Search | Wrongly Convicted

State Secrets Doctrine Requires Dismissal of Suit Involving CIA Torture Flights

Article • August 15, 2011 • from PLN August, 2011

Filed under: Government Misconduct, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Disclosure of Records, Discovery, Wrongful Imprisonment, Prisoners-International, Terrorism, Alien Tort Statute (International), Military Prisons

State Secrets Doctrine Requires Dismissal of Suit Involving CIA Torture Flights by On September 8, 2010, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held the “valid assertion of the state secrets privilege” warranted dismissal of a lawsuit filed by suspects apprehended as part of the CIA’s extraordinary rendition program. The suit …

U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Wrongful Conviction Suit Against New Orleans DA, Vacates $14 Million Judgment

Article • August 15, 2011 • from PLN August, 2011

Filed under: Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Malicious Prosecution, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Immunity/Liability, Municipal Liability, Failure to Train/Supervise

U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Wrongful Conviction Suit Against New Orleans DA, Vacates $14 Million Judgment by Derek Gilna by Derek Gilna and Brandon Sample In a March 29, 2011 five-to-four decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a former Louisiana prisoner who filed a § 1983 suit against Orleans Parish …

Provision in Florida Law Prohibits Compensation to Wrongfully Convicted

Article • August 15, 2011 • from PLN August, 2011

Filed under: Damages, Sentencing, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, State Legislation

Provision in Florida Law Prohibits Compensation to Wrongfully Convicted by David Reutter by David M. Reutter A “clean hands” provision in a Florida law designed to compensate wrongfully convicted prisoners is preventing most of those prisoners from receiving compensation. Of 13 men cleared by DNA evidence in Florida, only one …

Prison Records Officer Entitled to Qualified Immunity; No Evidence of Deliberate Indifference to Sentencing Errors

Article • August 15, 2011 • from PLN August, 2011

Filed under: Sentencing, Parole, Wrongful Imprisonment, Qualified Immunity

Prison Records Officer Entitled to Qualified Immunity; No Evidence of Deliberate Indifference to Sentencing Errors by Mark Wilson On April 22, 2010, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that a Pennsylvania prison records officer was entitled to qualified immunity for a prisoner allegedly being confined 10 months beyond his …

$150,000 Settlement in Wrongfully-Convicted Texan's Lawsuit

Article • July 15, 2011

Filed under: Medical, Brain Injury, Failure to Protect (General), Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment

$150,000 Settlement in Wrongfully-Convicted Texan's Lawsuit by In March 2006, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) settled for $150,000 a lawsuit brought by the guardian of a wrongfully-convicted man who was beaten by another prisoner and suffered permanent severe brain damage. Richard Danziger, a former Texas prisoner, was wrongly …

New York Parolee Detained Without Hearing; City Not Entitled to Summary Judgment

Article • July 15, 2011 • from PLN July, 2011

Filed under: Sentencing, Parole, Wrongful Imprisonment

wrongful imprisonment claims, holding that the defendant, New York City, was not entitled to summary judgment. On December 13, 2001, Keith McDay was arrested in New York on criminal charges and a parole ...

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Clarifies Erroneous Conviction Claims

Article • July 15, 2011 • from PLN July, 2011

Filed under: Attorneys, Attorney Misconduct, Malpractice (Attorneys), Damages, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Clarifies Erroneous Conviction Claims by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On November 23, 2010, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a pair of opinions that clarify the requirements for suing the state for compensation following an erroneous conviction. Specifically, the Court clarified the requirement that the …

$5.25 Million Paid to Former Ohio Prisoner for Wrongful Murder Conviction

Article • July 15, 2011 • from PLN July, 2011

Filed under: Malicious Prosecution, DNA Testing/Samples, Sentencing, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment

$5.25 Million Paid to Former Ohio Prisoner for Wrongful Murder Conviction by The City of Barberton, Ohio has paid $5.25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a man wrongfully convicted of murder. Clarence Elkins spent almost eight years in prison before being exonerated by DNA evidence in 2005. Elkins …

New York Jury Awards Wrongfully Convicted Man $18.5 Million, but Court Grants Motion to Set Aside Verdict

Article • June 15, 2011 • from PLN June, 2011

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Searches, DNA Testing/Samples, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment

New York Jury Awards Wrongfully Convicted Man $18.5 Million, but Court Grants Motion to Set Aside Verdict by On November 2, 2010, a New York federal jury awarded $18.5 million to a man who was cleared of a rape conviction after serving more than two decades in prison. At the …

Sacramento County Agrees to Pay $9,500 to Settle False Arrest/Imprisonment Suit

Article • May 15, 2011

Filed under: Wrongful Imprisonment, Police, False Arrest

Sacramento County Agrees to Pay $9,500 to Settle False Arrest/Imprisonment Suit by In 2005, the County of Sacramento agreed to pay $9,500 to settle a false arrest/imprisonment suit. Daniel Genzoli was arrested after his fingerprints allegedly matched up with prints taken from a business that was burglarized. It turned out …

