Latest news with #FirstandFourteenthAmendment
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Nonprofit law firm sues Ohio corrections department over handling of inmates' legal mail
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A method some Ohio prisons use to prevent drugs from being trafficked into facilities through the mail is being challenged in court, with a nonprofit law firm claiming it invades inmates' privacy. The Ohio Justice and Policy Center filed a lawsuit on May 6 against senior managers of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction over the screening of mail between inmates and their attorneys. 'The paramount aspect of an attorney-client relationship is trust,' said Gabe Davis, OJPC Chief Executive Officer. 'This policy undermines that trust and opens the door for private correspondence to be viewed with total disregard for our client's civil rights and our First Amendment rights. We are suing the department because this has to stop now.' At the center of the lawsuit is the department's 'Legal Mail Policy Variance,' which instructs prison staff to make a photo copy of legal mail in front of the inmate it is addressed to, then give them the copy and shred the original. The practice is intended to secure legal mail and ensure contraband does not enter prisons. The policy was introduced at four of the 28 prisons the state oversees in winter and spring of 2024, including the Southern Ohio Correctional Institution, Marion Correctional Institution, Lebanon Correctional Institution and Ross Correctional Institution. 'The Legal Mail Policy Variance replaces a brief process of opening and inspecting legal mail with an extended process of copying and shredding that allows for many opportunities to read confidential legal mail,' the filing reads. The lawsuit alleges the policy has resulted in at least one confirmed instance of a staff member reading an inmates' legal mail, which was copied out of the incarcerated person's presence. The nonprofit law firm claims in the suit that it often receives mail from inmates containing allegations of misconduct by specific corrections officers, which could lead to retaliation if read by the employee. 'If our clients can't trust that they can be fully honest with us, we can't do our jobs,' said Lizett Martinez Schreiber, the managing attorney with OJPC. 'As attorneys, we have a duty to maintain trust. If the incarcerated people we work with feel like their mail is being monitored they won't be as transparent in their letters, fearing repercussions.' Other mail in Ohio prisons are opened and scanned by staff, before being delivered to inmates on an electronic tablet. The lawsuit only addresses legal mail practices, and does not challenge the handling of any other kind of mail. Drugs known as K2 or Spice, a synthetic cannabinoid, can be sprayed onto paper, incorporated into ink and otherwise concealed within mail, according to the chemical detection company 908 Devices. This can make it difficult to detect drugs visually, therefore many prisons have moved to photocopying mail in recent years. The civil rights suit claims the legal mail policy violates inmates First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, including their rights to freedom of speech and due process. The legal filing seeks to require the four correctional institutions to halt this policy and return to its original process. A spokeswoman for Ohio's corrections department said the state agency does not comment on pending litigation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Yahoo
Settlement reached in Morgantown panhandling lawsuit
MORGANTOWN, (WBOY) — The City of Morgantown has reached a settlement in a lawsuit that alleged that its city code violated people's right to solicit money. A lawsuit filed in April 2024 claimed that city's enforcement of Morgantown City Ordinance Section § 371.10, which 'prohibits persons from using the spoken, written, or printed word, bodily gestures, signs or other means to solicit immediate donations of money or other things of value,' violated panhandlers' First and Fourteenth Amendment rights between April 2022 and May 2024. Under the proposed settlement agreement which was filed on Wednesday, the city will be required to advertise that anyone who who was convicted under the ordinance will be cleared and anyone who paid fines or court costs associated with the ordinance will be reimbursed. The the city must also pay $25,000 to Mountain State Justice and $10,000 to the named plaintiff. Construction on WVU band facility to begin in March The proposed settlement must be approved by a federal court before it takes effect. The full settlement proposal is available to read here. The ordinance had already been repealed prior to the settlement. Morgantown City Ordinance Section § 371.10 is different from Monongalia County's Pedestrian and Vehicle Safety Ordinance, which was passed in October 2023 and prevents people along roads from loitering or interacting with drivers. A lawsuit was filed against the Monongalia County ordinance in December, alleging that it violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fox News
18-02-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Christian physician assistant fired for opposition to trans policy has day in court
