The Commander's Log is a publication designed to place the most recent Maryland cases (state and federal) impacting correctional facilities in the hands of administrators, supervisors, and officers. Each issue provides a synopsis of the case and an explanatory note as to how the court's ruling can best be implemented in day to day practice at detention facilities.

Most Recent Commander's Logs

• February 2020: Strip Searches of Visitors
• December 2019: Due Process and Pretrial Detainees Confined in Disciplinary or Administrative Segregation
• June 2019: Inmate Access to the Courts
• December 2018: HIPAA, Privacy, and Disclosure of an Inmate’s Medical Information
• May 2018: Use of Force Against Pretrial Detainees

Case Search by Subject

Excessive Force Failure to Protect / Prison Conditions Claims Grievance Procedures / Prison Regulations / PLRA Inmate Medical Care / Prisoner Suicides Public Information Act

Search and Seizure / Strip Searches / Mail Monitoring Supervisory Liability Termination of Correctional Officers Commander's Log by Date

Excessive Force

• May 2018: Use of Force Against Pretrial Detainees
• January 2018: Use of Pepper Spray in Correctional Facilities
• June 2014: Safety Restraint Chairs, Humane Restraint Beds and Claims of Excessive Force
• December 2013: An Inmate’s Insults and Verbal Attacks Are Not a License to Use Excessive Force
• June 2010: Regardless of how extreme the allegations, an inmate’s lawsuit cannot survive absent supportive evidence
• March 2010: Reason for Applying Force, as Opposed to Injury Sustained, is Key to Analyzing Inmate's Use of Force Claim
• September 2008: Consequences of Using Pepper Spray or Other Chemical Agents in Amounts Greater Than Necessary
• December 2005: The “State of Mind” Component of a Federal Excessive Force Claim Against a Correctional Officer
• September 2005: Inmates’ Federal Excessive Force Claims Require More Than Minor or Insignificant Injury

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Failure to Protect / Prison Conditions Claims

• December 2019: Due Process and Pretrial Detainees Confined in Disciplinary or Administrative Segregation
• June 2019: Inmate Access to the Courts
• March 2017: Detention Centers and the Americans with Disabilities Act
• April 2015: The Need for a Religious Diet Versus the Needs of a Detention Center
• March 2014: Religious ‘Sincerity’ Tests and the First Amendment
• December 2012: Inmate Suits for Injunctive Relief
• September 2012: The Constitutional Rights of Pre-Trial Detainees are Coextensive With Those of Convicted Prisoners
• March 2012: Prisoner Lawsuits Based On Adequacy of Detention Center Foodservice
• September 2011: Inmates' constitutional right to access the courts through law libraries and/or other legal assistance
• December 2010: The impact of gang affiliation on failure-to-protect claims under Section 1983
• June 2010: Regardless of how extreme the allegations, an inmate’s lawsuit cannot survive absent supportive evidence
• September 2006: Inmate's Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) as a Basis of Liability Under 42 U.S.C. § 1983
• March 2005: What an Inmate Must Show to Establish a Claim for a Failure to Protect From Violence

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Grievance Procedures / Prison Regulations / PLRA

• September 2013: Due Process and Loss of Diminution Credits
• June 2013: Inmates' Constitutional Right to Visitation
• June 2012: PLRA Exhaustion Requirements and Inmate Transfers
• September 2010: Access to administrative remedies, including grievance procedures, is not a constitutional right
• June 2009: The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals' Examination of the 'Three Strike Rule' under the Prison Litigation Reform Act
• June 2008: Inmates in State or local correctional facilities may challenge the revocation of diminution credits
• March 2008: Detention Center Grievances Do Not Need To Name Particular Defendants In Order To Satisfy The Exhaustion Requirements Of The Prison Litigation Reform Act
• December 2007: Defending Correctional Regulations Against Constitutional Challenge
• December 2006: The Prison Litigation Reform Act’s Requirement That An Inmate Exhaust His Administrative Remedies Prior To Filing Suit Applies Even If The Inmate Is Confined At A Drug Treatment Facility

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Inmate Medical Care / Prisoner Suicides

• December 2018: HIPAA, Privacy, and Disclosure of an Inmate’s Medical Information
• March 2018: Inmate Suits Based on an Ongoing Denial of Medical Care and the Statute of Limitations
• July 2015: Mental Health Screening for Suicidal Tendencies
• January 2015: Carrying Out the Doctor’s Orders
• September 2014: The Evidence Needed to Defend an Inmate’s Denial of Medical Care Claim
• June 2011: The importance of addressing each and every claim in a prisoner lawsuit
• March 2009: Right of Inmates to Refuse Medical Treatment
• March 2007: A Corrections Officer Is Not Obligated To Ask An Inmate Whether He Needs Medical Care After An Altercation In Which It Is Apparent That The Inmate Did Not Sustain Serious Injury
• June 2006: Requirements of Inmate's Federal Constitutional Claims for a Denial of Adequate Medical Care
• March 2006: Liability of Correctional Supervisors and Local Governments for Suicide Committed by a Pretrial Detainee

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Public Information Act

• March 2011: Wardens as Custodians of Records Under the Public Information Act

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Search & Seizure / Strip Searches / Mail Monitoring

• February 2020: Strip Searches of Visitors
• March 2013: The Constitutional Limits of Strip Searches of Arrestees Who Are Not Going to be Admitted to the General Population
• December 2011: The constitutionality of intercepting an inmate’s private mail as part of an ongoing criminal investigation
• September 2008: Consequences of Using Pepper Spray or Other Chemical Agents in Amounts Greater Than Necessary
• December 2008: The Constitutional Limits Upon Strip Searches
• September 2007: Monitoring Of A Prisoner’s General Incoming Mail By Prison Staff Does Not Infringe A Sender’s First Amendment Rights
• June 2007: Detention Center Wardens Should Frequently Review Strip Search Policies To Ensure That They Meet Constitutional Requirements

