A former inmate asserting he didn’t receive adequate mental health care during his incarceration was successful in seeking to limit trial testimony from certain Department of Corrections experts. Two current Department employees were qualified to opine on whether the plaintiff’s ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Evidence Judge James P. Jones Prisons & Jails U.S. District Court - Western District

A regional jail authority is preliminarily enjoined from confiscating publications mailed to inmates by the Human Rights Defense Center. The policy banning delivery of such publications is not rationally related to any legitimate purpose identified by the defendants. Background Plaintiff ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Constitutional First Amendment Judge James P. Jones Prisons & Jails U.S. District Court - Western District

An inmate was entitled to partial injunctive relief related to his ongoing pain after another prisoner broke his jaw. Dental care to date has not ameliorated his pain or ability to chew food, and he is entitled to further evaluation. ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge Jackson L. Kiser Prisons & Jails U.S. District Court - Western District

A man who was pronounced dead after a seizure he suffered while awaiting trial at the Richmond City Justice Center has, through his estate, presented sufficient evidence of medical staff’s deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs, as well as ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Judge M. Hannah Lauck Prisons & Jails U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Denying an incarcerated father’s request for transportation to his child’s adoption hearing, without offering him an alternative means to participate, was an abuse of the trial court’s discretion. Background On June 20, 2016, Appellee Shawn B. Foster, joined by his ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Domestic Relations Due Process Family Law Judge Teresa M. Chafin Parental Rights Prisons & Jails Virginia Court of Appeals

Appellant Douglas A. Hoglan, a Virginia inmate, appeals the district court’s order denying his motion for a preliminary injunction to stop the enforcement of certain provisions governing incoming prisoner mail. In particular, Hoglan challenges the institutional requirement that images with ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Procedure Civil Rights Per Curiam Opinion Prisons & Jails

An inmate’s claim that officials at Green Rock Correctional Center violated his Eighth Amendment rights by keeping cell lights off for 23 hours per day survived a motion to dismiss. Other claims, including the inmate’s assignment to a top bunk ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Eighth Amendment Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon Prisons & Jails U.S. District Court - Western District

When inmates sue under § 1983 for prison officials’ disregard of a serious and ongoing medical need, the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the date, if any, on which adequate treatment is provided. Background Appellant Eric ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Judge Barbara Milano Keenan Prisons & Jails

The former head of a Virginia agency, sued in her personal capacity for failure to manage patient intake at state mental health hospitals, was entitled to qualified immunity because prisons are not per se unable to safely care for mentally ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Administrative Civil Rights Constitutional Judge Diana Gribbon Motz Personal Injury Prisons & Jails Tort

The Department of Corrections was enjoined from reverting back to solitary-confinement conditions for Virginia death-row inmates prior to 2015, as such conditions violate the Eighth Amendment. Background Plaintiffs Thomas Porter, Anthony Juniper, and Mark Lawlor have been convicted of capital ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Eighth Amendment Judge Leonie Brinkema Prisons & Jails U.S. District Court - Eastern District