The U.S. Supreme Court held that the use of psychological pressure did not
violate U.S. statutes prohibiting involuntary servitude. After two mentally
retarded individuals were found laboring on a farm for up to 17 hours a day
with no pay due to threats and actual physical abuse and psychological
coercion, Respondents, owners of the farm, were charged with violations of
18 U.S.C. § 241, "conspiring to prevent the men from exercising their
Thirteenth Amendment right to be free from involuntary servitude" and 18
U.S.C. § 1584 "by knowingly holding the men in involuntary servitude. At
trial in federal district court, the jury was instructed that under both
statutes "involuntary servitude may include situations involving any 'means
of compulsion..., sufficient in kind and degree, to subject a person having
the same general station in life as the alleged victims to believe they had
no reasonable means of escape and no choice except to remain in the service
of the employer.'" Respondents were found guilty and sentences imposed. The
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, United States v. Kominski, 821
F.2d 1186 (1987), reversed and remanded. The U.S. Supreme Court held: 1)
The necessary definition of involuntary servitude encompasses those ...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that several factors
were necessary to create a state of "involuntary servitude" and that expert
testimony had not been shown to be scientifically-recognized. After two
mentally retarded men were found laboring on a farm for up to 17 hours a
day with no pay due to threats and actual physical abuse and psychological
coercion, defendants, owners of the farm, were charged with violations of
18 U.S.C. § 241 "conspiring to prevent the men from exercising their
Thirteenth Amendment right to be free from involuntary servitude" and 18
U.S.C. § 1584 "by knowingly holding the men in involuntary servitude."
Defendants were convicted at trial in federal district court and appeal was
taken. The Sixth Circuit reversed and remanded, holding: 1) Defendants
could be convicted of holding the workers in "involuntary servitude" only
if through fraud or deceit a person was led to believe they had "no viable
alternative but to perform" the work because of the use or threatened use
of physical force or legal coercion; moreover, the person must be at a
disadvantage to address the situation because they are a minor, immigrant,
or mentally impaired. 2) Expert testimony regarding ...

Arrestee Stated §1983 Claim Against Coroner; Heightened Pleading Standard
Overruled

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, reversing the U.S. District Court,
Northern District of California, ruled that the district court erred in
holding an arrestee to a heightened pleading standard in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983
false arrest and malicious prosecution complaint and found that the
complaint stated a Fourth Amendment claim but not a Fourteenth Amendment
(due process) claim.

On September 18, 1995, Josephine Galbraith killed herself in her home. The
police initially ruled the death a suicide. Santa Clara, California, County
Coroner Dr. Angelo Ozoa, the County's Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner,
however, ruled the death a homicide and implicated Nelson Galbraith,
Josephine's husband, who was home at the time of the death. Ozoa created a
detailed autopsy report setting out the case for murder and testified to
the report at trial. A jury acquitted Nelson Galbraith of all charges.
Thereafter, Galbraith exhumed his wife's body and had his own medical
expert examine her. The expert reported that the autopsy dissection was
improperly done. Further, the expert concluded, Dr. Ozoa could not possibly
have seen what he claimed in his autopsy report due to the botched autopsy.
Galbraith sued ...

by Matthew T. Clarke

Wisconsin court of appeals held that Wisconsin Department of Corrections
(DOC) officials who held a prisoner beyond his mandatory release date (MRD)
violated the prisoner's Eighth Amendment rights.

James Allen, a former Wisconsin state prisoner, became eligible for
mandatory release after serving two-thirds of an eight-year sentence for
sexual assault. Upon reaching his MRD, the DOC was unable to locate
suitable housing for Allen, so he was transferred from a maximum-security
prison to a minimum-security prison and placed under the supervision of
parole officials. Four months later, the parole officials initiated parole
revocation proceedings and returned Allen to the maximum-security prison.
Five months later, an administrative judge ruled that Allen could not have
violated his parole because he was never released to parole. The ruling was
affirmed on appeal.

Instead of releasing Allen, parole officials again commenced parole
revocation proceedings against him. An administrative judge again held that
Allen could not be revoked. Allen then filed a habeas corpus action which
resulted in his release 377 days after his MRD.

Allen filed suit against DOC parole agents alleging their actions violated
his Fourth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. On defendant's motion
for summary judgment., the trial ...

An Ohio state court awarded a former prisoner $7,516.95 in damages for 89
days of false imprisonment.

James M. Bay was a prisoner of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and
Correction (ODRC). His release date was July 26, 1999 but he was illegally
held until October 24, 1999 due to ...

In the week of January 1, 2001, a lawsuit alleging false arrest and an
unconstitutional strip search in retaliation for supporting a particular
candidate for district attorney settled for $50,000.

In 1999, while attending Gallup High School, Emily Ellison was actively
supporting Navajo causes and candidates for the 2000 elections in McKinley
County. On September 12, 1999, Ellison was cited for speeding 11 to 15
miles per hour over the limit and not carrying proof of financial
responsibility. Ellison later appeared before Judge Karl Gillson and filed
a demand for jury trial, which the judge granted. When McKinley County
District Attorney Mary Helen Baber and her two assistants, Michael Sanchez
and Gerald Byers, learned of Ellison's request for a jury trial, they
allegedly decided to use the power of the state to punish her for
supporting Baber's competition for district attorney.

On November 5, 1999, Ellison received a second ticket for speeding 1 to 10
miles per hour over the limit. The case was assigned to Judge Rhoda Hunt
but Ellison initially appeared before Judge Gillson. She pled not guilty
and requested postponement of the bench trial until after Christmas break
so she could go out of town to look ...

Osvaldo Solis, a prisoner at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility (SSCF),
filed a pro se law suit against SSCF, for wrongfully placing him on
keeplock status.

On April 14, 2001, Solis was placed on keeplock confinement for allegedly
taking part in an attack on another prisoner. Solis went to the ...

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit dismissed former
federal prisoner Frank Boldoc's civil rights complaint for eight years of
wrongful incarceration. Boldoc and another former federal prisoner, Francis
Larkin, filed this claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) alleging
malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, abuse of process, negligent
supervision and a Bivens claim against a specific FBI agent. Boldoc and
Larkin were incarcerated for a bank robbery in Oklahoma.

The federal district court dismissed the claims for malicious prosecution,
abuse of process and false imprisonment for failure to state a claim upon
which relief could be granted. The district court held that the FBI agents
and their supervisors were not negligent in their supervision. Boldoc appealed.

The appellate court held that Boldoc was not harmed by negligent
supervision by the FBI of their agents and that state law did not provide
for private liability of FBI agents while performing their duties. The
appeals court further ruled that there was no proof presented of malice by
the FBI agents involved or their supervisors. See: Boldoc v. United States,
402 F.3d 50 (1st Cir. 2005).

On November 25, 2003, a federal jury in Chicago, Illinois, awarded $750,000
to a man who was wrongfully imprisoned for 15 days in the Cook County Jail.

Emillano Hernandez was pulled over on June 19, 1999, for allegedly failing
to make a complete stop at a stop sign. The cops ...

In June of 2002, Lenin Perez-Torres was arrested by federal agents and
taken to the Los Angeles County Jail for parole violations. Unfortunately
he was the wrong man. After 25 days jailers caught the mistake and
released him. He joined a federal class action against the federal agents
and sued ...