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Supervisory Liability

• June 2005: Liability of Supervisors in Federal Civil Rights Lawsuits

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Termination of Correctional Officers

• July 2016: The Authority of the Maryland Correctional Training Commission to Decertify
• December 2009: Wrongful Termination of Correctional Officer Under Title VII of Civil Rights Act

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Commander's Log by Date

• February 2020: Strip Searches of Visitors
• December 2019: Due Process and Pretrial Detainees Confined in Disciplinary or Administrative Segregation
• June 2019: Inmate Access to the Courts
• December 2018: HIPAA, Privacy, and Disclosure of an Inmate’s Medical Information
• May 2018: Use of Force Against Pretrial Detainees
• March 2018: Inmate Suits Based on an Ongoing Denial of Medical Care and the Statute of Limitations
• January 2018: Use of Pepper Spray in Correctional Facilities
• July 2017: Administrative Hearings, Criminal Trials, and Double Jeopardy
• March 2017: Detention Centers and the Americans with Disabilities Act
• July 2016: The Authority of the Maryland Correctional Training Commission to Decertify
• July 2015: Mental Health Screening for Suicidal Tendencies
• April 2015: The Need for a Religious Diet Versus the Needs of a Detention Center
• January 2015: Carrying Out the Doctor’s Orders
• September 2014: The Evidence Needed to Defend an Inmate’s Denial of Medical Care Claim
• June 2014: Safety Restraint Chairs, Humane Restraint Beds and Claims of Excessive Force
• March 2014: Religious ‘Sincerity’ Tests and the First Amendment
• December 2013: An Inmate’s Insults and Verbal Attacks Are Not a License to Use Excessive Force
• September 2013: Due Process and Loss of Diminution Credits
• June 2013: Inmates' Constitutional Right to Visitation
• March 2013: The Constitutional Limits of Strip Searches of Arrestees Who Are Not Going to be Admitted to the General Population
• December 2012: Inmate Suits for Injunctive Relief
• September 2012: The Constitutional Rights of Pre-Trial Detainees are Coextensive With Those of Convicted Prisoners
• June 2012: PLRA Exhaustion Requirements and Inmate Transfers
• March 2012: Prisoner Lawsuits Based On Adequacy of Detention Center Foodservice
• December 2011: The constitutionality of intercepting an inmate’s private mail as part of an ongoing criminal investigation
• September 2011: Inmates' constitutional right to access the courts through law libraries and/or other legal assistance
• June 2011: The importance of addressing each and every claim in a prisoner lawsuit
• March 2011: Wardens as Custodians of Records Under the Public Information Act
• December 2010: The impact of gang affiliation on failure-to-protect claims under Section 1983
• September 2010: Access to administrative remedies, including grievance procedures, is not a constitutional right
• June 2010: Regardless of how extreme the allegations, an inmate’s lawsuit cannot survive absent supportive evidence
• March 2010: Reason for Applying Force, as Opposed to Injury Sustained, is Key to Analyzing Inmate's Use of Force Claim
• December 2009: Wrongful Termination of Correctional Officer Under Title VII of Civil Rights Act
• September 2009: Limited Protection for Inmates' Non-Privileged Mail Under the Fourth Amendment
• June 2009: The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals' Examination of the 'Three Strike Rule' under the Prison Litigation Reform Act
• March 2009: Right of Inmates to Refuse Medical Treatment
• December 2008: The Constitutional Limits Upon Strip Searches
• September 2008: Consequences of Using Pepper Spray or Other Chemical Agents in Amounts Greater Than Necessary
• June 2008: Inmates in State or local correctional facilities may challenge the revocation of diminution credits
• March 2008: Detention Center Grievances Do Not Need To Name Particular Defendants In Order To Satisfy The Exhaustion Requirements Of The Prison Litigation Reform Act
• December 2007: Defending Correctional Regulations Against Constitutional Challenge
• September 2007: Monitoring Of A Prisoner’s General Incoming Mail By Prison Staff Does Not Infringe A Sender’s First Amendment Rights
• June 2007: Detention Center Wardens Should Frequently Review Strip Search Policies To Ensure That They Meet Constitutional Requirements
• March 2007: A Corrections Officer Is Not Obligated To Ask An Inmate Whether He Needs Medical Care After An Altercation In Which It Is Apparent That The Inmate Did Not Sustain Serious Injury
• December 2006: The Prison Litigation Reform Act’s Requirement That An Inmate Exhaust His Administrative Remedies Prior To Filing Suit Applies Even If The Inmate Is Confined At A Drug Treatment Facility
• September 2006: Inmate's Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) as a Basis of Liability Under 42 U.S.C. § 1983
• June 2006: Requirements of Inmate's Federal Constitutional Claims for a Denial of Adequate Medical Care
• March 2006: Liability of Correctional Supervisors and Local Governments for Suicide Committed by a Pretrial Detainee
• December 2005: The “State of Mind” Component of a Federal Excessive Force Claim Against a Correctional Officer
• September 2005: Inmates’ Federal Excessive Force Claims Require More Than Minor or Insignificant Injury
• June 2005: Liability of Supervisors in Federal Civil Rights Lawsuits
• March 2005: What an Inmate Must Show to Establish a Claim for a Failure to Protect From Violence

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