Punch and Jurists

Denton v. Hernandez, No. 90-1846 (U.S. Supreme Court) (504 U.S. 25; 112 S.Ct. 1715) (May 4, 1992) (Justice O'Connor) by Here the Court held that the dismissal of claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1915 as frivolous must be reviewed for abuse of discretion only, and thus it was improper for …

Neitzke v. Williams, No. 87-1882 (U.S. Supreme Court) (490 U.S. 319; 109 S.Ct. 1827) (May 1, 1989) (Justice Marshall) by In this case, a pro se inmate brought an in forma pauperis (IFP) civil rights suit against prison officials, alleging that those officials violated the Eighth Amendment by denying him …

Lopez v. Smith, No. 97-16987 (9th Cir.) (203 F.3d 1122) (February 10, 2000) (Judge Michael Daly Hawkins) by In this case the en banc Court vacated a panel's previous decision that affirmed the district court's dismissal of a suit for damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 without granting the prisoner …

U.S. v. McIntosh, No. 98-4023 (7th Cir.) (198 F.3d 995) (January 5, 2000) (Judge Michael S. Kanne) by In this case, the Seventh Circuit rejected the defendant’s claim that the district court had refused to grant him a sentence reduction for acceptance of responsibility, under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1, as “punishment” …

Lopez v. Smith, No. 97-16987 (9th Cir.) (160 F.3d 567) (November 9, 1998) (Judge Joseph T. Sneed) by See subsequent en banc decision reported at 203 F.3d 1122 (9th Cir. 2000). In this decision, which was subsequently reversed by a divided en banc court, the panel held that the PLRA …

Mitchell v. Farcass, No. 96-3026 (11th Cir.) (112 F.3d 1483) (May 6, 1997) (Judge Joseph Woodrow Hatchett) by Here, Judge Lay, in a concurring opinion, concluded that the PLRA, by means of § 1915(e)(2), now requires the sua sponte dismissal of complaints filed by IFP litigants when the litigant fails …