In the week of January 1, 2001, a lawsuit alleging false arrest and an
unconstitutional strip search in retaliation for supporting a particular
candidate for district attorney settled for $50,000.

In 1999, while attending Gallup High School, Emily Ellison was actively
supporting Navajo causes and candidates for the 2000 elections in McKinley
County. On September 12, 1999, Ellison was cited for speeding 11 to 15
miles per hour over the limit and not carrying proof of financial
responsibility. Ellison later appeared before Judge Karl Gillson and filed
a demand for jury trial, which the judge granted. When McKinley County
District Attorney Mary Helen Baber and her two assistants, Michael Sanchez
and Gerald Byers, learned of Ellison's request for a jury trial, they
allegedly decided to use the power of the state to punish her for
supporting Baber's competition for district attorney.

On November 5, 1999, Ellison received a second ticket for speeding 1 to 10
miles per hour over the limit. The case was assigned to Judge Rhoda Hunt
but Ellison initially appeared before Judge Gillson. She pled not guilty
and requested postponement of the bench trial until after Christmas break
so she could go out of town to look ...

In 1998, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) paid $60,000 to settle a
lawsuit filed by the father of a prisoner who died from a drug overdose at
a CCA-operated prison.

Hugh Wayne Martin, a Texas state prisoner, was transferred to the Venus
Pre-release Detention Center in September 1995. The prison ...

A Delaware Chancery Court denied a motion to dismiss filed by Prison Health
Services, Inc. The motion sought to dismiss the complaint of Up and Up
Health Services, Inc. Both companies were bidding for a contract to provide
managed health care services to the Immigration and Naturalization Services
(INS). The complaint, stated a Vice President of Up and UP in charge of'
its INS project was recruited by PHS with an offer of double his salary and
a promise of a substantial bonus if UP and UP was awarded the INS contract.
PHS used the Vice President's knowledge of Up and Ups trade secret to bid
the project, which remained ongoing. Up- and Up sought injunctive relief.
Precluding PHS from using its propriety information in furtherance of the
INS bid effort and use of the Vice President with his confidential
information in the effort; also sought was monetary damages for the harm.
The court held that as the bidding process was ongoing, injunctive relief
could be granted to stop the use of the trade secrets, and as monetary
damages alone would not be adequate relief, dismissal was inappropriate.
See: BCE Emergis Corporation v. Prison Health Services, 2001 WL 695538
(Del. ...

On May 16, 2002, a jury found Correctional Medical Services (CMS) of
Illinois and Kane County liable for the death of Ethel Hare--a prisoner
with chronic liver disease, hepatitis, and HIV--and awarded her estate
$450,000.

While imprisoned in the Kane County Jail, Hare sought medical care from
CMS--the jail's for-profit ...

On July 28, 2003, the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a district
court to reconsider whether the State of Missouri could confiscate a
prisoner's judgment against a prison medical provider under the state's
cost of incarceration statute.

Acting pro se, Edward Allen Moore, a Missouri state prisoner, was ...

Florida's Second District Court of Appeal has affirmed an order of a Polk
County Circuit Court that held Prison Health Services (PHS) must comply
with Florida's Public Records Act.

The Lakeland Ledger Publishing Company sought records pertaining to a
settlement agreement reached to resolve litigation resulting from the
treatment of a prisoner. The Circuit Court ordered PHS to produce those
records.

In so holding, the Court held the PHS contracted to act on behalf of the
Sheriff by providing medical services and all its records that would
normally be subject to the Public Records Act if in the possession of the
public agency are likewise covered by that law even though in the
possession of PHS, a private corporation.

The Circuit Court's order was affirmed. See: Prison Health Services v. The
Lakeland Ledger Publishing Company, 718 So.2d 204 (Fla. 2nd Dist. 1998).

A Delaware Superior Court has denied a motion to dismiss a complaint
alleging First Correctional Medical (FCM) was deliberately indifferent to
the serious medical needs of prisoner Gregory D. Smith, causing his death.

The suit alleged FCM's policies, procedures, and customs displayed a
continuous deliberate indifference to prisoners' serious medical needs by;
(1) failure to hire a regional medical director to oversee incarcerated
prisoners; (2) failure to maintain adequate staffing levels of nurses and
physicians at the infirmary; (3) practice of refusing to authorize
necessary outside medical care when it was believed the prisoner would be
released soon; (4) practice of medical care by telephone; (5) practice of
routinely withholding medical treatment for profit; and (6) establishment
of an HMO type organization whereby all outside medical referrals must be
approved by FCM headquarters in Arizona which has resulted in substantial
delay and denial of necessary treatment by individuals who were without
adequate knowledge to make such determinations.

FCM conceded that Smith had serious medical needs of sickle cell disease,
wound treatment and rheumatoid arthritis. The complaint alleged
absolutely zero effort to treat Smith's medical conditions. As such, the
court held a cause of action was stated and denied FCM's motion ...

On February 8, 1996, Geraldine Seale, a Florida state prisoner, complained
to the state Human Relations Commission (Commission) about the medical care
she was receiving. The Commission didn't make a reasonable cause
determination within 180 days as required by Fla. Stat. ch. 760.11(8). On
March 13, 1998 Seale filed suit against the prison health care company,
EMSA Correctional Care, Inc., in state court. The trial court dismissed,
finding that Seale had exceeded the one-year statute of limitations in
filing her lawsuit. Relying on Joshua v. City of Gainesville, 734 So.2d
1065; 735 So.2d 1285 (Fla.2d DCA 1999), which was pending in the state
Supreme Court, the appellate court affirmed. Seale appealed.

On appeal, the Supreme Court of Florida first noted that it had reversed
Hoshua in the interim. It then found that the four-year statute of
limitations for statutory causes of action, such as Seales', applied,
citing Fla. Stat. ch. 95.11(3)(f). The lower courts were reversed and the
case remanded to the trial court for further proceedings. See: Seale v.
EMSA Correctional Care, Inc., 767 So.2d 1188 (Fla. 2000).

Correctional Medical Care, Inc. (CMC) entered into a contract with MHM
Services, Inc. (MHM) to jointly bid for a health care contract at a prison
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. MHM later had secret meetings with the city
of Philadelphia and was awarded the contract, cutting CMC out of the deal
entirely. CMC sued MHM, the city, the Philadelphia Prison System (PPS) and
others. The PPS objected contending that, as a municipal agency, it was
immune from suit.

Citing Title 53 P.S. 16257, the court found that "all suits growing out of
City department transactions shall be in the name of the City of
Philadelphia." On that basis the court agreed that PPS was immune from
suit and dismissed the PPS. The suit against all other defendants was
allowed to continue. See: Correctional Medical Care, Inc. v. City of
Philadelphia, Common Pleas Court of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania,
Civil Trial Division No. 3980 (2004)

GA Prisoners Seeking to Appeal the Denial of a Motion to Intervene Must
Apply for Interlocutory Review

Prison Health Services, Inc. (PHS) was awarded a contract to provide health
care to prisoners in the Georgia prison system. Later, the state changed
its mind and gave the contract to another corporation. PHS sued the state
in state court for breach of contract, and Albert Thomas, a Georgia state
prisoner, filed a motion to intervene. The court denied Thomas' motion to
intervene, and without applying for interlocutory review, he appealed.

On appeal, the Supreme Court of Georgia found that O.C.G.A. § 5-6-34 (B)
required parties seeking to appeal the denial of a motion to intervene to
first have granted an application for interlocutory review. Since Thomas
hadn't done so, his appeal was dismissed. See: Prison Health Services, Inc.
v. Georgia Dept. of Admin. Services, 265 Ga 810 (GA 1995).