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An Old Story: District of Columbia Continues Overdetaining and Strip Searching Prisoners

Article • August 15, 2007 • from PLN August, 2007

Filed under: Strip Searches, Arrestee Searches, Complaints, Class Certification, Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

An Old Story: District of Columbia Continues Overdetaining and Strip Searching Prisoners by A federal district court for the District of Columbia has, once again, certified a class action in a complaint that District of Columbia is over-detaining persons ordered released and strip searching them without individualized suspicion. The Court …

Limone v. USA, MA, Order, Damages for Wrongful Convictions by FBI, 2007

Brief • July 26, 2007

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, FBI

Limone v. USA, MA, Order, Damages for Wrongful Convictions by FBI, 2007 Case 1:02-cv-10890-NG Document 565 Filed 07/26/2007 Page 1 of 228 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS PETER J. LIMONE, et al., Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Defendant. ) ) ) ) Civ. Action No. …

Qualified Immunity Discussed in Texas Over Detention Suit

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment, Qualified Immunity

Qualified Immunity Discussed in Texas Over Detention Suit by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that jail officials failed to present sufficient evidence to allow the question of qualified immunity to be submitted to the jury. This action was filed by a former prisoner of the Dallas County Jail …

Illinois Prisoner Awarded $34,500 For Delayed Release

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Classification, Out of State Transfers, Parole, Wrongful Imprisonment, Parole Conditions

Illinois Prisoner Awarded $34,500 For Delayed Release by On July 20, 1994, a federal district court awarded a former Illinois state prisoner $34,500 in compensatory and punitive damages for the extra time he spent in prison after being granted parole. Plaintiff Timothy Wilson claimed that on January 21, 1990, he …

Washington Prisoners Challenge Confinement Beyond EERD; Class Action Certification Granted; Defendants Get Qualified Immunityndants Get Qualified Immunity

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Sex Offender Residence, Civil Procedure, Injunctions, Class Certification, Mootness, Good Time, Wrongful Imprisonment, Qualified Immunity

Washington Prisoners Challenge Confinement Beyond EERD; Class Action Certification Granted; Defendants Get Qualified Immunityndants Get Qualified Immunity by Washington Prisoners Challenge Confinement Beyond EERD; Class Action Certification Granted; Defendants Get Qualified Immunity On December 22, 2004, four former prisoners of the Washington Department Of Corrections (WDOC) brought suit in federal …

Failure to Ascertain Arrestee's Identity Creates Liability for False Imprisonment

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Wrongful Imprisonment, Police, False Arrest

Failure to Ascertain Arrestee's Identity Creates Liability for False Imprisonment by Failure to Ascertain Arrestee's Identity Creates Liability for False Imprisonment The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a Macon County, Alabama Sheriff's deputy who failed to make an attempt to obtain information from an arrestee for purposes of …

No Arraignment, Imprisonment For Civil Debt Raise Fact Issues

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment, False Arrest

No Arraignment, Imprisonment For Civil Debt Raise Fact Issues by The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that issues of fact precluded summary judgment of an arrestee's civil rights action stemming from his warrantless arrest and his imprisonment for failure to pay fines and court costs, …

California Federal Court Awards Falsely Arrested/Imprisoned Man $850,000

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Police, False Arrest

California Federal Court Awards Falsely Arrested/Imprisoned Man $850,000 by On December 31, 2003, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California awarded $850,000 to a man who was falsely arrested and imprisoned for seven weeks due to misidentification by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). In 1999, the …

$8,500 Paid in WA DOC Wrongful Warrant/Arrest Suit

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Parole, Wrongful Imprisonment, Parole Conditions, False Arrest

$8,500 Paid in WA DOC Wrongful Warrant/Arrest Suit by John H. Queener was arrested on May 9, 1989, as the result of a standard warrant search during a traffic stop. The warrant was issued on January 16, 1986 by the Washington State Department of Corrections Community Supervision Office. However, on …

Psychological Coercion Not Legal Component Of Involuntary Servitude

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Prison Labor, Wrongful Imprisonment, Mental Health

