions under the so-called three strikes law, ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 4
More than 50 detainees at the Men's Central Jail in Los Angeles participated in a hunger strike, protesting a lack of legal reference materials and law library access, in August 1996.
The hunger strike appears to have been confined to one section of the jail. Of the 74 men detained ...
Welcome to another issue of PLN . If you read these editorials often, you've no doubt noticed that we usually mention that PLN is entirely reader supported and we need donations from you. Somehow you always manage to send "just enough." And we manage to make ends meet. Lately, though, ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 5
The court of appeals for the seventh circuit affirmed a district court ruling holding an unsuccessful prisoner plaintiff was not liable for costs incurred in transporting him and his witnesses to trial. Bill Sampley, a PLN supporter, and Michael Holland are Indiana state prisoners who filed suit against Indiana prison ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 5
There are 1.5 million private security guards employed in the U.S., outnumbering police three to one. Communities, individuals, and businesses spent $52 billion on private security in 1990, twice the amount of tax revenues going to police.
The crime rate dropped 4 percent overall in 1995 according to FBI crime ...
Prisoners who challenge jail or prison conditions or practices in a pro se lawsuit should be aware of the possibility of turning the case into a class action. In deciding whether to seek class treatment, you should consider both whether your case meets the legal requirements for becoming class action ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 7
Review by Daniel Burton-Rose
This impressive offering from the Network of Black Organizers (NOBO) provides coverage of many of the issues confronting Black and New Afrikan prisoners and their outside communities. A large portion of the writings are by political prisoners and POWs past and present, such as Mumia Abu-Jamal, ...
In 1986 prisoners at the Washington State Reformatory in Monroe, WA were allowed to purchase computers and software and keep them in their cells. The program at its peak had some 56 prisoner computer owners in it. During this period the only problem that arose was one prisoner who hid ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 9
The court of appeals for the ninth circuit held that district court orders which stay proceedings for a limited time to require exhaustion of prison administrative remedies pursuant to the Civil Rights of Institutional Persons Act (CRIPA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997e are not appealable. Two Arizona state prisoners filed civil ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 10
[Editor's Note: There is no source PLN is aware of that keeps accurate statistics on the number of prison disturbances/rebellions. It is apparent to many who monitor prison news, including PLN, that the number of rebellions is on the rise. We attempt to cover them when possible, but often the ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 11
Last month PLN reported "In Harm's Way: Texas Prisoner Killed," about the fatal shooting of 21-year-old prisoner Daniel Miguel Avellaneda by 35-year-old French Robertson Unit prison guard Neal Harms.
Six weeks and one day after the July 8 shooting, a Jones County grand jury in Anson, Texas, a tiny hamlet ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 12
When Aygun Ugur, an imprisoned militant from the outlawed Turkish Communist Party/Marxist-Leninist (TKP/ML), died on the 63rd day of a hungerstrike, Turkey was shocked. In a nation which is continually rocked by political crises and rebellion, this summer's death fast by left-wing political prisoners posed the greatest threat to the ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 14
The court of appeals for the sixth circuit held that prison officials are liable for keeping a prisoner in administrative segregation without a hearing if they acted intentionally or with deliberate indifference; their motive in doing so is irrelevant. Gregory Howard, a Michigan state prisoner, filed suit after he was ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 14
The Georgia state supreme court ruled that prisoners retain a right to protection and safety from other prisoners. Marvin Yizar, a Georgia state prisoner, is a former Atlanta policeman serving a life sentence for murder. Yizar had previously arrested and prosecuted many of the prisoners with whom he now shares ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 15
In his 1996 State of the Union address, Clinton promised to end the "era of big government." But while federal agencies from the Department of Energy to the Labor Department are being downsized, federal law enforcement appears to be moving briskly in the opposite direction.
The Clinton administration's fiscal 1997 ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 15
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of NY ruled in favor of hearing impaired New York prisoners litigating a number of constitutional and statutory issues relating to the imprisonment of hearing impaired prisoners. The court held that the defendants, New York Department of Correctional Services (DOCS), violated all ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 16
In the January, 1996, issue of PLN we reported Baker v. Cuomo , 58 F.3d 814 (2nd Cir. 1995) where the second circuit court of appeals reversed and remanded a lower court ruling dismissing a lawsuit by New York state prisoners challenging the voting disenfranchisement of convicted felons. See: Baker ...
The Iowa DOC administration under director Sally Chandler Halford is taking a "get tough" position against prisoners. Up for a tough reconfirmation next year by the senate, the director plans to shake-up the whole system in the wake of recent incidents within the Iowa system.
The changes by the DOC ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 17
In two separate rulings different judges in Michigan held that the stay provisions of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), codified at 18 U.S.C. § 3626(e) are unconstitutional. Among the PLRA's provisions to section 3626(e) which provides that "Prospective relief subject to a pending motion [for termination] shall be automatically ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 17
A federal district court in California held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act's (PLRA) provisions limiting the source and amount of payment to special masters appointed to monitor compliance with court orders did not apply to special masters appointed prior to the PLRA's enactment on April 26, 1996.
In the ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 17
A federal district court in Nebraska awarded a prisoner plaintiff $8,346 in attorney fees and $2,952 in expenses in a suit challenging Nebraska state prisoners' exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS, also known an second hand smoke). This to the first published case to discuss the award of attorney fees ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 18
The court of appeals for the second circuit held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act's (PLRA) fee provisions did not apply to appeals submitted prior to its passage. The court also held that summary judgment rulings must be properly supported by the record. Michael Ramsey, a New York state prisoner, ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 18
The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) provisions limiting attorney fees in prison cases is not to be retroactively applied. The court also affirmed the district court ruling that the practice of randomly double celling prisoners at the Nebraska State Penitentiary ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 19
In the August, 1996, issue of PLN we reported the history and then current status of Wright v. Riveland, the class action suit challenging the constitutionality of Washington statute RCW 72.09.480, which allows the DOC to seize 35% of all funds sent to prisoners. For more details refer to the ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 20
The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held that prisoners challenging the results of prison disciplinary hearings that result in the loss of good time cannot challenge the hearing result via 42 U.S.C. § 1983, but instead they must present their claim as a habeas corpus petition after exhausting ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 20
In the September, 1996, issue of PLN we reported Jensen v. Gunter , 73 F.3d 808 (8th Cir. 1996) where the appeals court vacated a district court ruling that double celling practices at the Nebraska State Penitentiary (NSP) violated the eighth amendment where the district court had not made any ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 21
The court of appeals for the eighth circuit held that prisoners have a clearly established right to be protected from violence by other prisoners. The court also gave a detailed discussion of appellate jurisdiction in reviewing interlocutory appeals by prison officials who have been denied qualified immunity at the trial ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 21
Afederal district court in New York granted a preliminary injunction ordering prison officials to provide segregation unit prisoners with winter clothes in order for them to have access to outdoor exercise. Ronald Davidson, a New York state prisoner, filed suit challenging the inadequacy of medial care he had received and ...
Loaded on
Dec. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
December, 1996, page 22
CA: Former L.A. Rams cornerback Darryl Henley and Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) guard Rodney Anderson were indicted in June, 1996, on charges of conspiring to kill federal judge Gary Taylor and former Rams cheerleader Tracy Donoho. The indictment states that Anderson smuggled a cellular phone into Ronley's jail cell so ...
