Search | Wrongly Convicted

Dismissal of Suit Against Parole Commissioner Reversed

Article • May 15, 2008

Filed under: Parole, Wrongful Imprisonment, Immunity/Liability, Judicial Immunity

Dismissal of Suit Against Parole Commissioner Reversed by The plaintiff alleged that a parole commissioner delayed his release for several months without justification. The district court should not have dismissed on grounds of absolute immunity without a record showing whether the commissioner's actions were quasi-adjudicative (warranting immunity) or administrative (not …

County Immune for Holding Federal Detainee Without Court Hearing

Article • May 15, 2008

Filed under: Court Access, Court Appearances, Wrongful Imprisonment, Federal Tort Claims Act, Municipal Liability

County Immune for Holding Federal Detainee Without Court Hearing by The plaintiff, a federal detainee held in a county jail, was detained for 12 days before being taken before a judicial officer. The Feds settled. The County could not be held liable because its actions did not cause the deprivation: …

Maryland Prison Officials Get Qualified Immunity for Prisoner “Retake” Orders

Article • May 15, 2008

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

Maryland Prison Officials Get Qualified Immunity for Prisoner “Retake” Orders by Maryland Prison Officials Get Qualified Immunity for Prisoner "Retake" Orders Based on a state appellate decision concerning sentence credit, prison officials decided they had released some prisoners incorrectly, so they had them arrested and reincarcerated through "retake orders." The …

Overdetention: When Completing a Prison Sentence Just Isn’t Enough

Article • February 15, 2008 • from PLN February, 2008

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Databases, Wrongful Imprisonment

Overdetention: When Completing a Prison Sentence Just Isn’t Enough by David Reutter Overdetention: When Completing a Prison Sentence Just Isn't Enough by David M. Reutter One of the most basic functions of a prison system is releasing prisoners when their sentences expire. In April 2007, the Massachusetts Department of Correction …

Ninth Circuit Holds Washington DOC Immune From Suit for Denial of Community Custody Early Release

Article • February 15, 2008 • from PLN February, 2008

Filed under: Liberty Interests, Sentencing, Good Time, Parole, Wrongful Imprisonment, Qualified Immunity

Ninth Circuit Holds Washington DOC Immune From Suit for Denial of Community Custody Early Release by John Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that the Secretary of the Washington State Department of Corrections (WDOC) was qualifiedly immune from suit by prisoners who claimed …

Once Court Orders Arrestee Held, Police Have No Duty to Investigate Mistaken Identity

Article • January 15, 2008

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment, False Arrest

Once Court Orders Arrestee Held, Police Have No Duty to Investigate Mistaken Identity by The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that once an arrested person has been brought before a court and ordered held, law enforcement has no duty to verify claims of mistaken identity. Chicago police stopped …

Pennsylvania County Jail System Overcrowded, Under-Regulated

Article • December 15, 2007 • from PLN December, 2007

Filed under: Staff-Prisoner Assault, GEO Group/Wackenhut, Civigenics, Primecare Medical, Guard Misconduct, Threats by Staff, Jail Misconduct, Organizing, Prison Rebellion, Systemic Medical Neglect, Skin, OB/GYN, Criminal Prosecution, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Wrongful Imprisonment, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Suicides, ACA, State Legislation

Pennsylvania County Jail System Overcrowded, Under-Regulated by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Almost everyone with experience on the incarceration side of America's criminal justice system will tell you they would rather do time in prison than in a jail. The primary reason is that the overall conditions of confinement …

Michigan: $3.3 Million Settlement for 9 Years Wrongful Imprisonment

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Searches, DNA Testing/Samples, Damages, Wrongful Imprisonment

Michigan: $3.3 Million Settlement for 9 Years Wrongful Imprisonment by On September 5, 2005, a man who spent nine years in prison for a rape he didn?t commit settled with the Township ...

One-Off Offing: Why You Won't See a Disbarment Like Mike Nifong's Again

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution, Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

One-Off Offing: Why You Won't See a Disbarment Like Mike Nifong's Again by David Feige By David Feige Posted Monday, June 18, 2007, at 6:04 PM ET Now that justice has prevailed in the Duke rape case, with the nice innocent boys exonerated and the prosecutor who hounded them disbarred, …

Clarification:

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

Clarification: by The July 2007 issue of Prison Legal News reported Sarsfield v. City of Marlborough, $13,655,940 Award for False Massachusetts Rape Conviction and Gregory v. City of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky Settles with Wrongly Imprisoned Man for $3.9 Million. Barry Scheck was lead counsel for both plaintiffs, but while he …

Wisconsin Over Detention Suit Not Barred by Rooker-Feldman Doctrine

Article • September 15, 2007 • from PLN September, 2007

Filed under: Sentencing, Wrongful Imprisonment

Wisconsin Over Detention Suit Not Barred by Rooker-Feldman Doctrine by The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court?s dismissal of a prisoner?s suit related to a delay in granting time served credits. The court concluded that plaintiff?s claims were not barred by the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. In 1997, Reginald …

Wrongfully Imprisoned California Man Awarded $18 Million

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

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Damages, Wrongful Imprisonment, Police, False Arrest

Wrongfully Imprisoned California Man Awarded $18 Million by On February 15, 2006, a federal jury in California awarded $18 million to a man who was wrongly charged with sexual assault of a child and imprisoned for 10 months. During his false imprisonment in the Los Angeles County Jail, Ramirez, 26, …

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 …