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Diet

     An inmate went unfed for several days under a policy that prisoners who call their cellmates "enemies" are restrained on a bench without food until an individual cell or more compatible cellmate becomes available. A jury held for prison officials and wrote "0" in a space on the verdict form for damages. The trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury that it could award nominal damages if it found that the prisoner's rights were violated but that he did not suffer compensatory damages. The judgment was reversed, with further proceedings ordered. Taylor v. Dormire, #10–3863, 690 F.3d 898 (8th Cir. 2012).

Frivolous Lawsuits

     A federal appeals court upheld the right of state prison authorities to revoke a prisoner's good-time credits for filing motions for sanctions determined by a federal district court to be "frivolous" in his lawsuit against prison officials. A state statute which authorized such punishment following disciplinary proceedings properly gave officials a tool to punish such behavior and in no way interfered with the legitimate constitutional right of access to the courts. The appeals court, however, certified to the Illinois Supreme Court the issue of whether the state was required to show either that the court making the frivolousness determination had determined that the motions filed satisfied the definitions of frivolous in the state statute, or that the court had otherwise manifested its intent to invoke the state statute. Eichwedel v. Chandler, #09–1031, 2012 U.S. App. Lexis 18375 (7th Cir.).

Medical Care: Mental Health

     A delusional convicted prisoner claimed that his involuntary medication with antipsychotic drugs and his transfer to a state hospital treatment unit from a city correctional center violated his due process rights. A federal appeals court rejected these claims, noting that such forcible medication can be approved based on "overriding justification and a determination of medical appropriateness." He received appropriate due process, including a hearing, within seven days of arrival at the treatment facility and before any involuntary medication had begun. The hearing determined, based on an evaluation that he suffered from a grave disability that made it impossible for him to function either in prison or in society following his release, which justified the medication. His constitutional liberty interest in avoiding involuntary medication was not expanded by the particulars of a state correctional policy on the subject. Green v. Dormire, #11–2251, 691 F.3d 917 (8th Cir.).

Prison Litigation Reform Act: Exhaustion of Remedies

     A detainee claimed that his classification into the general population violated his right and constituted failure to protect him from harm by other inmates. He also claimed that his serious medical needs were deliberately ignored. Summary judgment was properly granted for the defendant sheriff who showed that a grievance procedure existed and that the plaintiff did not exhaust it before filing his lawsuit. The fact that the detainee claimed to be unaware of the grievance procedure did not render it "unavailable" for purposes of the Prison Litigation Reform Act, as the detainee did not show it to be "unknowable." There was no evidence that the jail concealed the grievance procedure or that he could not have discovered it if he chose to pursue it. Albino v. Baca, #10-55702, 2012 U.S. App. Lexis 19871 (9th Cir.).

Prisoner Assault: By Inmates

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

     A prisoner stated a plausibly valid claim that 13 prison officials failed to adequately protect him against assault by other prisoners by placing him in a recreation yard with others who had learned that he was cooperating with investigators in intercepting notes which prisoners were passing among each other. He failed, however, to show that there was deliberate indifference in placing him in a locked recreation pen with one specific prisoner. He state a valid claim that one prison official reacted unreasonably to one attack on him, but not to another attack. He also stated a valid claim for officials keeping him too long in administrative segregation. Bistrian v. Levi, #10-3629, 2012 U.S. App. Lexis 19973 (3rd Cir.).

Prisoner Death/Injury

     The state of Nevada has reached a $450,000 settlement with the mother of an inmate who died in state prison. The board that approved the award was told by the state that he died from an adverse reaction to an administered anti-psychotic drug, even though his death certificate labeled his death a homicide. The plaintiff's attorney claimed that the prisoner "literally was strangled to death by the correctional officers" who were holding him down to administer the medication. Johnson v. Palmer, #2:11-cv-01604, U.S. District Court (D. Nev. Aug. 2012). Read the complaint.

Prisoner Suicide

     A pre-trial detainee in a county facility had a history of depression but had exhibited no signs of suicidal tendencies. A social worker decided not to forward his request to see a prison psychiatrist to ask for anti-depressant medication. After the detainee hung himself and died, a lawsuit was filed for deliberate indifference against the psychiatrist, who was an employee of a private nonprofit organization which furnishes medical services to the facility. The psychiatrist could not seek qualified immunity from federal civil rights liability as a private doctor working part-time for a government entity, as there was no history of such immunity for such doctors at the time the federal civil rights statute was enacted. McCullum v. Tepe, #11-3424, 2012 U.S. App. Lexis 18171, 2012 Fed. App. 0287P (6th Cir.).

Sex Offenders

      An Indiana "Sex and Violent Offender Registry," which was accessible to the public via the Internet, was challenged in court. The fact that there was absolutely no process provided whereby offenders not incarcerated could challenge the accuracy of the information or their placement on the registry violated due process. The appeals court was also concerned that the policy allowing incarcerated offenders to appeal their placement on the registry or the accuracy of the information did not require officials to actually review a registrant's complaint. State judicial post-deprivation remedies cited by the defendants were insufficient, as placement on a sex offender registry was stigmatizing, and the erroneous labeling of an individual as a sexually violent predator was "further stigmatizing" to a person's reputation. Schepers v. Commissioner, Indiana Department of Correction, #11–3834, 691 F.3d 909 (7th Cir.).

     Persons civilly committed to a state sex offender program failed to show that their rights were violated by the use of restraints during transport, or unclothed visual body searches. The searches were justified by institutional security concerns, and the policy of restraining sex offenders during transport was a valid exercise of professional judgment. There was no evidence that the defendants were deliberately indifferent to the plaintiffs' health, safety, and sanitation concerns. There was also no showing that the alleged improper opening of their legal mail interfered with their access to the court or that monitoring their phone calls was not justified by security concerns. Beaulieu v. Ludeman, #11–1845, 690 F.3d 1017 (8th Cir.)

Sexual Assault

     The U.S. Justice Department released a letter of findings stating that its investigation determined that Topeka Correctional Facility (TCF), an all-female facility in Topeka, Kan., under the jurisdiction of the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC), failed to protect women prisoners from harm due to sexual abuse and misconduct from correctional staff and other prisoners in violation of their Eighth Amendment constitutional rights. The letter recommends a series of remedial actions, including changes in policy, staffing, correctional practices, training, investigations, grievances, and compliance with the provisions of the National Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape, 28 C.F.R. Part 115. Letter of Findings, re: Investigation of the Topeka Correctional Facility, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Dept. of Justice (Sept. 6, 2012).

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     Correctional Resources: "Realigning Justice Resources: A Review of Population and Spending Shifts in Prison and Community Corrections," Vera Institute of Justice (Sept. 2012).

     Immigration Detainees: "The Cost of Responding to Immigration Detainers in California," Justice Strategies (Aug, 23, 2012).

     Immigration Detainees: "Privately Operated Federal Prisons for Immigrants: Expensive. Unsafe. Unnecessary," Justice Strategies (Sept. 13, 2012).

     Statistics: "HIV in Prisons, 2001-2010," Bureau of Justice Statistics (NCJ 238877 September 13, 2012). Press Release PDF (1.14) ASCII file (27K) Comma-delimited format (CSV) (Spreadsheet 36K).

Reference:

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

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