UVA Law Professor Representing Buckingham Inmate in Federal Suit

3-29-17 Virginia:

BUCKINGHAM COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) - A University of Virginia School of Law professor is representing a prison inmate in his fight to receive medical treatment for a life-threatening disease.

George Rutherglen filed a federal lawsuit against the Virginia Department of Corrections and Buckingham Correctional Center on behalf of Elmo Reid.

The suit alleges the Buckingham Correctional Center denied 60-year-old Reid the latest form of treatment for Hepatitis C, which is a viral liver infection.

Rutherglen says this is a growing public health crisis.

“We're really facing an issue of whether the commonwealth of Virginia can afford the harsh sentences that have been imposed in the past and, I think, the alternative is either treat these people or send them out into the world on probation or parole,” Rutherglen explained.

A federal judge denied a request from the correctional center and its medical team to dismiss the lawsuit.

A trial is set for January 2018. ..Source.. by Matt Talhelm

Sharkey v O'Neal

2-15-15 California:

Sharkey v O'Neal
Dennis Sharkey appeals from an order of the district court dismissing as time-barred his claims under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and various provisions of the Constitution pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The district judge applied California's two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims to all of Sharkey's claims. With respect to Sharkey's claim under Title II of the ADA, we hold that the district court did not apply the correct statute of limitations.

District courts must borrow the three-year limitations period applicable to claims under California Government Code § 11135, rather than the limitations period applicable to personal injury claims in California. Under this three-year limitations period, Sharkey's ADA claim is not time-barred. With respect to his other claims, Sharkey does not contest the applicable limitations periods, but we hold that the district court abused its discretion in dismissing the complaint with prejudice without affording Sharkey leave to amend.

BACKGROUND

Sharkey is a 55–year–old man with disabilities that require him to use a wheelchair and two canes. In late 2006 and early 2007, Defendants Graham, Foster, O'Neal, and Sydney were employees at the Parole Division of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in Berkeley.

In 2006, Sharkey was on parole, living independently in an accessible apartment in Oakland. On December 28, 2006, Agent Foster informed Sharkey of new parole terms, including a housing restriction imposed under the California Sexual Predator and Control Act (Prop 83) that required Sharkey to move from his Oakland residence. Agent O'Neal, who Agent Foster had assigned to Sharkey's case, gave Sharkey only an hour to relocate and only 25 minutes to pack, notwithstanding his disability. Sharkey experienced a great deal of pain during this harried move, and, due to the time pressure, left behind important medical supplies and personal possessions. Agent O'Neal forbade Sharkey from ever returning to the apartment or from calling friends to retrieve his remaining belongings.

That night, Agent O'Neal drove Sharkey to the Harris Motel and assigned him to a room that lacked the safety features necessary to accommodate his disability, such as a wheelchair-accessible entrance, sufficient floor space to operate a wheelchair, and bathroom grab bars. When Sharkey complained to Agent Foster, no attempt was made to locate a suitable residence.

Ohio prison system liable for injuries of rapist, 80, who fell out of top bunk, court rules

2-15-15 Ohio:

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction is liable for the injuries of an 80-year-old inmate who fell out of his top bunk, a state court says.

A ruling by Ohio Court of Claims magistrate earlier this month says the state prison system knew the risks and shouldn't have assigned inmate Roy Buchanan to a top bunk.

The order does not rule on amount of monetary damages, which would be determined in a separate proceeding, the Ohio Supreme Court's news service said (See News Service of case below).

Buchanan's complaint said he lost his balance and fell out of his bunk onto the concrete floor of the dorm where he lived at the Hocking Correctional Facility in December 2012.

Assemblyman sues agency for information on placing sex offenders in suburban Buffalo

12-7-2014 New York:

ALBANY, New York — The state's placement of six convicted sex offenders at adjoining group homes for the disabled in suburban Buffalo a year ago upset neighbors to the point that many marched in protest.

Now their assemblyman is suing his own government for an explanation why the men are living in a residential neighborhood near a park frequented by children.

Assemblyman Michael Kearns said he's been unable to get sufficient answers personally or formally under New York's Freedom of Information Law, leading to the lawsuit.

"We have a right to know why the placements are happening," Kearns said. "Why did you move them to a neighborhood near a park and what are the policy decisions to support that?"

The Office for People with Developmental Disabilities told Kearns the men were transferred last December from a Rochester institution that was closing as part of the statewide plan to move people from institutions to community-based programs.

Settlement conference set for January in lawsuit brought by deaf inmates in Kentucky

12-1-2014 Kentucky:

LAGRANGE, Kentucky — A settlement conference has been scheduled in a lawsuit brought by a pair of deaf and hearing-impaired inmates in Kentucky who are seeking to force the Department of Corrections to provide interpreter services for medical visits, video phones that allow deaf callers to see sign language and other hearing devices.

The conference is scheduled for Jan. 27 at the Kentucky State Reformatory in LaGrange.

Inmates Oscar Adams and Michael Knights are seeking class-action status to represent all hearing-impaired inmates in the state system.

There are no solid statistics on how many inmates in Kentucky are hearing impaired or deaf. About one percent of the general population is estimated to have a significant hearing loss, but no one tracks nationally the number of people in prison who have the issue. ..Source.. by The Republic

Michigan prison officials ask appeals court to let air out of inmate's special mattress

10-9-2014 Michigan:

KINGSLEY, Michigan — Should a federal judge decide how a prisoner sleeps?

The Michigan Corrections Department is fighting a decision that allows an inmate to sleep on an air mattress. A judge stepped in after Richard Boone had threatened to kill himself if he didn't get the bed.

The 45-year-old Boone is in a prison near Traverse City. He's had his right hip replaced and major surgery on his other leg. Boone's doctor at the University of Michigan says an air mattress eases pain.

But prison officials took the convicted robber's special mattress away in 2012, saying it was no longer needed. Detroit federal Judge Arthur Tarnow intervened last December and reinstated the bed.

The state says Tarnow shouldn't meddle. Now it's up to an appeals court, which heard arguments Tuesday. ..Source.. by The Republic