Court eyes appeal over mentally ill inmate put in solitary
Legal Issues
A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments in a lawsuit filed by a Delaware prison inmate who claimed he was deprived of his constitutional rights by being placed into solitary confinement because of his mental illness.
The appeals court will hear arguments Wednesday in the case of Angelo Lee Clark, who also claimed he was deprived of his rights to adequate medical care while in solitary confinement.
Attorneys for Clark filed the appeal after a federal court jury ruled in favor of Delaware prison officials last year. The jury found that prison officials did not violate Clark’s rights by putting him in solitary confinement or denying adequate medical care.
Clark died in January at the age of 66. A family member is acting as the appellant in the case.
According to court records, Clark was held at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center from 2004 to 2019, when he was moved to a psychiatric facility.
While in prison, he was treated for serious mental illness, including manic depression, antisocial personality disorder and paranoid schizophrenia.
Clark was housed in solitary confinement for fifteen days in 2015 and for seven months in 2016.
Attorneys for Clark alleged that his placement in solitary confinement was in retaliation for his mental illness, loud voice, and minor rule infractions.
They argued among other things that holding a severely mentally ill inmate in solitary confinement when the harmful effects of such punishment are well known amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. Prison officials argued in a motion to dismiss that qualified immunity insulated them from liability for that claim. A trial court judge agreed but allowed the suit to proceed to the jury on other issues.
Related listings
-
Court upholds creation of national monument in Atlantic
Legal Issues 12/27/2019A federal appeals court on Friday upheld former President Barack Obama's designation of a federally protected conservation area in the Atlantic Ocean, a move that commercial fishermen oppose.Fishing groups sued over the creation of Northeast Canyons ...
-
Afghanistan probe appeal begins at Hague international court
Legal Issues 12/01/2019The Supreme Court considered Monday whether to dismiss the first gun rights case it has heard in nearly 10 years, an outcome that would come as a huge relief to gun-control advocates.The justices heard arguments in a dispute over New York City restri...
-
As ruling nears, immigrant fights for anti-deportation act
Legal Issues 11/10/2019A Mexican immigrant fighting President Donald Trump’s attempt to end a program shielding young immigrants from deportation says he is nervous about the case finally being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.Martin Batalla Vidal is a lead plaintiff ...
USCIS to Continue Implementing New Policy Memorandum on Notices to Appear
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is continuing to implement the June 28, 2018, Policy Memorandum (PM), Updated Guidance for the Referral of Cases and Issuance of Notices to Appear (NTAs) in Cases Involving Inadmissible and Deportable Aliens (PDF, 140 KB).
USCIS may issue NTAs as described below based on denials of I-914/I-914A, Application for T Nonimmigrant Status; I-918/I-918A, Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status; I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant (Violence Against Women Act self-petitions and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status petitions); I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petitions when the beneficiary is present in the US; I-929, Petition for Qualifying Family Member of a U-1 Nonimmigrant; and I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (with the underlying form types listed above).
If applicants, beneficiaries, or self-petitioners who are denied are no longer in a period of authorized stay and do not depart the United States, USCIS may issue an NTA. USCIS will continue to send denial letters for these applications and petitions to ensure adequate notice regarding period of authorized stay, checking travel compliance, or validating departure from the United States.