A Christian physician assistant who says she was wrongfully terminated because of her religious objections to her employer's transgender affirming policy finally had her day in court, over three years after she lost her job. Valerie Kloosterman worked for 17 years as a physician assistant for Metro Health Caledonia, a rural outpatient clinic operated by the University of Michigan Health-West (UMHW). She was terminated in August 2021 after allegedly seeking religious accommodation in order to not be forced to use patients' preferred pronouns or refer patients for transgender surgical procedures and drugs. Law firms First Liberty and Clement & Murphy, PLLC, filed a lawsuit against UMHW, accusing the health system of violating Kloosterman's First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, and equal protection; and violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when she was terminated from her job. Michigan attorneys James Wieranga and David J. Williams also filed the suit on Kloosterman's behalf. After years of legal delays to Kloosterman's case, her attorneys were able to deliver oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on February 6. Kloosterman told Fox News Digital that shortly before her termination from UMHW, she was required to complete a diversity training module that required her to affirm statements concerning sexual orientation and gender identity that went against her Christian faith. "Two of those questions specifically stated that gender was fluid. I couldn't put, 'No, I don't believe that, as we were made in the image of God, it's something that God designed us to be. It's not something that we're assigned with at birth.' But I couldn't put, 'No.' It wouldn't let me complete the mandatory survey, and they had already stated you would be terminated if you didn't fill it out," she said. Kloosterman said that during her 17 years of practice, she had treated LGBT patients the same as any other patient and without any conflicts. She said she had never encountered a situation where she was compelled to use a patient's chosen pronouns. When she sought a religious exemption through HR for the hypothetical situation, several meetings ensued. At her final meeting before her termination, Kloosterman claims she was berated by UMHW's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) program coordinator over her religious beliefs. "The meeting became hostile. This individual called me a liar for stating that I saw patients of the LGBT community and had no issues, no concerns with them. He said that I was 'evil' because I wouldn't consider referring these patients for gender-changing surgery," she said. This same DEI official also allegedly mocked her faith and told her she would cause transgender patients to commit suicide by not affirming their pronouns, the suit says. Kloosterman said that leadership told her the conversation would continue at another time. But a month later, she was abruptly called into the office and fired on the spot, the lawsuit says. "I was not given a chance to close my chart. I was not given a chance to tell my patients. I was not even allowed to go back to the office to get my personal belongings," she told Fox News Digital. Kloosterman said she left the office stunned that her employer would fire her because of her religious opposition to a hypothetical situation. She was also heartbroken that her patients, whom she had built long-term relationships with, would be left in the dark as to why she was suddenly no longer their provider. "I had several patients in my mind that I thought 'I have diagnoses I need to tell them'… I had promised that I would call them back. And I couldn't do that. And I was breaking that promise to them. I didn't know how to help them... You have so many things going through your mind. 'How could I let them down and not explain to them?'" she said. While the ordeal has tested her faith, it's also opened up conversations with her sons about what it means to trust in God's provision when times are hard, Kloosterman said. "This is not my battle or my journey, right?" she said of these conversations with her family. "This is about God and glorifying God and being faithful and being honest and knowing that I need to do that every step of the way. If it's emotional, if it's hard, if it means losing my job, I have to do that. That is what it is to be a Christian. And I wear that hopefully glorifying God every day." The lawsuit states that Kloosterman was an "exemplary" employee who had never been subject to discipline up to the point of her firing. She had a "stellar" reputation with her patients, and "gladly served" patients of all different beliefs and backgrounds, including those who identified as lesbian, gay, or experiencing gender dysphoria, according to court documents. Kloosterman filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and First Liberty sued after the health system allegedly refused their request to reinstate Kloosterman. They are seeking monetary damages, equitable relief, and for Kloosterman to be reinstated to UMHW with accommodation for issues surrounding transgender pronouns and surgery referrals. UMHW did not respond to a request for comment. In a previous statement regarding the lawsuit, UMHW told Fox News Digital, "University of Michigan Health-West is committed to providing appropriate medical treatment to all patients and respects the religious beliefs of its employees. We are confident Ms. Kloosterman's claims, like those she filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, are without merit." The healthcare system boasts of its DEI values on its website and says that it has been nationally recognized for its commitment to LGBTQ patients. "UM Health-West is the highest-scoring system in Grand Rapids area and earns designation as an LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Top Performer," its website says. During his first days in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to restrict "chemical and surgical" sex-change procedures for minors. Several children's hospitals and clinics across the country have disregarded the order and vowed to continue offering transgender medical treatments to patients. Fox News' Jon Brown contributed to this article.
