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 Oregon DOC initially released inmates after interpreting a Supreme Court ruling as requiring credit for jail time on each count
Two former corrections officers received 22 years in prison for first-degree manslaughter, while two others were sentenced for lesser charges
The verdict includes damages, back pay and attorney’s fees following claims of misconduct and surveillance by Passaic County officials
The judge erred on instructions involving Anthony Harris’ prior criminal history, photos police used in their investigation, and who identified Harris as alleged gunman
The proposal would restrict the use of confinement to no more than 15 consecutive days and a total of 45 days in a six-month span
The man alleges he was seen by multiple medical and mental health providers who failed to notice his decomposing leg
The man was in court to respond to numerous charges, including second-degree assault
Ninety-one California inmates died while they were awaiting compassionate release between January 2015 and April 2021, according to the nonprofit advocacy group FAMM
Deputies took two hours to respond to the homeless woman’s call for help, then stopped at Starbucks on the way to the hospital; the woman lost the pregnancy
Suit alleges Associate Warden Antonio Pires, 48, used his position to “manipulate and coerce” her into a brief sexual relationship and then gave her unfavorable assignments when she ended it
Ray Garcia, 55, former warden at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, Calif., already faces federal charges alleging he sexually abused inmates and forced them to pose nude for him
A separate jury convicted former CO Alex Banta, 30, of similar charges in April
Court records and data from the state shows New Jersey is likely undercounting its population of wrongly convicted inmates
She, and her lawyers with the ACLU, claim prison has failed to dispense Zayre-Brown’s prescribed hormones and has denied her request for surgical vaginoplasty
“Today’s verdicts prove that violence and threats have no place in our politics and those who seek to divide us will be held accountable. They will not succeed,” said Whitmer
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against James Coddington’s appeal, stating his claims “allege only a theoretical possibility that something might go wrong”
During a courtroom break, “an individual in the gallery of a courtroom managed to get into the jury box and briefly attack an inmate.”
Lawsuit by family members of man who died in custody alleges guards at Monroe’s Richwood Correctional Center beat and pepper-sprayed handcuffed prisoners in area without security cameras
Complaint argues that IDHS is violating the Illinois Code of Criminal Procedure by not taking custody of defendants within 20 days of their being found unfit to stand trial and remanded to the agency for mental-health treatment
Senators “concerned” about recent press reports of retaliation and violence against inmates at FCI Sheridan for their claims of mistreatment
The loss of the federal contract to hold the detainees likely will create a $6 million hole in the county budget that will have to be filled, according to officials
Last month, the General Assembly passed a budget amendment that excluded those with violent offenses from state’s earned sentence credit program
In the “kids-for-cash” scandal, Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan shut down county-run juvenile detention center and accepted $2.8 million in illegal payments from co-owner of two for-profit lockups
The board of supervisors wants to speed the process of filling more than 350 vacancies for deputies, nurses and mental health clinicians
Program reduced spending on services such as emergency shelters and hospital care, offsetting between 50% and 100% of the cost of housing
The 25 state correctional officers were accused in 2019 of using excessive force against inmates and functioning as a criminal enterprise in jails around the city
The story got national attention after a judge ordered the plaintiff’s attorney to stop tweeting about it
The changes - replacing the term with “incarcerated person” - signed into law Monday by Gov. Kathy Hochul are intended to reduce the stigma of being in jail
Friedmann moved locked storage crates to a friend’s house in nearby Joelton that contained 21 firearms, including assault rifles, handguns, shotguns and a 37mm launcher
Robin Limon claims she was demoted in retaliation for complaining about a deputy kneeling on an inmate’s head in March
The COs filed a complaint after an official barred officers of color from entering the floor where Chauvin was being held
Court ruled a jury could find that punching the inmate in the face and applying pressure to her neck, back and legs after her resistance was controlled was excessive
Prosecutor will not oppose post-conviction litigation in eight cases following a 2019 review of cases related to allegations of police misconduct involving Reynaldo Guevara
