Deck 15: Legal Remedies Available to Prisoners

Question 1

All of the following were purposes for the hands-off doctrine EXCEPT:

A) Separation of powers
B) Lack of judicial expertise in penology
C) Fear that judicial intervention would subvert prison discipline
D) Fear of liability

Answer 1

Fear of liability

Question 2

A prisoner will have a difficult time suing their keepers because a private citizen may not sue a government unit or its agent without its consent. Under what doctrine is this true?

A) The Hands-Off Doctrine
B) Doctrine of Sovereign Immunity
C) Doctrine of Deference
D) None of the above

Answer 2

Doctrine of Sovereign Immunity

Question 3

What Amendment is the focus in Chapter 15?

A) The Fourth Amendment
B) The Sixth Amendment
C) The Eleventh Amendment
D) The Fourteenth Amendment

Answer 3

The Eleventh Amendment

Question 4

The Supreme Court in __________ held that a municipality is a person under §1983 because states are protected by the Eleventh Amendment, while municipalities are not.

A) Monell v. Department of Social Services
B) Wood v. Strickland
C) Procunier v. Navarette
D) Cruz v. Beto

Question 5

Under which of the following Acts did the federal government consent to be sued in certain situations?

A) The Civil Rights Act
B) The Federal Tort Claims Act
C) The Prison Litigation Reform Act
D) The Prison Rape Elimination Act

Question 6

Which of the following is true for settlement agreements and procedural issues?

A) Preventing excessive discovery
B) Protection of employees' personal information being disclosed
C) Keeping the standard of proof in civil case as "preponderance of the evidence"
D) All of the above

Question 7

All of the following are cases where prisoners may receive monetary damages EXCEPT:

A) Punitive damages if the wrongful act was done intentionally and maliciously
B) Nominal damages to vindicate the prisoner's rights, if no actual damages were sustained
C) Actual damages to compensate the prisoner for out-of-pocket expenses and mental suffering
D) Personal injury damages to compensate the prisoner for injuries, if mental suffering is not the only damage

Question 8

Which Supreme Court case established "good faith," where the official involved must act sincerely, and with a belief that he or she is doing right.

A) Monell v. Department of Social Services
B) Wood v. Strickland
C) Procunier v. Navarette
D) Cruz v. Beto

Question 9

In __________, the Court ruled that prison officials were not absolutely immune from liability but could rely on qualified immunity.

A) Wood v. Strickland
B) Procunier v. Navarette
C) Cruz v. Beto
D) Harlow v. Fitzgerald

Question 10

The case of __________ was an example of facts alleged by prison officials to justify their decisions and actions that were not proved in court.

A) Wood v. Strickland
B) Procunier v. Navarette
C) Cruz v. Beto
D) Harlow v. Fitzgerald

Question 11

Which Supreme Court case changed the doctrine of qualified immunity so more cases are disposed of at the pleading stage?

A) Wood v. Strickland
B) Procunier v. Navarette
C) Cruz v. Beto
D) Harlow v. Fitzgerald

Question 12

What is the name of the small class of judgments that are not complete and final but are immediately appealable?

A) Interlocutory appeals
B) Haphazard appeals
C) Injunction appeals
D) Subsequent appeals

Question 13

Which of the following are certain kinds of alleged sentencing errors that may be raised in a collateral proceeding in habeas corpus?

A) The sentence is greater than the statutory maximum
B) The sentence is otherwise subject to collateral attack
C) The district court was without jurisdiction to impose the sentence
D) All of the above

Question 14

Cooper v. Pate was an important step in the decline of the hands-off doctrine.

Question 15

The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits a federal court from hearing a suit by private parties seeking to impose a liability that must be paid from state treasury funds, unless the state has consented to such a suit or immunity is waived by a federal statute.

Question 16

Municipalities enjoy a constitutionally protected immunity from suit despite not being arms of the state.

Question 17

Many states have either totally or partially repealed the doctrine of sovereign immunity by judicial decision or by constitutional or statutory amendment.

Question 18

There is no longer any need to bring official capacity suits against officials of local government, because local government may be sued directly for damages and injunctive or declaratory relief.

Question 19

The federal remedy most frequently used today by state prisoners is § 1983 of the Civil Rights Act.

Question 20

For the purposes of liability under Wood v. Strickland, official policy may be created by custom, training, or by a policymaker.

Question 21

Under the continuing wrong doctrine, a cause of action for a continuous tort accrues and the limitations period begins when the wrongful conduct ceases.

Question 22

An injunction is a judicial order that requires the person to whom it is directed to do a particular thing or to refrain from doing it.

Question 23

Congress has the authority to abolish state protections under the Eleventh Amendment if it so desires.

Question 24

Under qualified immunity, it is not possible to maintain a civil action for personal damages against the individual, no matter how extensive the injuries or malicious intent.

Question 25

The Supreme Court, prison guards employed by private firms are not entitled to qualified immunity from suit by prisoners charging a § 1983 violation.

Question 26

Explain each policy creation method and the prevailing case law that may apply:
● Custom
● Training
● Policymaker

Question 27

Summarize the overall themes in cases where qualified immunity is granted and where it is denied.

Question 28

Discuss the differences between federal and state remedies.