Psychological Coercion Not Legal Component Of Involuntary Servitude by The U.S. Supreme Court held that the use of psychological pressure did not violate U.S. statutes prohibiting involuntary servitude. After two mentally retarded individuals were found laboring on a farm for up to 17 hours a day with no pay due …

Unconstitutional to Hold Wisconsin Prisoner Beyond Mandatory Release Date

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Parole, Wrongful Imprisonment

Unconstitutional to Hold Wisconsin Prisoner Beyond Mandatory Release Date by by Matthew T. Clarke Wisconsin court of appeals held that Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) officials who held a prisoner beyond his mandatory release date (MRD) violated the prisoner's Eighth Amendment rights. James Allen, a former Wisconsin state prisoner, became …

Several Necessary Components Of Involuntary Servitude

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Criminal Prosecution, Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

Several Necessary Components Of Involuntary Servitude by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that several factors were necessary to create a state of "involuntary servitude" and that expert testimony had not been shown to be scientifically-recognized. After two mentally retarded men were found laboring on a …

Arrestee Stated §1983 Claim Against Coroner; Heightened Pleading Standard Overruled

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Malicious Prosecution, Wrongful Imprisonment, False Arrest

Arrestee Stated §1983 Claim Against Coroner; Heightened Pleading Standard Overruled by Arrestee Stated §1983 Claim Against Coroner; Heightened Pleading Standard Overruled The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, reversing the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, ruled that the district court erred in holding an arrestee to a heightened …

$7,516.95 Awarded For 89 Days of False Imprisonment

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Damages, Wrongful Imprisonment

$7,516.95 Awarded For 89 Days of False Imprisonment by An Ohio state court awarded a former prisoner $7,516.95 in damages for 89 days of false imprisonment. James M. Bay was a prisoner of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC). His release date was July 26, 1999 but he …

WI DOC Not Entitled to Qualified Immunity for Holding Prisoner Past His Release Date

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Wrongful Imprisonment, Immunity/Liability, Qualified Immunity

WI DOC Not Entitled to Qualified Immunity for Holding Prisoner Past His Release Date by WI DOC Not Entitled to Qualified Immunity for Holding Prisoner Past His Release Date James Allen, a Wisconsin state prisoner, was held 377 days beyond his mandatory release date because he didn't have a Department …

$105,000 Verdict in Michigan Illegal Imprisonment

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Wrongful Imprisonment, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement

$105,000 Verdict in Michigan Illegal Imprisonment by Three to four months after completing their Michigan prison sentences in 1994, Willie Thomas, Jr., Larry Reed, and Edward Grant were picked up and imprisoned in Jackson prison without a hearing. The defendant prison officials believed they had miscalculated the time served by …

Jail Official Gets Immunity for Delaying Prisone'rs Release for One Day

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Wrongful Imprisonment, Immunity/Liability, Qualified Immunity

Jail Official Gets Immunity for Delaying Prisone'rs Release for One Day by Jail Official Gets Immunity for Delaying Prisoner's Release for One Day A county prison official was entitled to qualified immunity for delaying the plaintiff's release for a day based on an alleged warrant from Massachusetts that she had …

12 Day Delay Between Arrest, First Court Appearance Illegal

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Court Appearances, Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment, Bail

12 Day Delay Between Arrest, First Court Appearance Illegal by The law is clearly established that a pre-trial detainee cannot be held for 12 days before being brought before a judge or allowed to pay bail. This is another case where the plaintiff was picked up on a warrant, there …

County Liable for Miscalculating Detainees Sentence

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Liberty Interests, Damages, State Law Claims, Wrongful Imprisonment, Municipal Liability

County Liable for Miscalculating Detainees Sentence by The plaintiff was denied credit for time served through a record-keeping error arising from the existence of two indictments for the same criminal act. A county policy allegedly prohibited staff from counting days for the same charge under two different court case numbers …

$500,000 Awarded Kansas Citizen For 25 Days False Imprisonment

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment, False Arrest

$500,000 Awarded Kansas Citizen For 25 Days False Imprisonment by Alonzo Echols, 48, is not Alonzo Eacholes, despite repeatedly telling officers, jails, and courts this. In February of 2000, Echols was arrested for felony battery on a warrant that should have been for Eacholes. His release took 18 months, though …