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Diet

     A prisoner claimed that he had been improperly denied access to his medically-prescribed therapeutic diet, and that this violated due process and constituted cruel and unusual punishment. The diet was prescribed after a doctor concluded that his triglyceride levels would benefit from a therapeutic diet low in saturated fats. The prisoner's lawsuit lacked merit, as the interruptions in providing the special diet were prompted by allegations that the prisoner was violating mess hall rules, throwing away the special food, and routinely skipping his specialized meals. When it became clear that some of these violations were not proven and that others were the result of a misunderstanding, the special diet was restored. Collazo v. Pagano, #09-4650, 656 F.3d 131 (2nd Cir. 2011).

     A prisoner who said he was a member of the Messianic Judaism religion was denied a request to participate in an existing prison kosher meals program, on the basis that the program was only for those practicing the Jewish religion. A Jewish prison chaplain found that the prisoner was not a Jew. A California appeals court ruled that this violated his right to religious freedom under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA). 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc et seq., since the defendants failed to either show that his request was not based on a sincere religious belief or that excluding him from the kosher meals program promoted a compelling governmental interest and did so in the least restrictive means available. "On this record, we fail to see any legitimate governmental interest, let alone a compelling interest, in allowing traditional Jews to receive kosher meals but denying the same accommodation to Messianic Jews who sincerely hold similar beliefs concerning diet." In re Garcia, #C066452, 202 Cal. App. 4th 892, 2012 Cal. App. Lexis 15 (Cal. App. 3rd Dist. 2012).

False Imprisonment

   A prisoner was sentenced as a habitual offender on his conviction for lewd and indecent acts on the basis of a prior rape conviction. The sentence was for "perpetual imprisonment for treatment until his rehabilitation, to last a minimum of twelve years." But he was not released until 27 years in custody, 15 years later than when he was eligible for release.  He claimed that prison officials were liable for keeping him in custody beyond his lawful term of imprisonment, and that he ceased needing additional therapy treatment long before he was released. The defendants were entitled to qualified immunity because the prisoner failed to show that any of them individually were linked to specific acts that prevented him from being released earlier. Feliciano-Hernandez v. Pereira-Castillo, #11–1052, 663 F.3d 527 (1st Cir. 2011).

Inmate Funds

     Prison staff members intercepted a prisoner's retroactive Supplemental Social Security benefits check, sent through the mail, and returned it to the Social Security Administration. Rejecting his lawsuit, a federal appeals court noted that the No Social Security Benefits for Prisoners Act, Pub. L. No.111-115, 123 Stat. 3029 (2009), prohibits such payments to incarcerated persons, regardless of when the obligation to pay the benefits originally occurred. The prisoner would be eligible, however, to receive the retroactive benefits, due for a period of time prior to his incarceration, only after his release. Fowlkes v. Thomas, #10-5192, 2012 U.S. App. Lexis 1769 (2nd Cir.).

Medical Care

     A death row prisoner claimed that the prison's medical director was deliberately indifferent to his serious medical need for eye surgery. Overturning summary judgment for the defendant doctor, a federal appeals court held that there were genuine issues of material fact as to whether he ignored the prisoner's condition of pterygia, a thin film that covers the eye. While that condition is often confined to the white part of the eye, in this case it extended over the corneas, making his uncorrected vision 20/80 as a result, and causing persistent itching and irritation. There was a record showing that a number of doctors recommended surgery, but that their advice was not followed, and the prisoner's eyesight then further deteriorated. Ortiz v. Webster, #10-2012, 655 F.3d 731 (7th Cir. 2011).

     When he was attacked by another prisoner, a pretrial detainee suffered painful injuries to his head and eyes. Despite requesting medical attention, he allegedly received none for five days, and instead was "locked down" for 72 hours following the attack, despite the fact that officers allegedly knew of his obvious injuries, as evidenced by blood, dizziness and vomiting and his complaints of extreme pain. Overturning the dismissal of the lawsuit for failure to state a claim, the appeals court ruled that "even a few days' delay in addressing a severely painful but readily treatable condition suffices to state a claim of deliberate indifference." Smith v. Knox County Jail, #10-1113, 2012 U.S. App. Lexis 1238 (7th Cir. 2012).

