Punch and Jurists

ABC v. DEF, No. 06-1362-cv (2nd Cir.) (500 F.3d 103) (September 5, 2007) (Judge Dennis G. Jacobs) by For a summary of the holding in this case, see "Inmates Can Sue Over Lost Property, Circuit Determines," by Mark Hamblett, New York Law Journal, September 10, 2007, as follows: "Prison officials …

Bennett ex rel. Estate of Bennett v. F.B.I., No. CIV.A. 02-11802-RCL (D.Mass.) (278 F.Supp.2d 104) (August 21, 2003) (Judge Reginald C. Lindsay) by In an action brought by plaintiff, the executor of decedent's estate, for wrongful death and conscious suffering under Massachusetts law, defendant government moved to dismiss claims against …

Paschal v. U.S., No. 02-2005 (7th Cir.) (302 F.3d 769) (September 11, 2002) (Judge Richard A. Posner) by In this case, the plaintiff, an inmate in a Federal prison, slipped and fell on a wet floor in the prison's kitchen, where he was working, while he was a pretrial detainee. …

Berkovitz v. U.S., No. 87-498 (U.S. Supreme Court) (486 U.S. 531; 108 S.Ct. 1954) (June 13, 1988) (Justice Marshall) by This case is one of a trilogy of cases that set forth the analytical framework of the "discretionary function" exception set forth in the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). (See, …

U.S. v. Gaubert, No. 89-1793 (U.S. Supreme Court) (499 U.S. 315; 111 S.Ct. 1267) (March 26, 1991) (Justice White) by In this case the Court upheld the vailidity of the so-called discretionary function exception to the FTCA which preculdes Government liability for failure to perform a discretionary function, whether or …

Cohen v. U.S., No. 97-8737 (11th Cir.) (151 F.3d 1338) (August 26, 1998) (Judge Edward E. Carnes) by While incarcerated at a minimum security federal prison, plaintiff William Cohen was injured when he was attacked by another inmate. (Cohen was watching television in a common area of his prison, when …

Moreno v. U.S., No. 96 Civ. 3723 (SWK) (S.D.N.Y.) (965 F.Supp. 521) (May 28, 1997) (Judge Shirley Wohl Kram) by Ah, the fickle standards of criminal justice! Not too long ago, the Second Circuit ruled, in United States v. Matthews, 106 F.3d 1092 (2nd Cir. 1997), that the defendant could …

Aversa v. U.S., No. 95-2216 (1st Cir.) (99 F.3d 1200) (October 21, 1996) (Judge Hugh H. Bownes) by It has been said that "all power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." This somewhat sick case is a good example of that truth. In 1989, the appellants sold a parcel of …