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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 …

U.S. v. Litos, No. 16-1384 (7th Cir.) (847 F.3d 906) (February 10, 2017) (Judge Richard A. Posner)

Article • April 10, 2017 • from P&J April, 2017

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Deliberate Indifference

U.S. v. Litos, No. 16-1384 (7th Cir.) (847 F.3d 906) (February 10, 2017) (Judge Richard A. Posner) by The restitution statute at issue in this case was the Mandatory Victim Restitution Act of 1996, 18 U.S.C. § 3663A (“MVRA”), which was enacted to provide mandatory compensation to victims of certain …

U.S. v. Wessels, No. 07-3208 (8th Cir.) (539 F.3d 913) (August 27, 2008) (Judge William Duane Benton)

Article • August 1, 2008 • from P&J August, 2008

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Second Chance Act of 2008

U.S. v. Wessels, No. 07-3208 (8th Cir.) (539 F.3d 913) (August 27, 2008) (Judge William Duane Benton) by For a commentary on this decision, see "Judge Bright gives shout out to Second Chance Act," by Prof. Doug Berman, as posted on Sentencing Law and Policy on August 27, 2008 at …

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 …

U.S. v. Terrell County, GA, No. 1:04-CV-76 (WLS) (M.D.Ga.) (457 F.Supp.2d 1359) (September 29, 2006) (Judge W. Louis Sands)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Deliberate Indifference

U.S. v. Terrell County, GA, No. 1:04-CV-76 (WLS) (M.D.Ga.) (457 F.Supp.2d 1359) (September 29, 2006) (Judge W. Louis Sands) by In this case, District Judge W. Louis Sands found that the sheriff and other officials of Terrell County, GA were deliberately indifferent to the “grossly deficient” conditions in the local …

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 …

Dusenbery v. U.S., No. 00-6567 (U.S. Supreme Court) (534 U.S. 161; 122 S.Ct. 694) (January 8, 2002) (Justice Rehnquist)

Article • November 19, 2005 • from P&J December, 2001

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Mail

Dusenbery v. U.S., No. 00-6567 (U.S. Supreme Court) (534 U.S. 161; 122 S.Ct. 694) (January 8, 2002) (Justice Rehnquist) by The Supreme Court granted certiorari in this case to resolve a Circuit split concerning the constitutional adequacy of the means employed by Government to provide notice to federal prisoners of …

Cutter v. Wilkinson, No. 02-3270 (6th Cir.) (423 F.3d 579) (September 13, 2005) (Judge Ronald Lee Gilman)

Article • October 1, 2005 • from P&J October, 2005

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Religious Freedom/Worship

Cutter v. Wilkinson, No. 02-3270 (6th Cir.) (423 F.3d 579) (September 13, 2005) (Judge Ronald Lee Gilman) by Plaintiff prisoners sued defendant state corrections officials for violations of the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause and of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc et …

Helling v. McKinney, No. 91-1958 (U.S. Supreme Court) (509 U.S. 25; 113 S.Ct. 2475) (June 18, 1993) (Justice White)

Article • September 10, 2005

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Deliberate Indifference

Helling v. McKinney, No. 91-1958 (U.S. Supreme Court) (509 U.S. 25; 113 S.Ct. 2475) (June 18, 1993) (Justice White) by In this case involving potential future damages from environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), the Court rejected the prison's position that the deliberate indifference standard only applies to circumstances that pose a …

Johnson v. Governor of Florida, No. 02-14469 (11th Cir.) (405 F.3d 1214) (April 12, 2005) (Judge Phyllis A. Kravitch)

Article • March 1, 2005 • from P&J March, 2005

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Voting Rights

Johnson v. Governor of Florida, No. 02-14469 (11th Cir.) (405 F.3d 1214) (April 12, 2005) (Judge Phyllis A. Kravitch) by Here the en banc Court upheld a controversial 1868 Florida law that generally permanently bars some 600,000 convicted Florida felons from voting - even after they have finished serving their …

