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Civil Forfeiture Often Focuses on Profit Instead of Public Safety

Article • September 24, 2018 • from CLN October, 2018

Filed under: Forfeiture

Civil Forfeiture Often Focuses on Profit Instead of Public Safety by When Lewis Cain was roused from sleep by police officers in his home demanding the keys to his BMW, he objected. Still, cops drove away in his car. “I have the highest respect for law enforcement, but the Fourth …

From the Big Box to the Big House: Walmart Helps Tennessee Prosecutors Felonize Shoplifting

Article • September 24, 2018 • from CLN October, 2018

Filed under: Criminal Prosecution

From the Big Box to the Big House: Walmart Helps Tennessee Prosecutors Felonize Shoplifting by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Across the country, retailers’ associations are lobbying legislatures to stiffen the punishment for retail theft, allegedly to prevent “organized retail crime,” a fuzzy term often used to describe repeated shoplifting. …

Many Sheriffs Tempted by Lack of Oversight or Fiscal Accountability

Article • September 23, 2018 • from CLN October, 2018

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Government Misconduct

Many Sheriffs Tempted by Lack of Oversight or Fiscal Accountability by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke It is a perfect storm of temptation. Many sheriffs in America have little oversight, independent sources of revenue with little fiscal accountability, low salaries, and a lot of power. This leads some of them …

Insurance, Courts Protect Cops from Liability

Article • September 20, 2018 • from CLN October, 2018

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Qualified Immunity, Police, Excessive Force (Police)

Insurance, Courts Protect Cops from Liability by Dale Chappell by Dale Chappell Lots of lawsuits get filed against law enforcement, but very few result in a payout. Police have an ever-growing shield called “qualified immunity” and decades of court decisions to hide behind. And even when there is a payout, …

Fake Facebook Accounts, Memphis Police Department, 2018

Publication • September 19, 2018

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Police/Govt Misconduct, Facebook/MySpace/Etc.

Fake Facebook Accounts, Memphis Police Department, 2018

Miller v. Maddox, TN, Resolution to Settle, Police Misconduct and False Statements, 2018

Brief • September 18, 2018

Filed under: Injury -- Misc., Settlements, False Arrest, Fourth Amendment, rights, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights

Miller v. Maddox, TN, Resolution to Settle, Police Misconduct and False Statements, 2018 Resolution No. RS2018-1394 A resolution authorizing the Metropolitan Department of Law to compromise and settle the claim of Andrea Miller against Woodston Maddox in the amount of $50,000.00, and reasonable attorney’s fees, not to exceed $80,000.00, and …

Sixth Circuit: Statute of Limitations for § 1983 Claim Accrues When Criminal Proceedings are Terminated

Article • June 17, 2018 • from CLN July, 2018

Filed under: Prosecutor/Attorney General Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution, Wrongful Conviction, Brady Violations, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights

Sixth Circuit: Statute of Limitations for § 1983 Claim Accrues When Criminal Proceedings are Terminated by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled on March 15, 2018, that a claim for prosecutorial misconduct, brought by a wrongfully convicted defendant, does not …

Sixth Circuit Suppresses Evidence Where Triggering Event Specified in Anticipatory Search Warrant Never Occurred

Article • June 16, 2018 • from CLN July, 2018

Filed under: Police Searches, Search warrants, Fourth Amendment, rights

Sixth Circuit Suppresses Evidence Where Triggering Event Specified in Anticipatory Search Warrant Never Occurred by Richard Resch by Richard Resch In an opinion issued on April 4, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the suppression of evidence ostensibly obtained pursuant to an anticipatory search warrant …

In the Public Interest - An Examination of Private Financing for Correctional and Immigration Detention Facilities, 2018

Publication • June 1, 2018

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Staff-Staff Assault, Private Prisons, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, GEO Group/Wackenhut, Prison Industries, Workplace Injury, Work Conditions/Safety, Prison Gangs, Staffing, Security Systems, Guard Brutality/Beatings

In the Public Interest - An Examination of Private Financing for Correctional and Immigration Detention Facilities, 2018 An examination of private financing for correctional and immigration detention facilities Report · In the Public Interest · June 2018 While governments have traditionally used municipal bonds to finance the construction of correctional …

Imprisoned for Offering Oral Sex: Ill-Founded Laws Criminalize People With HIV

Article • May 1, 2018

Filed under: Discrimination, Racial Discrimination, Medical, HIV/AIDS, Fair Housing Act, Federal Housing Act, Health Care Quality Improvement Act

Imprisoned for Offering Oral Sex: Ill-Founded Laws Criminalize People With HIV by By Eleanor J. Bader, Truthout | Report  Eighteen months ago, in September 2017, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) finally recognized reality, posting on their website that "suppressing HIV through antiretroviral therapy (ART) prevents sexual transmission of HIV." This was …