Juvenile Justice Expert Condemns Rhode Island’s Jailing of Students for Minor Offenses

Article • May 15, 2011 • from PLN May, 2011

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act

Juvenile Justice Expert Condemns Rhode Island’s Jailing of Students for Minor Offenses by Derek Gilna Attorney John J. Wilson, a Department of Justice lawyer for almost 31 years, and the author of federal regulations for the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, has condemned the practices of Rhode …

$27.4 Million Award in Liberty Interest and Deceit Claim Causing Incarceration

Article • May 15, 2011

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Contractor Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment

$27.4 Million Award in Liberty Interest and Deceit Claim Causing Incarceration by A South Dakota jury awarded an insurance salesman who was convicted of mail fraud $27.4 million in a lawsuit that alleged deceit and breach of fiduciary duty, causing his incarceration. Eugene Kent began selling health insurance in 1990 …

Fourth Circuit: Most Police Records in DNA Exoneration Case Are Public

Article • May 15, 2011

Filed under: DNA Testing/Samples, Disclosure of Records, Sentencing, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment

Fourth Circuit: Most Police Records in DNA Exoneration Case Are Public by On October 1, 2004, the Fourth Circuit court of appeals decided that most of the sealed documents in a lawsuit involving the DNA exoneration of a man convicted of a rape-murder should be available to the public. Earl …

Strip Search of Teen During Jail Tour Results in $150K Settlement

Article • May 15, 2011

Filed under: Strip Searches, Wrongful Imprisonment, Police, False Arrest

Strip Search of Teen During Jail Tour Results in $150K Settlement by On September 9, 2003, the District of Columbia agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a lawsuit surrounding the unlawful strip search of a teenager during a tour of the D.C. Jail. On December 22, 2000, Reuben Minor was …

Washington DOC Agrees to Pay $20,000 for Miscalculating Sentence

Article • May 15, 2011

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

Washington DOC Agrees to Pay $20,000 for Miscalculating Sentence by On December 21, 2006, the state of Washington agreed to pay $20,000 to a former prisoner whose release date was miscalculated by Department of Corrections (DOC) officials. Lee Harper spent an extra 193 days in DOC custody after DOC staff …

Attorney Fees and Costs Against Exoneree Who Lost Lawsuit Denied

Article • May 15, 2011

Filed under: Attorneys, Attorney Fee Awards, Costs, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment

Attorney Fees and Costs Against Exoneree Who Lost Lawsuit Denied by On May 21, 2009, a Michigan federal court denied a motion by defendants for attorney fees and costs in an unsuccessful lawsuit brought by an exoneree. During a custody dispute with his ex-girlfriend in 1987, Mark Norman Cleary's seven-year-old …

Georgia Detainee's False Imprisonment Conviction Reversed Due to Lack of Evidence

Article • April 15, 2011

Filed under: Criminal Prosecution, Escapes, Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

Georgia Detainee's False Imprisonment Conviction Reversed Due to Lack of Evidence by The Georgia Court of Appeals reversed the false imprisonment conviction of three detainees because the evidence presented at their trial was insufficient to support their convictions. On November 5, 2006, Reheim Jaahad Shearin, Tyrone Caruthers, Jason Tyrone Dellemar …

New York Prisoner Awarded $650 for Excessive Confinement

Article • April 15, 2011

Filed under: Witnesses (Disciplinary Hearings), Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

New York Prisoner Awarded $650 for Excessive Confinement by On October 5, 2009, New York prisoner Valerie Gaiter was awarded $650 in a New York Claims Court as compensation for 65 days she was wrongfully confined following a disciplinary conviction. At her disciplinary hearing, the hearing officer refused to allow …

$150,000 Settlement in Strip Search Suit by Jail’s Juvenile Visitors

Article • March 15, 2011

Filed under: Searches, Strip Searches, Wrongful Imprisonment, False Arrest

$150,000 Settlement in Strip Search Suit by Jail’s Juvenile Visitors by The District of Columbia paid $150,000 to settle the lawsuit of Marcus Bradley, a minor, for injuries sustained from false arrest. While attending school at W. Bruce Evans Middle School on May 17, 2001, Bradley, along with eleven other …

$150,000 Settlement Paid in D.C. Minor’s False Arrest Lawsuit

Article • March 15, 2011

Filed under: Strip Searches, Body Cavity Searches, Wrongful Imprisonment, Juveniles, False Arrest

$150,000 Settlement Paid in D.C. Minor’s False Arrest Lawsuit by The District of Columbia (D.C.) paid $150,000 to settle the lawsuit of Steven A. Douglass, a minor, for false arrest and imprisonment while his school class was on a “field trip” to the D.C. Jail. On April 9, 2001 Douglass, …