Religion

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

     After a prison chaplain allegedly advised him that only Rastafarianism requires the growing of dreadlocks, a correctional officer ordered that an African Hebrew Israelite inmate's dreadlocks be sheared. Summary judgment for the defendant officer was reversed. "Since heresy is not excluded from the protection of the free exercise clause, optional as distinct from mandatory religious observations aren't excluded either." If the prisoner's desire to grow dreadlocks was based on a sincere religious belief, it was entitled to protection, even if unorthodox, particularly if followers of another religion were allowed to wear dreadlocks. Grayson v. Schuler, #10-3256, 2012 U.S. App. Lexis 730 (7th Cir.).

Sex Offenders

     A class of persons civilly committed to a state hospital as sexually violent predators filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against supervisory officials challenging the conditions of their confinement, including alleged unreasonable searches and seizures, use of unreasonable force and physical restraints, and unlawful retaliation. The appeals court ruled that the claims against the supervisors individually for damages failed because the complaint was based on "conclusory allegations and generalities" without any allegation of the specific wrongdoing by each defendant. This entitled them to qualified immunity. The court ruled, however, that the lawsuit could proceed on claims for injunctive and declaratory relief. Hydrick v. Hunter, #03-56712, 2012 U.S. App. Lexis 628 (9th Cir.).

Terrorism, Enemy Combatants, & Military Prisoners

     A prisoner (Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen and member of al Qaeda) presently confined after being convicted of terrorism sued various federal officials based on his prior military detention as an "enemy combatant." He asked for an injunction preventing government officials from designating him as an "enemy combatant" in the future and detaining him on that basis and nominal damages of one dollar from each defendant. A federal appeals court upheld the dismissal of the lawsuit. It found that a federal civil rights suit could not be brought against federal officials on these issues due to separation of powers concerns, and the authority over military affairs granted to Congress and the President.

     The plaintiff also did not have standing to seek to enjoin the possible future designation of the prisoner as an "enemy combatant," since he did not show any immediate and real threat that this would occur. The court also rejected the prisoner's claim that he could sue federal officials under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb, for alleged violations of his religious freedom while he was a military prisoner. Lebron v. Rumsfeld, #11-6480, 2012 U.S. App. Lexis 1246 (4th Cir. 2012).

Work/Education/Recreation Programs

     A 21-year-old pretrial detainee in a county jail sued, seeking the providing of special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., based on his learning disability and speech and language impairment. The federal appeals court stated that "Under the IDEA and corresponding California law, children who are eligible for special education services are entitled to continue receiving these services until they turn twenty-two or receive a high school diploma."

     The federal appeals court asked the California Supreme Court to answer the question "Does California Education Code § 56041, which provides generally that for qualifying children ages eighteen to twenty-two, the school district where the child's parent resides is responsible for providing special education services, apply to children who are incarcerated in county jails?" It noted that there appears to be no prior California law on the issue. Los Angeles Unified School District v. Garcia, #10-55879, 2012 U.S. App. Lexis 1179 (9th Cir. 2012).

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     Drugs and Drug Abuse: "Community Re-Entry After Prison Drug Treatment. Learning from Sheridan Therapeutic Community Program participants," Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (January 2012).

     Elderly Prisoners: "Old Behind Bars: The Aging Prison Population in the United States," by Human Rights Watch (January 28, 2012).

     Prison Costs: "The Price of Prisons: What Incarceration Costs Taxpayers," by Christian Henrichson and Ruth Delaney. Vera Institute of Justice (January, 2012).

     Private Prisons: "Too Good to be True: Private Prisons in America," by Cody Mason, The Sentencing Project (January 2012).

Reference:

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

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