In an en banc opinion released yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the search of a male jail inmate by a female cadet, who touched his thighs, buttocks, and genital areas while other officers watched, amounted to an unreasonable search in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Just Detention International
In a decision released today, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s ruling that officials who retaliated against a prisoner when she reported being raped by a prison staff member were immune from litigation. Speaking for the Court in Ortiz v. Jordan, Justice Ginsberg highlighted pre-existing law establishing that officials can be held liable
At long last, yesterday the Department of Justice launched its 60-day public comment period on proposed national standards addressing sexual abuse in detention. In an extensive report, the Department also released, for the first time, its own estimate of the number of inmates who endured sexual abuse while behind bars in a one-year period: 216,600.
According to a study released today by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), even in substantiated cases of staff sexually abusing inmates, only half of the abusive officials were subject to any legal action. Indeed, 15 percent of confirmed staff abusers were allowed to keep their jobs. Such high levels of impunity are shocking considering
National Standards Represent Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity for Attorney General Eric Holder to End Sexual Abuse in U.S. Corrections Facilities Washington, DC, March 29, 2011. Next Monday (April 4, 2011) marks the end of the final public comment period on the Department of Justice’s proposed national standards to prevent, detect, and respond to sexual abuse in detention.