Forfeiture Funds Fancy Food for Officials

Article • March 1, 2018

Filed under: Police Misconduct, Forfeiture, Property

Forfeiture Funds Fancy Food for Officials by Edward Lyon by Edward B. Lyon Federal laws allow state and local police agencies to seize private property and keep it whether or not its rightful owner is charged with or convicted of a crime. States participating in the equitable sharing forfeiture program …

ABA: Tennessee Court Violates Misdemeanants Right to Counsel

Article • February 22, 2018

Filed under: Attorneys, Appointment of Counsel, Public Defenders

ABA: Tennessee Court Violates Misdemeanants Right to Counsel by David Reutter by David Reutter At the request of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice, Arch City Defenders of St. Louis conducted a court watching program of Tennessee's Davison County General Sessions Criminal Court in …

Keeping Kids and Parents Parents Together, a Healthier Approach to Sentencing in Tennessee, 2018

Publication • February 15, 2018

Filed under: Sentencing, Children of Prisoners

Keeping Kids and Parents Parents Together, a Healthier Approach to Sentencing in Tennessee, 2018 Keeping Kids and Parents Together A Healthier Approach to Sentencing in Tennessee February 2018 humanimpact.org Executive Summary It carries on throughout their life that their mother or father had to go away for a while. If …

Organizations Acting as Government Subject to Public Records, Open Meetings Laws

Article • February 8, 2018

Filed under: Open Meetings, Public Records

Organizations Acting as Government Subject to Public Records, Open Meetings Laws by David Reutter by David Reutter A Tennessee Court of Appeals reversed a trial court’s decision that the Jefferson County Economics Development and Oversight Committee, Inc. (EDOC) is not subject to provisions of the State Public Records and Open …

To What End, Assessing the Impact of the Knox County Jail's Ban on In-Person Visits

Publication • January 29, 2018

Filed under: Visiting, Attorney Visits, Extended Family Visiting, Video Visitation

To What End, Assessing the Impact of the Knox County Jail's Ban on In-Person Visits To What End?: Assessing the Impact of the Knox County Jail’s Ban on In-Person Visits Face To Face Knox Knoxville, TN January 29, 2018 Introduction Since April 2014, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office has banned …

Misdemeanor Defendants Facing Jail Time Not Told They Have a Right to Counsel, Bar Association Finds

Article • January 19, 2018 • from CLN February, 2018

Filed under: Criminal Prosecution, Public Defenders, Criminal Procedure

Misdemeanor Defendants Facing Jail Time Not Told They Have a Right to Counsel, Bar Association Finds by Topher Sanders by Topher Sanders, ProPublica American Bar Association monitors report misdemeanor defendants in Nashville often aren’t told they are entitled to a lawyer even when their charges mean they could end up behind …

Willful Violation of Tennessee FOIA Occurs by Requiring Unauthorized Fees

Article • December 22, 2017

Filed under: Freedom of Information Act

Willful Violation of Tennessee FOIA Occurs by Requiring Unauthorized Fees by A Tennessee state appellate court reversed a trial court’s ruling that a custodian of records’ denial of access to public records was “not willful." The court found the denial was “willful." Where the prior ruling prevented the trial court from …

Tennessee’s Death Penalty on Hold

Article • December 22, 2017

Filed under: Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty, Death Row

Tennessee’s Death Penalty on Hold by David Reutter by David M. Reutter Capital punishment is on hold in Tennessee. The Tennessee Supreme Court halted execution to allow lower courts to hold hearings on the new lethal injection protocol. Meanwhile, attorneys for death row prisoners are arguing the death penalty is …

Tennessee Supreme Court Clarifies Split Confinement Sentence Procedures

Article • December 19, 2017 • from CLN January, 2018

Filed under: Sentencing

Tennessee Supreme Court Clarifies Split Confinement Sentence Procedures by David Reutter by David Reutter In response to a federal district court’scertified questions of law, the Tennessee Supreme Court held that when imposing split confinement sentences under the Tennessee Sentencing Reform Act of 1989, a trial judge is authorized to fix …

Tennessee DOC Prison Audit

Publication • November 17, 2017

Tennessee DOC Prison Audit STATE OF TENNESSEE COMPTROLLER OF THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION Performance Audit Report November 2017 Justin P. Wilson, Comptroller Division of State Audit Sunset Performance Section DEBORAH V. LOVELESS, CPA, CGFM, CGMA Director JOSEPH SCHUSSLER, CPA, CGFM Assistant Director DENA W. WINNINGHAM, CGFM Audit Manager Vincent …