The Presumption of Innocence Podcast: Episode 6 - It's Never Too Soon to Think About Early Release
Key Points: There is a constitutional right to medical care for those individuals in custody. Although there is a right to have a government actor intervene when the underlying constitutional violation involves excessive...more
The prison system in the United States is run by both public institutions and private entities, which are controlled by and operated at the federal or state level. Understanding these distinctions is essential, especially...more
The United States familiarly calls itself the “land of the free,” and holds itself out as a bastion of due process and civil rights. Yet, America’s jails are guilty of the worst forms of human rights abuses imaginable. A New...more
A class action lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois reveals the egregious living conditions for approximately 1,000 prisoners at the Northern Reception Center in Crest Hill,...more
Sexual harassment of prison staff by prison inmates is a difficult issue. Courts have rightly held that harassment by inmates can be actionable when the employer fails to take reasonable steps to combat it, but prisoners are...more
Does the Eighth Amendment require Florida prison officials to treat all inmates with chronic Hepatitis-C with direct acting antiviral drugs? The Eleventh Circuit says no in Hoffer v. Secretary, Florida Department of...more
In a recent opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated a decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granting correctional officers qualified immunity on the basis that the doctrine shields an officer from suit when he or she...more
Periodically, Nexsen Pruet attorney Marc Manos, a member of the SC Bar Torts and Insurance Practice Section Council, sheds light on a few recent cases from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, focused in the areas of torts &...more
COVID-19 has brought unprecedented challenges to the criminal justice system. One such challenge is reducing the spread of COVID-19 within justice institutions....more
On March 22, 2020, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued an Order temporarily suspending and commuting county jail sentences for certain inmates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting public health crisis. With the...more
In a letter to the President dated tomorrow (March 27, 2020), several hundred federal judges, former U.S. Attorneys, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, and Department of Justice (DOJ) officials are asking the government to implement a...more
Question: Can a Pennsylvania prison forcibly administer a psychotropic medication to an inmate against the inmate’s will? Answer: In Pennsylvania, a prison’s ability to forcibly medicate an inmate with a psychotropic...more
On October 5, 2015, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts heard argument in Trapp v. Commissioner of the Department of Corrections, SJC-11863. At issue is whether RLUIPA (and the Massachusetts Constitution) recognize...more
Leading the News - Burkina Faso: On September 25th, the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council issued a statement welcoming the reinstatement of President Michel Kafando and the transitional authorities of Burkina...more
Inmates in the Riverside County jails served a federal class-action lawsuit last week, claiming the county is subjecting them to cruel and unusual punishment by depriving them of basic medical and mental health care. Among...more
One of the great things about being invited to be on a panel at the Pro Bono Institute's wonderful annual conference is that, even though I was presumable asked because I know something about the topic, I always learn much...more