Muntaqim v. Coombe, No. 01-7260 (2nd Cir.) (396 F.3d 95) (December 29, 2004) (Per Curiam)

Article • February 1, 2005 • from P&J February, 2005

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Voting Rights

Muntaqim v. Coombe, No. 01-7260 (2nd Cir.) (396 F.3d 95) (December 29, 2004) (Per Curiam) by Granting rehearing en banc of decision reported at 366 F.3d 102, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 8077 (2d Cir. N.Y., 2004); but see Muntaqim v. Coombe, 385 F.3d 793 (2nd Cir. Oct. 1., 2004) where …

Prison Legal News v. Lehman, No. 03-35608 (9th Cir.) (397 F.3d 692) (February 1, 2005) (Judge Arthur L. Alarcon)

Article • January 1, 2005 • from P&J January, 2005

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Mail

Prison Legal News v. Lehman, No. 03-35608 (9th Cir.) (397 F.3d 692) (February 1, 2005) (Judge Arthur L. Alarcon) by

Arnett v. Jackson, No. 03-4375 (6th Cir.) (393 F.3d 681) (January 6, 2005) (Judge Paul R. Matia)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Religious Freedom/Worship

Arnett v. Jackson, No. 03-4375 (6th Cir.) (393 F.3d 681) (January 6, 2005) (Judge Paul R. Matia) by Here a divided panel from the Sixth Circuit affirmed the defendant's sentence for a child molestation conviction over his challenge that the trial court had violated his right to due process when …

Muntaqim v. Coombe, No. 01-7260 (2nd Cir.) (385 F.3d 793) (October 1, 2004) (Per Curiam)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Voting Rights

Muntaqim v. Coombe, No. 01-7260 (2nd Cir.) (385 F.3d 793) (October 1, 2004) (Per Curiam) by Denying rehearing en banc to decision reported at Muntaqim v. Coombe, 366 F.3d 102, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 8077 (2d Cir. N.Y., 2004); but see Muntaqim v. Coombe, 396 F.3d 95 (2nd Cir. Dec. …

Farmer v. Brennan, No. 92-7247 (U.S. Supreme Court) (511 U.S. 825; 114 S.Ct. 1970) (June 6, 1994) (Justice Souter)

Article • September 2, 2004

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Deliberate Indifference

Farmer v. Brennan, No. 92-7247 (U.S. Supreme Court) (511 U.S. 825; 114 S.Ct. 1970) (June 6, 1994) (Justice Souter) by In this case, involving prison conditions (as opposed to the excessive use of force), the Court established that the test for Eighth Amendment liablity of a prison official is deliberate …

Clement v. Calif. Dept. of Corrections, No. 03-15006 (9th Cir.) (364 F.3d 1148) (April 20, 2004) (Per Curiam)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Prison Mail

Clement v. Calif. Dept. of Corrections, No. 03-15006 (9th Cir.) (364 F.3d 1148) (April 20, 2004) (Per Curiam) by Here, citing the First Amendment, the Ninth Circuit struck down a California state prison rule that barred inmates from receiving mail that contained downloads from the Internet. The Court concluded that …

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 …

Johnson v. Governor of State of Fla., No. 02-14469 (11th Cir.) (353 F.3d 1287) (December 19, 2003) (Judge Rosemary Barkett)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Voting Rights

Johnson v. Governor of State of Fla., No. 02-14469 (11th Cir.) (353 F.3d 1287) (December 19, 2003) (Judge Rosemary Barkett) by The plaintiffs in this case, ex-felon citizens of Florida, on their own right and on behalf of others, sought review of a decision of the United States District Court …

Farrakhan v. State of Washington, No. 01-35032 (9th Cir.) (359 F.3d 1116) (February 24, 2004) (Per Curiam)

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

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Voting Rights

Farrakhan v. State of Washington, No. 01-35032 (9th Cir.) (359 F.3d 1116) (February 24, 2004) (Per Curiam) by Here a sharply divided en banc court from the Ninth Circuit declined to overturn a panel’s prior decision (reported at 338 F.3d 1009 (9th Cir. 2003)) which upheld the validity of a …