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Access to Courts/Legal Info

     Because a prisoner had a constitutional right to access to the courts that extended beyond his filing of the initial complaint, the trial court erroneously dismissed the plaintiff's right to access claim. He alleged that prison officials actively interfered with his ability to pursue his civil claims by repeatedly transferring him to different facilities, resulting in the dismissal of several of his lawsuits. The appeals court disagreed with the trial court's ruling that a prisoner's constitutional right of access to the courts "ends once a prisoner has brought his petition or complaint to the court." Silva v. Di Vittorio, #08-15620, 658 F.3d 1090 (9th Cir. 2011).

False Imprisonment

     A prisoner was held longer than he should have been, and argued that, had prison officials checked court records, they would have noticed that he was ordered to serve concurrent rather than consecutive sentences, and released him sooner. The defendants were entitled to qualified immunity, since there was no clearly established case law imposing a duty on them to review a prisoner's original court records "beyond those in his institutional file." Alston v. Read, #10-15332, 2011 U.S. App. Lexis 24741 (9th Cir.).

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****Editor's Case Alert****

    A Florida administrative regulation that prohibited prisoners from soliciting for pen pals did not violate the First Amendment and was reasonable. It was adopted for the legitimate purpose of preventing prisoners from making use of pen pal solicitation services to commit fraud. The rule did not prohibit prisoners from corresponding with a pen pal, but merely from advertising to solicit obtaining one. Florida prison officials permit one pen pal service to operate in its facilities because it does one-to-one matching between prisoners and non-prisoner pen pals, rather than circulating lists of prisoners and non-prisoners available as pen pals. This was believed to decrease the likelihood of scams "because an inmate does not receive a list with numerous individuals’ names, addresses, and contact information." Perry v. Department of Corrections, #11-10694, 2011 U.S. App. Lexis 25561 (11th Cir.).

Medical Care

     An inmate at a privately run federal prison filed a civil rights lawsuit against employees there for alleged deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs in connection with treatment of injuries suffered in a fall. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that, in these circumstances, California state law provides adequate alternative damage remedies for negligence or medical malpractice so that there is no need to imply a federal constitutional civil rights cause of action against the private employees. These state law remedies provide both adequate deterrence of similar future conduct and compensation for any damages suffered.  Minneci v. Pollard, #10-1104, 2012 U.S. Lexis 573.

     An inmate properly alleged an Eighth Amendment deliberate indifference claim against prison doctors for refusing to authorize surgery for his painful hernia. The court also gave him leave to amend his complaint to claim a violation of equal protection based on different treatment of other prisoners with hernias. He claimed that budget constraints, rather than medical judgment, was the real reason his surgery authorization was refused. Gonzalez v. Feinerman, #11–1804, 2011 U.S. App. Lexis 23927 (7th Cir.).

     A prisoner who suffered broken bones in his wrist failed to show deliberate indifference in connection with the medical treatment that was provided, including application of a cast and provision of pain medication. The fact that he would have preferred a different and stronger pain medication as well as a "nerve conduction study" showed only a difference of opinion, which is not enough for a constitutional violation. Hill v. Curcione, #10-1320, 657 F.3d 116 (2nd Cir. 2011).

Prison Litigation Reform Act: Exhaustion of Remedies

     A prisoner's lawsuit claiming that prison employees used excessive force in removing him from his cell, breaking his arm, was properly dismissed for failure to properly exhaust available administrative remedies. Prison rules required him to file an internal complaint over the incident within 48 hours, which he did not do. The fact that he discussed his injuries with prison personnel within 48 hours, or participated in a later internal affairs investigation of the personnel involved in the incident did not alter the result. Pavey v. Conley, #10-3878, 2011 U.S. App. Lexis 23318 (7th Cir.).

Prisoner Assault: By Prisoner

****Editor's Case Alert****

     A federal appeals court rejected the failure to protect claim of a pretrial detainee stabbed by other prisoners. He claimed that a guard falsely told other prisoners that he was a leader of the Black Disciples gang. The appeals court found that the defendants did not have actual notice of a risk of harm to him beyond the "general risk of violence in a maximum security unit," which was insufficient to support a claim of deliberate indifference. The fact that a female correctional officer witnessing the attack did not herself intervene, but rather called for backup, watching the fight from a secure location until others arrived, was not a basis for liability. Shields v. Dart, # 11-2336, 2011 U.S. App. Lexis 24742 (7th Cir.).

     A sex offender, arrested for failing to report his new address, was attacked in the county jail's protective custody pod. He failed to show that the prisoner who assaulted him was even aware that he was a sex offender, undercutting his theory that the jail ignored the risk that he would be attacked because of his sex offender status. He also failed to show that another prisoner attacked by his assailant was a sex offender. Holden v. Hirner, #10-3656, 2011 U.S. App. Lexis 23953 (8th Cir.).

Prisoner Transfers

     A prisoner faced threats of assault from other prisoners who knew that he had cooperated in the prosecution of a fellow escapee, who joined a white supremacist group. He was transferred to various facilities as a result. He claimed that prison officials deliberately ignored the risk that inmates would attack him, subjected him to unconstitutional conditions, and retaliated against him for complaining to his sentencing judge and for filing a lawsuit. Upholding summary judgment for the defendants, a federal appeals court ruled that the conditions the plaintiff faced in the facilities he was transferred to did not constitute "atypically harsh conditions of prison confinement." The efforts to protect him against assault had generally been successful (for seven years after one attack), and there was no proof of unconstitutional retaliation. Yeadon v. Lappin, #10-3744, 2011 U.S. App. Lexis 10706 (7th Cir.).

Segregation: Administration

     A prisoner who was held in administrative segregation for fourteen years showed that the supposed periodic reviews of his status were "meaningless," in violation of due process. Prison officials essentially took the position that he would be kept in administrative segregation because of past misconduct, and that his seven years with no further violations were irrelevant. This put improper weight on past conduct, denying him release from administrative segregation even if he acted as a "model prisoner." Williams v. Hobbs, #10-2465, 662 F.3d 994 (8th Cir. 2011).

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     Medical Care: "Health Care Services in State Correctional Facilities," Maine Office of Program Evaluation & Government Accountability (Nov. 2011).

     Prisoner Reentry: "Unlocking Employment Opportunity for Previously Incarcerated Persons in the District of Columbia," a report by the Council for Court Excellence (Nov. 2011).

Reference:

     • Abbreviations of Law Reports, laws and agencies used in our publications.

     • AELE's list of recently-noted jail and prisoner law resources.