Click here for further information about all AELE Seminars.

---

 Search the Case Law Digest

     Some of the case digests do not have a link to the full opinion. .

• Most Federal District Court opinions can be accessed via PACER. Registration required. Opinions are usually free; other documents are 10¢ per page.
• Access to cases linked to www.findlaw.com may require registration, which is free.

Medical Care

     A prison rejected the "incessant" requests by a prisoner suffering from scoliosis for a back brace, orthopedic shoes, a medical mattress and a lower bunk. A federal appeals court ound that there was "overwhelming" evidence that the plaintiff had no medical need for any of the requested items, with the exception maybe of a lower bunk. Based on the prisoner's claim that he had suffered injuries while trying to climb into a higher bunk after he was refused a request to sleep in a health care unit, the court ordered further proceedings on that claim alone. Withers v. Wexford Health Sources, Inc., #10-3012, 2013 U.S. App. Lexis 4002 (7th Cir.).

Prison & Jail Conditions: General

     A pretrial detainee claimed that his conditions of confinement at a county jail were unconstitutional, and that the sheriff was deliberately indifferent to his medical needs for an injury to his leg. The conditions complained of included poor sanitation and hygiene alongside lack of heat and bedding, blocked ventilation, overcrowding, and inadequate recreation. These conditions, he argued, together with a failure to provide detainees with a way to clean themselves with running water or cleaning supplies, stated a claim for relief. He said that three doctors told him that his leg infection was the result of the unsanitary conditions. His claim for medical indifference was rejected, since he received ongoing observation, medication, and medical attention, but the federal appeals court ordered further proceedings on his unconstitutional conditions of confinement claim. Budd v. Motley, #11-3425, 2013 U.S. App. Lexis 6557 (7th Cir.).

Prisoner Classification

     A California prisoner challenged his validation as an associate of the Mexican Mafia prison gang, claiming that the regulation under which this was carried out was void for vagueness. A federal appeals court rejected this claim, finding that the regulation was sufficiently particular in spelling out what types of conduct could result in validation. The record showed that the validation was supported by "some evidence," which was a sufficient legal standard. Castro v. Terhune, #11-16837, 2013 U.S. App. Lexis 6905 (9th Cir.).

Prisoner Death/Injury

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

     A 23-year-old prisoner, with no known life-threatening conditions, was transferred to a new facility. Under the care of employees of a private medical provider that had a contract to provide care to prisoners, he was treated for moderate depression and prescribed medications. A month later, he was found dead in his cell and an autopsy showed that he died of an epileptic seizure disorder. He had been given both Amitriptyline and Trazodone the previous three days. In a lawsuit by his estate a forensic pathologist for the plaintiff reported that the death was likely caused by a fatal drug interaction. A federal appeals court rejected a motion for qualified immunity by the defendant psychiatrist, as a fact finder could find that he had been deliberately indifferent to a serious risk of harm from the drug interaction. Quigley v. Thai, #11-2014, 707 F.3d 675 (6th Cir. 2013).

Public Protection

     A number of plaintiffs claimed that they had been the victims of a $60 million fraudulent Ponzi investment scheme masterminded by a Utah prisoner out on parole, causing them to lose $27 million. The conditions of his parole prohibited him from leaving the state, handling other people's money, or being self-employed. A lawsuit against the state of Utah claimed that inadequate supervision of the parolee had allowed him to travel extensively and operate a multi-state real estate investment Ponzi scheme. The Utah Supreme Court found that the state was immune from liability for injuries arising out of deceit and that the dismissal of the lawsuit on the basis of governmental immunity was timely. Van De Grift v. State Court, #20110994, 2013 UT 11, 2013 Utah Lexis 12, 729 Utah Adv.

Religion

     A prisoner who is a member of the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem took a "Nazirite vow," that committed him not to cut his hair. When he had to appear in court, the prison gave him a choice of either having a haircut to cut his dreadlocks or segregation as a punishment for avoiding his scheduled trip to court. He chose the haircut, but claimed that this violated his right to religious freedom. A federal appeals court rejected this claim, noting that the "Nazirite vow" was an optional rather than mandatory observance of his religion and that past precedent recognizes the validity of rules regulating prisoner's hairstyles for reasons of security. Lewis v. Sternes, #11-3297, 2013 U.S. App. Lexis 6154 (7th Cir.).

Retaliation

     A county correctional officer allegedly wrote fake letters to various inmates to get them to retaliate against the plaintiff prisoner and his family, in order to try to get him to drop a personal injury lawsuit he had filed against the officer. In writing the fake letters, he had accessed various information in institutional files about inmates. A California intermediate appeals court upheld summary judgment for the defendant county, because the officer's actions were for personal motives and outside the scope of his employment. Further, as to civil rights claims, the plaintiff had failed to allege what supposed constitutional right he believed that the county had violated. Perry v. County of Fresno, #F063887, 2013 Cal. App. Lexis 264 (5th Dist.).

Segregation: Punitive

     A prisoner was in the Justice Department's Witness Security Program. Because he allegedly broke program rules by having unauthorized contact with unauthorized persons, he was terminated from the program, allegedly without notice or an opportunity to be heard. After being terminated from the program, he was placed in a segregated housing unit and kept there for 188 days. Prison officials claimed that this was administrative segregation. A federal appeals court rejected his claim that his termination from the program violated due process since he had not shown that he had a property right to be in the witness program. No process was due because the benefit of the program was not an entitlement and government officials could grant or deny it at their discretion. Because the prisoner claimed that his placement in segregation was punitive and designed to punish him for violating the program's rules, further proceedings were ordered on whether that was the case and if so, whether his Eighth Amendment rights were violated. JS v. T'Kach, #11-1287, 2013 U.S. App. Lexis 7283(2nd Cir.).

Sexual Assault

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

     The U.S. government can be sued under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2680(h) for an alleged sexual assault by guards, according to a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision. The statute waives the federal government's sovereign immunity from tort lawsuits, but contains exceptions for intentional acts. An exception to the exception extends the waiver to claims for six intentional torts, including assault and battery that are based on acts or omissions of an “investigative or law enforcement officer” “who is empowered by law to execute searches, to seize evidence, or to make arrests.” The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that this applied to acts of officers within the scope of their employment when they have legal authority, regardless of whether the officers are engaged in investigative or law enforcement activity, or are executing a search, seizing evidence, or making an arrest. It did apply to a correctional officer's alleged sexual assault on a prisoner. Millbrook v. United States, #11-10362, 2013 U.S. Lexis 2543.

Workers' Compensation

     A prisoner serving a sentence at a county jail in Mississippi suffered injuries while on a work detail in a county work program under the supervision of the sheriff's office. The county and the medical corporation that provided him with services for his injuries sought to collect reimbursement for medical expenses from a state public entity Workers' Compensation Trust that provides workers' compensation for the county. A federal appeals court found that the prisoner was not covered under workers' compensation as the county did not have an enforceable contract to hire the prisoner which was a precondition for coverage. Vuncannon v. United States, #12-60435, 2013 U.S. App. Lexis 5284 (5th Cir.).

•Return to the Contents menu.

     Medical Care: "Ex-Felons Are About to Get Health Coverage" by Michael Ollove, Stateline, The Daily News Service of the Pew Charitable Trusts (April 5, 2013). Discusses the fact that in January of 2014, many of the 650,000 inmates released each year will be eligible for Medicaid health care benefits under the provisions of  "Obamacare."

     Statistics: "Pretrial Detention and Misconduct in Federal District Courts, 1995-2010," by Thomas H. Cohen, Ph.D. (February 21, 2013 NCJ 239673).

Reference:

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

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