Can White Supremacists Demand Kosher Meals in Prison?

Courts Crack Down on “Creativity” Religion’s Creative Requests Background Regarding Creativity There are inmates across the country who claim to be part of “The Church of the Creator,” which they say “embraces and espouses the religion of Creativity.”  These inmates claim the “overriding mission of the Church and the Creativity religion is the permanent prevention…

Ninth Circuit Again Requires Police Officers To Step Into The Shoes Of Mental Health Professionals

In Horton v. City of Santa Maria, the Ninth Circuit demonstrated its understanding that the qualified immunity analysis (which is where an officer may be immune for damages if his or her conduct is not clearly unlawful) is highly specific to the factual scenario presented in each case and reversed the district court when it…

Inmate Safety Concerns Put Constitutional Rights to Bed

On January 11, 2019, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the case of Olivier v. Baca, finding that former Sheriff Lee Baca did not violate an inmate’s civil rights when he was detained for three days without a bed due to exigent circumstances. Factual Background Maurice P. Olivier was arrested in July 2006 for burglary. Following his…

How One Prisoner’s Persistence Paid Off: The Tale of Inmate Barry Jameson

Despite the best efforts of the Legislature to limit frivolous prisoner lawsuits by enacting the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), which requires exhaustion of administrative remedies, proof of a physical injury that is more than de minimis in order to recover emotional distress damages, and limits attorney fee recovery to 150% of the verdict, the…

The Ninth Circuit Reaffirms a Key Principle of §1983 Litigation – A Plaintiff Must Present Evidence That a Defendant Actually Participated in the Violation of the Plaintiff’s Rights

By Mitch Wrosch From November 2005 to August 2013, Plaintiff William King was incarcerated at Twin Towers Correctional Facility, a Los Angeles County jail, where he was held as a civil detainee while awaiting the adjudication of an involuntary commitment petition under California’s Sexually Violent Predator Act (“SVPA”).  For more than six of those years…

No Pain, No Gain? A Review of the Physical Injury Requirement under the Prison Litigation Reform Act

In 1996, the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) was enacted to address the increase of prisoner litigation in federal courts.  One provision of the PLRA states that an inmate cannot seek monetary damages for mental or emotional injuries unless that inmate can show a physical injury. So what happens if an inmate files a lawsuit,…

Federal Judge Continues to Put the Freeze on ICE Detainers

In the consolidated class action cases of Roy v. County of Los Angeles and Gonzalez v. ICE, a Los Angeles federal judge ruled that federal immigration authorities and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department violated the Constitution by detaining certain immigrants based on immigration detainers beyond the time of any criminal detention. Background Regarding ICE…

When is a Plaintiff a “Prisoner” for Purposes of Exhausting Administrative Remedies under the PLRA?

An Analysis of the Ninth Circuit’s Ruling in Jackson v. Fong.

Valley Fever Case Affirms that Inmates Cannot Bring Bane Act Claims Against the State

Court of Appeal says that Bane Act claims do not trump immunities that the state has against inmate claims.

SCOTUS Watch: Supreme Court Weighs in on Lawsuits Against Federal Officials and Federal Law Enforcement

Many readers are familiar with a Section 1983 claim, which is the vehicle Congress created to bring constitutional claims against state officials.  Until 1971, there was no equivalent for lawsuits against federal officials until the Supreme Court case Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents. Based on Bivens, individuals can sue federal officials for constitutional…