Generally, jail officials have substantial discretion in operating a jail, and inmates do not have the same liberties as those not incarcerated. This applies to reading material. In Koger v. Dart, an inmate sued the Cook County Sheriff, claiming that the Jail’s “three-book policy” violated his First Amendment rights. A federal judge dismissed the claim…
Read MoreKenyatta Bridges, a Cook County inmate, was given a medical order for a low bunk. He didn’t get assigned to a low bunk, and, when he fell off the top bunk, he sued. He made a Monell claim, alleging that the Cook County Sheriff had a policy and practice of ignoring low bunk permits. He…
Read MoreIn Mercado v. Livingston County, U.S. District Court Judge Bruce granted summary judgment to a Livingston County jail superintendent and correctional officer, as well as a jail nurse, in a suit brought by a pretrial detainee over the adequacy of medical care he received at the jail. The inmate claimed that his abdominal pain complaints…
Read MoreThe Illinois Appellate Court, Third District, affirmed the dismissal of an inmate’s claims under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) in favor of the Kankakee County Sheriff in Shehadeh v. Downey, 2020 IL App (3d) 170158-U. Plaintiff, Jamal Shehadeh, was a federal detainee housed at the Jerome Combs Detention Center (“JCDC”) in Kankakee County….
Read MoreJuries in law enforcement cases these days can be unpredictable. So ,when a jury returns a verdict in favor of a cop in an excessive force case, it is cause for celebration. On December 17, 2019, a federal jury in Rockford found that a DeKalb County Deputy Sheriff did not use excessive force against a jail…
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