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Rhodes v. Chapman, No. 80-332 (U.S. Supreme Court) (452 U.S. 337; 101 S.Ct. 2392) (June 15, 1981) (Justice Powell)

Article • March 27, 2019

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Conditions

Rhodes v. Chapman, No. 80-332 (U.S. Supreme Court) (452 U.S. 337; 101 S.Ct. 2392) (June 15, 1981) (Justice Powell) by Case held that double-celling of prisoners does not per se violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments' prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment. The Court held that the Eighth Amendment prohibits …

J.S. v. T'Kach, No. 11-1287-pr (2nd Cir.) (714 F.3d 99) (April 10, 2013) (Judge Barrington D. Jr. Parker)

Article • December 1, 2013

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Administrative Detention/Segregation

J.S. v. T'Kach, No. 11-1287-pr (2nd Cir.) (714 F.3d 99) (April 10, 2013) (Judge Barrington D. Jr. Parker) by Dismissal of action challenging plaintiff-prisoner's termination from the Justice's Department's Witness Security Program and subsequent confinement in a Segregated Housing Unit is: 1) affirmed in part as to the dismissal of …

Williams v. Norris, No. 5:05CV00048JMM/HLJ (E.D.Ark.) (721 F.Supp.2d 824) (June 14, 2010) (Judge James M. Moody)

Article • January 10, 2011 • from P&J January, 2011

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Administrative Detention/Segregation

Williams v. Norris, No. 5:05CV00048JMM/HLJ (E.D.Ark.) (721 F.Supp.2d 824) (June 14, 2010) (Judge James M. Moody) by Here the Court approved an award of $4,846 in nominal damages in a lawsuit under the Prison Litigation Reform Act by an inmate who was held in Administrative Segregation for 4,846 days without …

Erickson v. Pardus, No. 06-7317 (U.S. Supreme Court) (551 U.S. 89; 127 S.Ct. 2197) (June 4, 2007) (Per Curiam)

Article • June 11, 2007 • from P&J May, 2007

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Conditions

Erickson v. Pardus, No. 06-7317 (U.S. Supreme Court) (551 U.S. 89; 127 S.Ct. 2197) (June 4, 2007) (Per Curiam) by It is really hard to glean much of value from this brief, per curiam decision involving a claim of unconstitutionally deficient health care in the Colorado state prison system. But …

Powers v. Snyder, No. 04-1961 (7th Cir.) (484 F.3d 929) (May 3, 2007) (Judge Richard A. Posner)

Article • April 1, 2007 • from P&J April, 2007

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Conditions

Powers v. Snyder, No. 04-1961 (7th Cir.) (484 F.3d 929) (May 3, 2007) (Judge Richard A. Posner) by In this decision, a panel from the Seventh Circuit held that requiring a state prisoner to be inoculated against hepatitis is not cruel and unusual punishment, but exposing the prisoner to cigarette …

Morgan v. Morgensen, No. 04-35608 (9th Cir.) (465 F.3d 1041) (October 6, 2006) (Judge Richard R. Clifton)

Article • September 1, 2006 • from P&J September, 2006

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Conditions

Morgan v. Morgensen, No. 04-35608 (9th Cir.) (465 F.3d 1041) (October 6, 2006) (Judge Richard R. Clifton) by This is an interesting decision in a § 1983 case brought by an inmate in a Washington state prison. As part of the prison’s mandatory work program, plaintiff Steven Morgan applied for …

U.S. v. Mateo, No. 02 CR. 668 (VM) (S.D.N.Y.) (299 F.Supp.2d 201) (January 9, 2004) (Judge Victor Marrero)

Article • March 1, 2004 • from P&J March, 2004

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Conditions

U.S. v. Mateo, No. 02 CR. 668 (VM) (S.D.N.Y.) (299 F.Supp.2d 201) (January 9, 2004) (Judge Victor Marrero) by This case is noted for its comprehensive review of the law on the propriety of granting downward departures based on unusually harsh conditions of pretrial confinement - here forcing a pregnant …

Marion County Jail Inmates v. Anderson, No. IP72-0425-C-B/S (S.D.Ind.) (270 F.Supp.2d 1034) (July 10, 2003) (Judge Sarah Evans Barker)

Article • September 1, 2003 • from P&J September, 2003

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Conditions

Marion County Jail Inmates v. Anderson, No. IP72-0425-C-B/S (S.D.Ind.) (270 F.Supp.2d 1034) (July 10, 2003) (Judge Sarah Evans Barker) by Here, finding that the conditions at the Marion County Jail were neither “safe” nor “humane,” District Judge Sarah Barker held that Sheriff Frank Anderson was in contempt for failing to …

Lewis v. Casey, No. 94-1511 (U.S. Supreme Court) (518 U.S. 343; 116 S.Ct. 2174) (June 24, 1996) (Justice Scalia)

Article • March 31, 2003

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Conditions

Lewis v. Casey, No. 94-1511 (U.S. Supreme Court) (518 U.S. 343; 116 S.Ct. 2174) (June 24, 1996) (Justice Scalia) by In this case inmates in Arizona prisons brought a class action alleging that the Arizona Department of Corrections was depriving them of access to courts by, among other things, employing …

Laube v. Haley, No. Civ.A.01-T-957-N (M.D.Ala.) (234 F.Supp.2d 1227) (December 2, 2002) (Judge Myron H. Thompson)

Article • February 1, 2003 • from P&J February, 2003

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Conditions

Laube v. Haley, No. Civ.A.01-T-957-N (M.D.Ala.) (234 F.Supp.2d 1227) (December 2, 2002) (Judge Myron H. Thompson) by Plaintiffs, 15 female prisoners, alleged that the conditions for female inmates in the Alabama State Prison System violated the Eighth Amendment. The prisoners sought a preliminary injunction against defendants, a governor, a department …

