The Presumption of Innocence Podcast: Episode 46 - America’s Incarceration Industry: Exposing Private Prisons
The CFPB has taken action against Global Tel Link Corporation (GTL) over allegations that the company took millions of dollars from a half-million accounts and blocked money transfers to consumers who are incarcerated. Those...more
On November 14, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) filed a significant consent order against Global Tel Link Corporation (GTL), a company that provides communication and financial services to...more
Peer into the world of prison profiteers with Shane Bauer. Shane’s name may sound familiar. In 2009, he and two friends were hiking near the Iraq-Iran border when they were arrested by Iranian authorities, accused of...more
In Reddock v Attorney General of Canada, 2024 ONSC 3238, the Ontario Superior Court released a post-common issues trial decision regarding the additional damages, if any, five plaintiffs were entitled to as a result of the...more
The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1865 at the conclusion of the Civil War, abolished slavery across the United States with one notable exception. According to the amendment, “neither...more
Capital murder designates a specific type of homicide that may be punishable by the death penalty. But, it no longer exists in the state of Colorado. This change in the legal landscape is a significant development, and...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
On May 25, 2023, the United States Supreme Court unanimously held that a post-trial motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“FRCP”) 50(b) is not required to preserve appellate review of a purely legal issue resolved at...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
Some nonviolent federal inmates could be released immediately or very soon now that the U.S. Department of Justice has issued a final rule that will retroactively award time credits under the First Step Act (FSA). The...more
For the second year in a row, people throughout the United States are navigating how to celebrate important holiday traditions safely with friends and family in light of COVID-19. This year, the Biden Administration has made...more
The Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Francis v Ontario, 2021 ONCA 197, is a significant new development in the law of Crown liability. The Court unanimously upheld a summary judgment ruling in a class proceeding finding...more
In a previous blog, I provided an overview of Section 3582(c) with respect to the modification of prison terms. In addition, I looked at two recent cases (United States v. Higa [Hawaii] & United States v. McGrath [Ohio]) that...more
The risk of becoming infected with COVID-19 while incarcerated is significant and widely documented in the U.S. On Thursday, the Federal Bureau of Prisons reported that 4,718 federal inmates and 2,049 bureau staff members...more
This 11th edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, identifies news reports placing the number of COVID-19 filings at around 2,700, with insurance coverage disputes former the single largest...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
The spread of the highly contagious coronavirus (COVID-19) has reached pandemic status. Over 200,000 cases have been confirmed across more than 150 countries, and all 50 U.S. states. In other countries, the threat of the...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 Gumm v. Ford, No. 5:15-CV-41 (MTT), 2019 WL 2017497 (M.D. Ga. May 7, 2019), Judge Marc Treadwell of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia approved a landmark class settlement involving...more
I was 16 years old when, like much of the nation, I became transfixed by the O.J. Simpson criminal trial. I knew then I wanted to be a lawyer. Fast forward 20 years to a federal courtroom in San Francisco where I represented...more