News

Virginia Expands Defendants’ Access to Prosecution Evidence

After considering for years whether to revise its criminal procedure rules to broaden defendants’ access to information that will be used to prosecute them, the Virginia Supreme Court has decided to expand defendants’ pre-trial access to prosecutors’ evidence. An order issued September 5 by the top state court will require state prosecutors (known locally as

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$8.4 Million Judgment in Defamation Suit to Retired Army Colonel

A retired Army colonel denied a promotion due to a rape accusation has been awarded $8.4 million in a defamation lawsuit filed against his accuser. Col. David “Wil” Riggins, a highly-decorated veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, was up for promotion to brigadier general in July 2013 when he was accused of raping a fellow

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Vermont Supreme Court Upholds Rights of Jailhouse Lawyers

In a unanimous and lengthy opinion, the Vermont Supreme Court dismissed a charge of unauthorized practice of law brought against a jailhouse lawyer. Martin Serendipity Morales, a prisoner who identifies as female, was being held at the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Center when she was charged with a felony by Bennington County prosecutors. Her crime?

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Prison Publication Will Get BOP Documents and $420K

Fourteen years ago, the nonprofit monthly magazine Prison Legal News filed a Freedom of Information Act request asking the Federal Bureau of Prisons for documentation of how much money the BOP had paid out over an approximately seven-and-a-half-year period (from 1996 through the end of July 2003) in judgments and settlements of lawsuits and claims

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Book Review: The Habeas Citebook: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

The Habeas Citebook: Ineffective Assistance of CounselBy Brandon Sample and Alissa HullPrison Legal News Publishing, 2016275 pages, $49.95Buy from Prison Legal News  Reviewed By Christopher Zoukis The much anticipated second edition of The Habeas Citebook: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, by Brandon Sample and Alissa Hull, is the fifth book to be published by Prison Legal

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Prison Legal News battles DOC censorship of important information on sexual violence in prisons

Prison Legal News has launched an important lawsuit against Arizona’s Department of Corrections over the withholding of their publication from prisoners. The editions in question discuss documented cases of rape and sexual violence perpetrated by prison staff against inmates—one of which took place in an Arizona prison and was heard in federal court. Many inmates

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Investigation Into Prison Phone Companies

Prison Legal News is engaging in an investigation concerning deceptive practices by prison phone companies. We at the Prison Law Blog encourage you to submit documentation to Prison Legal News if you have been a victim of such practices. The Prison Legal News notice is as follows: HRDC and PLN are gathering information about the

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Prison Legal News Investigation

Prison Legal News is seeking information from prisoners and their families concerning deceptive practices which are designed to siphon funds away from inmates’ trust and commissary accounts. We at the Prison Law Blog encourage you to assist Prison Legal News in their investigation. Their notice is as follows: Prison Legal News is collecting information about

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Update on PLN Suit Against Nevada DOC

By Prison Legal News Prison Legal News continues its efforts to defend its First Amendment right to communicate with prisoners in the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC). In 1999 the NDOC banned all copies of PLN, claiming the publication constituted “inmate correspondence.” PLN filed suit and was granted a preliminary injunction requiring the delivery of

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