Legal
Legal issues in the correctional system encompass various topics, including inmate rights, staff conduct, and compliance with state and federal laws. This directory offers articles and resources on the legal aspects of correctional facility operations, helping staff stay informed about the regulations and policies that govern their work. Understanding legal responsibilities is essential for minimizing liability and ensuring facilities operate within the law. For more information, explore our section on Corrections Policies.
The settlement resolves claims that more than 1,500 pregnant CDCR staff were forced to choose between unsafe duties, demotion or unpaid leave
Lena Summerlin, whose legal name was David Cassady at the time, was sentenced to 80 years for mailing bombs from prison to the DOJ and an Alaska courthouse in 2020
Two corrections officers were promised 22 years in prison in exchange for the guilty plea, while two others face 3 to 9 years for their roles in the fatal assault at Marcy Correctional Facility
Julian Assange has spent five years in a British high-security prison, fighting to avoid extradition to the U.S. and winning court rulings that have delayed any transfers
Doctor testifies against the inmate’s insanity defense and that he was faking aspects of his mental illness
The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision did not give evidence to refute allegations that it has failed to follow the state’s limits on solitary confinement
Paul Flores was convicted in October 2022 and sentenced in March 2023 to 25 years to life for the murder of Kristin Smart
After receiving an infraction, the inmate hired another inmate to murder a State Farm Correctional Center employee and a Victim Services Unit investigator
For 12 months, Guidehouse Inc. consultants will visit prisons, work with Georgia DOC personnel and conduct research to recommend system changes
The inmate was resentenced to life in prison for his role in the 2002 kidnapping and murder of a D.C. police lieutenant’s son
The cop, who had worked for Pearl PD for about six months after having worked at other law enforcement agencies in the Jackson area, pleaded guilty in March
Eric Nantell was a sergeant at the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex in July 2018 when three COs assaulted an inmate in a shower, according to court documents
Prosecutors said they couldn’t determine if the incident was intentional, as one deputy claimed the inmate’s “own momentum” caused his head to hit the wall
The bill would overturn a DOC practice of recording and retaining phone calls for extended periods to assist in investigations of jail misconduct or public safety threats
A jury convicted Former President Donald Trump of falsifying business records at his own company; the charge carries up to four years in prison
The lawsuit alleges the CO failed to shut the inmate’s cell door, allowing two or three other prisoners to follow him inside and assault him
Lt. Joel Garcia was fired, then reinstated and placed on administrative leave in connection to a Tarrant County Jail inmate’s death
A review of the inmate’s phone conversations and mail revealed that he had ordered the failed hit, which targeted his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend
Waupun Correctional Institution’s warden is charged with misconduct in public office; the other eight staff members, including COs, face charges of felony inmate abuse
The most dramatic reform would take juvenile detention out of the control of the Probation Department and instead place it under Youth Development’s oversight
NYC’s mayor said he vetoed the ban because the DOC “would no longer be able to protect people in custody, or the union workers charged with their safety, from violent individuals”
The bill would allow beneficiaries to receive the pension benefits of the deceased corrections officer if they had retired on the date of their death
The law requires Colorado’s county jails to provide at least six hours of in-person voting in the days before Election Day
The Georgia DOC has awarded a $2.4 billion contract for healthcare in the prison system to a new company without the competitive process legally required, a lawsuit alleges
The Georgia DOC said the inmate’s death was a “result of an altercation” and that the CO was immediately fired
The group made hundreds of thousands of dollars selling “faces,” described as squares of paper soaked in drugs, and planned to sell a novel-style book with drug-soaked pages
Sen. Cory Booker spoke during a hearing aimed at looking at ways to rethink prison labor, suggesting voluntary jobs, higher wages and better protection against injuries
FCI Sheridan had 28 CO vacancies out of 145 positions last winter, leading to the use of mandated overtime and temporary assignments of non-correctional staff
BOP to face trial over corrections officers’ abuse of incarcerated women at now-shuttered FCI Dublin
FCI Dublin inmates sued the prisons bureau last August alleging the agency had failed to root out sexual abuse
COs, for their own safety and success, need to understand the difference between apathy, sympathy and empathy
Stephanie Lazarus, a 25-year veteran detective, was arrested in 2009 for a 1986 murder after DNA from a bite mark on the victim linked Lazarus to the victim’s death
The inmate alleges it would be unconstitutionally cruel for him to die by lethal injection
The large-scale contraband smuggling operation involved Dixon Correctional Institute inmates, trustees, an employee and several civilians, Louisiana State Police said
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- Nearly 600 former detainees have sued LA County over sexual abuse in juvenile halls
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