The HCBullet: The blog of the Attorneys at HCB

Court Grants Summary Judgment in Favor of Jail Nurses on Inmate’s Deliberate Indifference Claim

August 8, 2017

In Laureano v. Doe, et al., No. 14-cv-2144, U.S. District Court Judge James Shadid granted summary judgment in favor of nurses employed by the county jail on Plaintiff Gilberto Laureano’s deliberate indifference claims. The plaintiff-inmate suffered from a litany of medical conditions necessitating multiple surgeries and continuing treatment. He alleged that the defendants failed to…

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Court Rules That Jail’s Strip Search Policy is Constitutional

August 8, 2017

Judge Tom Schanzle-Haskins of the U.S. District Court of Central Illinois granted summary judgment in favor of Kankakee County Sheriff, the Chief of Corrections, and jail staff in Jackson v. Bukowski, et al., No. 16-cv-2050. Plaintiff Brandon Jackson claimed that his constitutional rights were violated when he was strip searched by the correctional officers on…

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Illinois Appellate Court Affirms Judgment For Police Officers in Beaman’s Malicious Prosecution Case

August 8, 2017

Malicious prosecution lawsuits are particularly hard fought and personal for criminal suspects and police officers alike. Often a criminal suspect who has had his conviction reversed will sue the officers and prosecutors involved in his prosecution, alleging that they acted wrongfully or maliciously in pursuant of a conviction. In a recent decision in Beaman v….

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Seventh Circuit Finds Correctional Staff Deliberately Indifferent to Inmate’s Back Pain

July 26, 2017

In Lewis v. McLean, No. 16-1220, the Seventh Circuit Appellate Court found that a Wisconsin prisoner had presented sufficient evidence that the prison staff had caused unnecessarily prolonged pain to survive summary judgment. The lower court had granted summary judgment to the prison staff and the Seventh Circuit reversed. The prisoner, James Lewis, claimed that he experienced…

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PAC Issued New FOIA Guide for Law Enforcement

July 26, 2017

The Illinois Attorney General Public Access Counselor updated its FOIA Guide for Law Enforcement. The Guide provides further guidance from PAC on how to respond to FOIA requests. Although directed at law enforcement agencies, the Guide is useful for all public entities as it contains generally applicable recommendations as well as law enforcement specific guidelines….

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