Topic
Every decision we've filed under Civil Rights - PLRA / Prisoner.
The Eleventh Circuit dismissed Michael Haspel's appeal sua sponte because the district court's order was not a final judgment. The court held that claims against three defendants remained pending, preventing immediate appellate review under the final judgment rule.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit dismissed an appeal filed by a pro se prisoner. The dismissal followed the appellant's request to voluntarily withdraw the case.
The Eleventh Circuit dismissed Kevin Lamonte Kelly's appeal sua sponte because his notice of appeal was filed four days past the statutory deadline. The court held that the prison mailbox rule did not save the appeal since the filing date still exceeded the 30-day limit set by federal statute.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit dismissed an appeal filed by a prisoner against a corrections official. The dismissal was issued due to a lack of prosecution by the appellant.
The Eighth Circuit vacated a district court's dismissal of a prisoner's civil rights action for failure to pay an initial filing fee, ruling that such dismissal constitutes an abuse of discretion when the inmate lacks available funds. The court held that the Prison Litigation Reform Act prohibits barring civil actions solely due to indigence when no assets exist to satisfy the fee requirement.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of Henry Berrocal's pro se complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e). The appellate court found no reversible error after reviewing the record with the requisite liberal construction afforded to pro se litigants.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's rejection of a death row prisoner's Eighth Amendment challenge to Georgia's lethal injection protocol. The court held that the prisoner failed to prove a substantial likelihood of severe pain due to compromised veins and that the district court committed no reversible error in its evidentiary rulings.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit denied a petition for rehearing en banc regarding prisoner due process rights. The majority upheld a prior ruling that inmates facing transfer to disciplinary segregation are entitled only to informal, non-adversarial due process.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of an inmate's second amended complaint for maliciousness and abuse of the judicial process under the PLRA. The court held that the district court acted within its discretion after the plaintiff failed to disclose his litigation history despite explicit warnings.
The Seventh Circuit reversed a district court's grant of summary judgment in a prisoner civil rights case, holding that the plaintiff properly exhausted administrative remedies under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The court affirmed the denial of class certification but remanded the Eighth Amendment claim for trial.