Police, Prisons & Criminal Justice

El Rey Police Raids (Jose Castaneda v. Woody Welch, et al., 2003CV8737)

Description:

In September 2002, Milwaukee police officers raided two Latino grocery stores for allegedly selling antibiotics without a prescription. A heavily armed “swat-team” assault force entered the stores with weapons pointed at employees, forced innocent employees to lie face down on the ground, and detained innocent employees for hours.

Forum:

Milwaukee Fire & Police Commission, Milw. Co. Circuit Court.

Attorneys:

John Ebbott, Ness Flores of Legal Action of Wisconsin; Peter Earle, Milwaukee; Neifor Acosta of McNally, Maloney & Peterson, Milwaukee; Poverty, Race & Civ. Lib. Atty.

City of Milw. v. Arthur Heitzer & Heitzer v. Rotrammel

Description:

Art Heitzer, acting as a legal observer at a March 24, 2003 protest against war in Iraq, approached a police officer to inquire about the confiscation of a demonstrator’s mock “missile” costume and to obtain her badge number. He was arrested and charged with incitement to riot, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. The police violated Mr. Heitzer’s rights of expression and association under the 1st Amendment and the 4th Amendment right to be free of unreasonable search and seizure.

Forum:

Milwaukee Municipal Court on ordinance charges; state or federal court on sec. 1983 claims.

Attorneys:

Michael Cohn of Zetley & Cohn, Milwaukee (on ordinance charge & sec. 1983 case); Patrick Patterson, Milwaukee; Curry First, Milwaukee; Jeralyn Wendelberger, Milwaukee; Peter Earle, Milwaukee; Legal Director.

Christensen et al. v. Sullivan

Description:

The Milwaukee County Criminal Justice Facility has been under a consent decree that settled a 1996 class-action lawsuit seeking to remedy overcrowding and inadequate medical care for prisoners. Plaintiffs’ attorneys recently uncovered extensive violations of the decree’s requirement that prisoners not be held in the booking room – which has no beds or showers and is frequently crowded and dangerous – for more than 30 hours.

Forum:

Milwaukee County Circuit Court

Attorneys:

Peter Koneazny of Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee; Curry First of First, Blondis, Albrecht & Novotnak, Milwaukee; Legal Director

Articles:

September 13, 2004 >> Legal Aid Society & ACLU Charge Milwaukee County With 13,000 Violations of Consent Decree to Run Jail Safely and Humanely FULL STORY

Documents:

Motion and Brief (PDF)

Inmate Complaint Procedures

Description:

Many prisons chronically fail to follow DOC inmate complaint procedures, resulting in a failure to address individual and systematic civil rights violations and sometimes depriving prisoners of due process entirely.

Forum:

Informal advocacy with DOC administration to make the procedures a more meaningful mechanism for addressing prisoners’ civil rights violations.

Attorneys:

Steve Porter of Porter Jablonski & Assoc., Madison; Dianne Greenley & Todd Winstrom of Wisconsin Coalition for Advocacy, Madison; Legal Director.