- Posted September 19, 2012
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Inmate loses trial over teeth
MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) -- Four years of litigation has ended with a one-day trial: A jury says Michigan prison officials are not responsible for an inmate's dental problems.
Jurors returned the verdict Monday in Marquette federal court. Jerry Flanory claims he lost a tooth in 2006 and suffered gum disease because he was denied toothpaste as a punishment for not attending prison classes.
But the Corrections Department had evidence that Flanory's bad tooth wasn't a new problem. He had only five of the typical 32 teeth when he entered prison. Officials said he had access to toothpaste.
Flanory's lawsuit alleging cruel punishment was dismissed as frivolous in 2009, but an appeals court reinstated it. The 60-year-old from Flint served as his own attorney.
The Corrections Department now can recover some trial costs from Flanory.
Published: Wed, Sep 19, 2012
headlines Oakland County
- Associations gather for Spring Fling
- Supreme Court denies rehearing request by attorneys sanctioned for meritless election lawsuit
- Law school conducts ‘Know Your Rights Day’ for high school students
- Oakland County household hazardous waste dropoff events promote environmental stewardship and safeguard communities
- Nessel testifies in support of BRITE Act
headlines National
- Incarceration series includes female inmates but doesn’t tell full story
- ACLU and BigLaw firm use ‘Orange is the New Black’ in hashtag effort to promote NY jail reform
- Former DOJ official who alleged election fraud violated at least one ethics rule, ethics committee says
- Winston & Strawn will provide reduced-cost legal services for routine tasks under Winston Legal Solutions umbrella
- Should Justice Sotomayor retire? Chemerinsky, White House haven’t joined calls for her to step down
- Which BigLaw firms are increasing lateral associate hiring the most? One made legal headlines last year