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Chemical Agents

     A prisoner was entitled to receive vegetarian meals on religious grounds. When an officer brought him a non-vegetarian breakfast, he alleged put his fingertips on the open food port in his cell door. He claimed that the officer them sprayed him with pepper spray with no warning. His lawsuit claimed that the use of the spray was excessive force, and that denying him a vegetarian meal violated his equal protection rights. Qualified immunity was denied on the excessive force claim because it was not clear from the officer's version of the incident that force was required or that the prisoner posed a threat. The force used seem extensive and disproportionate to the level of the disturbance created by the prisoner putting his fingertips on the port. The court rejected his equal protection claim as he was not treated any different than any other prison when an officer did not know that he was supposed to receive a vegetarian meal. Furnace v. Sullivan, #10-15961, 2013 U.S. App. Lexis 1110 (9th Cir.).

Drug Abuse

     After a prisoner was visited by his fiancée, his undergarments tested positive for cocaine and bottles were found in his cell that tested positive for methamphetamine. Prison authorities placed him on contraband watch for six days until he had three bowel movements. These bowel movements did not reveal drugs. Rejecting the argument that placing him on contraband watch had been cruel and unusual punishment, a federal appeals court ruled that the law at the time (April-May 2002) did not clearly establish that the types of measures prison officials took were unconstitutional, especially given the important purpose of discovering contraband. The defendants were entitled to qualified immunity. Chappell v. Mandeville, #09-16251, 2013 U.S. App. Lexis 2192 (9th Cir.).

Electronic Control Weapons

     A prisoner caused a commotion in his cell to object to what he thought were unreasonable restrictions on exercise and telephone use. Several officers entered the cell, and allowed the prisoner's cellmate to leave. The prisoner was told to remain facing the wall, but turned his head away from the wall to speak to an officer. A Taser was then fired in the dart mode into the prisoner's body. The prisoner claimed that the officer "tricked" him into turning his head so as to create an excuse to discharge the Taser and that the officer then continued to apply the Taser to him for an unreasonable length of time although he offered no resistance or provocation. He also claimed that, when he was escorted to the prison infirmary, he was intimidated into signing a form which refused medical treatment for the injuries he allegedly received as a result of the Taser application. The court found that the prisoner's claims were time barred by a one year statute of limitations. While the statute of limitations was tolled (extended) while the prisoner pursued an administrative grievance over the incident, more than one year elapsed after the grievance was resolved before he filed his lawsuit. A state court filing seeking judicial review of the grievance did not extend the time for filing the lawsuit as it did not assert his federal claim. Cook v. Lamont, # 11-00358, 2013 U.S. Dist. Lexis 11138 (M.D. La.).

     A man had a seizure while walking near a corner. He had previously suffered a traumatic brain injury that made him susceptible to such seizures. He became aggressive when emergency medical personnel tried to take him to the hospital, and assaulted an EMT. He was taken to a county corrections center on charges of assaulting a peace officer. He was later adjudicated not guilty by reason of insanity, but remained in a detention facility while awaiting placement elsewhere. He later had another seizure in his cell. Because of his prior assaultive behavior, it was decided that measures should be taken to control him upon entering his cell to take him to get medical attention. He did not respond to requests to submit to handcuffing. When one wrist was cuffed and he kept struggling, he was warned that a Taser would be used on him if he failed to submit.

     A Taser was used against him in the dart mode once and he put his hands up as if surrendering, saying "Okay, Okay, Okay." But he continued to resist, so the Taser was activated again and he ceased resisting and was handcuffed. Later in a hospital emergency room, he attacked a deputy with his hands raised and fists clenched and a Taser was used on him again in the dart mode. The court found the defendant officers entitled to qualified immunity on all uses of the Taser, which they did not use with conscience-shocking malice of or sadism in either the cell or the hospital incidents. While the evidence refuted the plaintiff's claim that he had been handcuffed during the second use of the Taser against him in his cell, even if he had been, his continued resistance made the use of force against him justified. In the hospital incident, he was shackled to a bed, but had the ability to move around the room and was trying to attack a deputy when the Taser was used. Because the officers did not violate the plaintiff's rights, claims against the county also failed. Shreve v. Franklin County, Ohio, #2:10-cv-644, 2013 U.S. Dist. Lexis 992 (S.D. Ohio).

Frivolous Lawsuits

     A federal prisoner filed a civil rights lawsuit against multiple defendants. Among other things, it claimed that they used excessive force to feed him when he went on a hunger strike, used excessive force to obtain blood samples, placed him in unconstitutional conditions by putting him in a feces-infested cell, denied him the right to a Bible, denied him adequate recreational opportunities, tried to deny him access to the courts and refused to let him file grievances. The trial court dismissed the complaint before the defendants filed a response, finding that the “99-page complaint defies understanding, rendering it unintelligible." A federal appeals court overturned that decision, reinstating the lawsuit. It stated that a complaint can sometimes be long not because the plaintiff is seeking to confuse things or is incompetent, but simply because the plaintiff has many separate issues they wish to pursue. The complaint, which was 28 pages long, with a 71-page appendix, was not excessively long, the court found, given the number of claims raised, and was “not only entirely intelligible; it is clear.” Kadamovas v. Stevens, #12-2669, 2013 U.S. App. Lexis 2602 (7th Cir.).