Handberry v. Thompson, No. 96 CIV. 6161 (S.D.N.Y.) (219 F.Supp.2d 525) (August 28, 2002) (Judge Constance Baker Motley)

Article • November 1, 2002 • from P&J November, 2002

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Conditions

Handberry v. Thompson, No. 96 CIV. 6161 (S.D.N.Y.) (219 F.Supp.2d 525) (August 28, 2002) (Judge Constance Baker Motley) by In this latest ruling in a long-standing class action lawsuit against Rikers Island over its refusal to offer educational programs to youthful offenders, Judge Motley firmly ordered prison officials to comply …

Beerheide v. Suthers, No. 00-1086 (10th Cir.) (286 F.3d 1179) (April 11, 2002) (Judge Stephanie K. Seymour)

Article • May 1, 2002 • from P&J May, 2002

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Conditions

Beerheide v. Suthers, No. 00-1086 (10th Cir.) (286 F.3d 1179) (April 11, 2002) (Judge Stephanie K. Seymour) by Here the Defendants, Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC) and related individuals, appealed from an order of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado holding that plaintiffs, prisoners' First Amendment …

Bell v. Wolfish, No. 77-1829 (U.S. Supreme Court) (441 U.S. 520; 99 S.Ct. 1881) (May 14, 1979) (Justice Rehnquist)

Article • January 27, 2002

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Conditions

Bell v. Wolfish, No. 77-1829 (U.S. Supreme Court) (441 U.S. 520; 99 S.Ct. 1881) (May 14, 1979) (Justice Rehnquist) by This case involves a class action lawsuit challenged the legality of conditions facing pretrial detainees in a New York City correctional facility. Petitioners claimed that double-bunking, restrictions on reading materials …

Jones-El v. Berge, No. 00-C-421-C (W.D.Wisc.) (164 F.Supp.2d 1096) (October 10, 2001) (Judge Barbara B. Crabb)

Article • November 1, 2001 • from P&J November, 2001

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Conditions

Jones-El v. Berge, No. 00-C-421-C (W.D.Wisc.) (164 F.Supp.2d 1096) (October 10, 2001) (Judge Barbara B. Crabb) by Here the Court granted the plaintiff inmates an injunction prohibiting prison officials from holding mentally ill inmates in segregation, equating the practice to "placing an asthmatic in a place with little air to …

Ali v. Johnson, No. 00-10777 (5th Cir.) (259 F.3d 317) (July 11, 2001) (Judge Edith H. Jones)

Article • September 1, 2001 • from P&J September, 2001

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Conditions

Ali v. Johnson, No. 00-10777 (5th Cir.) (259 F.3d 317) (July 11, 2001) (Judge Edith H. Jones) by Here the Court held that prisoners sentenced to incarceration cannot state a viable Thirteenth Amendment claim if the prison system requires them to work since under those conditions "no issue of peonage …

Delaney v. DeTella, No. 00-4145 (7th Cir.) (256 F.3d 679) (July 9, 2001) (Judge Terrence T. Evans)

Article • August 1, 2001 • from P&J August, 2001

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Right to Exercise

Delaney v. DeTella, No. 00-4145 (7th Cir.) (256 F.3d 679) (July 9, 2001) (Judge Terrence T. Evans) by Here the Court held that all inmates, including those placed in segregation for a lengthy period of time, have a constitutional right to out-of-cell exercise as a necessary ingredient to their physical …

McCarthy v. Bronson, No. 90-5635 (U.S. Supreme Court) (500 U.S. 136; 111 S.Ct. 1737) (May 20, 1991) (Justice Stevens)

Article • May 29, 2001

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Conditions

McCarthy v. Bronson, No. 90-5635 (U.S. Supreme Court) (500 U.S. 136; 111 S.Ct. 1737) (May 20, 1991) (Justice Stevens) by In this case the Court addressed a provision of the prison litigation statutes, namely 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B), which authorized the nonconsensual reference to magistrate judges of "prisoner petitions challenging …

U.S. v. Francis, No. 98 CR. 606(RPP) (S.D.N.Y.) (129 F.Supp.2d 612) (January 25, 2001) (Judge Robert P. Jr. Patterson)

Article • April 1, 2001 • from P&J April, 2001

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Conditions

U.S. v. Francis, No. 98 CR. 606(RPP) (S.D.N.Y.) (129 F.Supp.2d 612) (January 25, 2001) (Judge Robert P. Jr. Patterson) by Here Judge Patterson held that a downward departure at sentencing was warranted in the case of a defendant who was held for some 13 months of his pre-sentence confinement in …

Daskalea v. District of Columbia, No. 98-7207 (D.C. Cir.) (227 F.3d 433) (August 8, 2000) (Judge Merrick B. Garland)

Article • November 1, 2000 • from P&J November, 2000

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Conditions

Daskalea v. District of Columbia, No. 98-7207 (D.C. Cir.) (227 F.3d 433) (August 8, 2000) (Judge Merrick B. Garland) by Early in this opinion, Judge Garland ominously noted that “[t]his is not the first time federal courts have reviewed charges of sexual abuse by D.C. correctional officers against female inmates.” …

Estelle v. Gamble, No. 75-929 (U.S. Supreme Court) (429 U.S. 97; 97 S.Ct. 285) (November 30, 1976) (Justice Marshall)

Article • June 21, 2000

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Conditions

Estelle v. Gamble, No. 75-929 (U.S. Supreme Court) (429 U.S. 97; 97 S.Ct. 285) (November 30, 1976) (Justice Marshall) by Here the Court held that deliberate indifference by prison personnel to a prisoner's serious illness or injury constitutes cruel and unusual punishment contravening the Eight Amendment. This is one of …