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.
From body cameras to healthcare access, the new year will bring key policy shifts to improve corrections operations
A judge determined in 2023 that the inmate had attacked first, and therefore the Cumberland County officer was within his rights to defend himself
A jury found Steve Bannon guilty in 2022 of two counts of contempt of Congress
The operation’s goal is to maintain a “safe environment for both our employees and the incarcerated individuals housed at MDC Brooklyn,” the BOP said
The number of St. Louis County jail inmates accused of low-level felonies has risen 141% since late 2022, compared to a 23% rise for serious felonies, according to jail data
The Los Angeles County DA recommended that Erik and Lyle Menendez receive a new sentence of 50 years to life
The former CO at Santa Ana Jail was fired after being accused of doctoring computer logs after an inmate died by suicide on his watch
The bill is named after former Capt. Robert Johnson, who was shot at home in 2010 after Lee Correctional Institution inmates used a contraband phone to order a hit
CDCR should have dismissed, not demoted, a high-ranking administrator over his misconduct, the Office of the Inspector General stated
Roy Booth used a metal pole from the weight room at MCI-Shirley “to relentlessly beat” Corrections Officer Matthew Tidman from behind, the Middlesex District Attorney said
An inmate at the Virginia Beach jail died from “positional and mechanical asphyxia due to restraint with neck and torso compression,” according to the medical examiner
“Aside from your pleasant demeanor and your articulateness, you have the same kind of thuggishness as El Chapo,” the judge told the ex-cop at sentencing
Nevada seeks to remove slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crime from its constitution; California removed slavery, but still allows involuntary servitude
Legislators called for the governor to start routine tactical searches, ensure swift prosecution of inmate assaults and establish monthly meetings with the COs’ union
Caleb Lee Duerr escaped Plumas County jail after he went through two fenced areas and caught a ride from a person at O’Reilly’s Auto parts store in Quincy
In a letter to drop his appeals, Derrick Dearman wrote that “it’s not fair to the victims or their families to keep prolonging the justice that they so rightly deserve”
Danilo Cavalcante scaled a wall in a prison exercise yard and fled into the woods; during his 14-day escape, he traveled at night, stealing supplies from nearby homes
A notice states Los Angeles County failed to address long-standing staffing shortages, requiring Los Padrinos to be emptied by Dec. 12
The Idaho Department of Correction retrofitted its execution chamber at the maximum security prison south of Boise to retain lethal injection as its preferred method
The former COs, who all worked at Riverbend Correctional Facility, were each sentenced to 10 years in prison to be followed by five years on probation
The coroner ruled Anthony Mitchell’s death a homicide, citing hypothermia and sepsis “resulting from infected injuries obtained during incarceration and medical neglect”
One of the COs observed that Tony Mitchell’s condition “would ultimately result in serious harm or even death” without medical intervention, according to her plea deal
The King County Jail inmate and his accomplice made phone calls to veterans posing as Veterans Affairs employees in a scheme to steal from their bank accounts
In March, COs transported an inmate to a Boise hospital for treatment of self-inflicted injuries; Nicholas Umphenour ambushed the COs from behind, wounding two
Do these books make a good argument for prison reform?
The CO was inside the Saginaw County Jail control tower when she walked behind a co-worker and used her TASER to deliver a drive-stun under the CO’s arm
The inmate said he took responsibility for the slayings, regretted his actions and was praying for prison officials, officers and “for my brothers and sisters behind these walls”
Learn how inmate privacy violations, as officers observed an inmate’s naked body during childbirth, led to a lawsuit in Brown v. Dickey
The inmate struck the dog hard enough that the dog had a concussion and scraped the inside of her pupil, Genesee County Sheriff Christopher Swanson said
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