Medical Care

     A lawsuit claimed that a prisoner suffered serious permanent injuries leading to brain damage because he was improperly denied prescribed epilepsy medication. A jury awarded him $12 million in damages, consisting of $11 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages. He had a seizure when he failed to get his medication for three days despite requesting it, and then suffered a head injury in his cell. He is currently unable to walk or take care of himself as a result of his injuries, and suffers from partial blindness. Fox v. Barnes, #1:09-cv-05453 , U.S. Dist. Ct. (N.D. Ill., Jan 18, 2013).

     The Supreme Court of Hawaii rejected a request that prison authorities be ordered to approve a prisoner's requests for dental treatment, a root canal operation, teeth cleaning, repair of a cavity, and medical treatment for cancer and a concussion. The prisoner failed to show that the defendants were failing to respond to his requests, and there was evidence that he was provided with both medical and dental treatment, and advised of his option to seek outside care for services the state did not cover. Additionally, the prisoner was offered services for the relief of pain. Tierney v. Sakai, #12-0000831, 2013 Haw. Lexis 36.

Prisoner Classification

     Two California prisoners claimed that authorities violated their rights by validating them as active gang associates. In the case of both prisoners, the decisions were based on three sources of information, a minimum number mandated by state regulations, and included gang rosters and other gang documents as well as a debriefing report by another prisoner involved in gang activity. As to one prisoner, there was adequate evidence of his gang involvement. As to the other prisoner, however, the debriefing report lacked specifics about his involvement in any gang-related conduct or acts. The court also ruled that due process was required before validating a prisoner as an active gang associate, because the decision had an impact on a prisoners' housing and credits, but the lack of any procedure for the prisoners to call witnesses and the limited disclosure of confidential information did not violate due process because concerns about institutional safety justified using less demanding procedural protections. In re Fernandez, #C070016, 2013 Cal. App. Lexis 31.

Racial Discrimination

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

     A prison's modified policy of partial lockdown based on a prisoner's racial o ethnic classification was subject to strict scrutiny analysis and violated prisoners' rights since it was not narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest. Prisoners were classified as Black, White, Northern Hispanic, Southern Hispanic, or Other, and all members of those racial groups were subjected, sometimes for extended periods of time, to restrictions on movements and activities. This was done without any attempt to discover whether an individual was affiliated with a racial gang or to determine which inmates were responsible for incidents that triggered the lockdown. Additionally, some of the restrictions imposed, such as denial of visitation,. appeared to be punitive instead of being designed to maintain security, particularly when applied to a large group of prisoners based on race for an extended period of time. While avoiding gang violence was a compelling interest, the means chosen to accomplish this had to be focused on responding to the particular threat and not impose restrictions unnecessary to reducing the risk of violence. In re Morales, #A132816, 2013 Cal. App. Lexis 42.

Sex Offenders

     An Indiana state statute that broadly prohibited most registered sex offenders from using instant messaging services, social media sites and chat programs violated their First Amendment rights. While the state justifiably wished to protect children from inappropriate sexual communication, and the law was content neutral, the law placed a burden on more speech than was necessary to achieve that purpose. The court found that a sex offender's use of social media was not dangerous as long as they did not engage in improper communication with minors. Such communication was a tiny subset of the "universe of social media." The state could have, without substantial diffioculty, more precisely targeted the evil it wanted to prevent. Doe v. Prosecutor, Marion County, #12-2512, 2013 U.S. App. Lexis 1528 (7th Cir.).

Transsexual Prisoners

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

     An inmate suffering from gender identity disorder (GID) claimed that prison officials' refusal to authorize sex reassignment surgery for her violated the Eighth Amendment, particularly on the basis of their knowledge of prior attempts at self-mutilation. The treatment provided, which included hormone therapy, psychological counseling, and allowing her to live and dress as a woman, she claimed, had not alleviated her constant mental anguish that caused her attempts to castrate herself. The federal appeals court overturned a dismissal of the lawsuit for failure to state a claim, since the claim asserted was plausible on its facts. The complaint adequately stated a claim for deliberate indifference to a serious medical need. De'Lonta v. Johnson, #11-7482. 2013 U.S. App. Lexis 2005 (4th Cir.).

•Return to the Contents menu.

     Prison Overcrowding: "Justice Reinvestment in Kansas Analyses & Policy Options to Reduce Spending on Corrections & Reinvest in Strategies to Increase Public Safety," by the Justice Center, Council of State Governments (Jan. 2013).

     Prison Overcrowding: "Justice Reinvestment in West Virginia Analyses & Policy Options to Reduce Spending on Corrections & Reinvest in Strategies to Increase Public Safety," by the Justice Center, Council of State Governments (Jan. 2013).

     Prisoner Tax Fraud: "Further Efforts Are Needed to Ensure the Internal Revenue Service Prisoner File Is Accurate and Complete," by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (December 18, 2012). Prison inmates filed 173,000 fraudulent tax returns last year, claiming $2.5 billion in tax refunds. $1.1 billion of that amount was claimed by just two prisoners.

Reference:

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

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