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Jermaine Lewis v. Jesus Guadarrama et al. - Prisoner Civil Rights

The US District Court for the District of Connecticut conducted an Initial Review Order screening Jermaine Lewis's civil rights complaint under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a), finding that Lewis, a Connecticut DOC inmate, sufficiently alleged constitutional violations by 18 MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution staff during a July 14, 2024 physical altercation and subsequent Restricted Housing Unit confinement. The court permitted some claims to proceed past initial screening while dismissing others, requiring further litigation on surviving constitutional claims.

Jane Doe v. James Dzurenda - Transgender Juvenile Solitary Confinement Constitutional Claims

The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut denied in part and granted in part defendants' motion to dismiss in Jane Doe v. James Dzurenda, et al. The court dismissed claims under the Fourteenth Amendment, Eighth Amendment, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, and Prison Rape Elimination Act, but permitted ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims to proceed. The court found that the JJDPA and PREA do not create rights privately enforceable through 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and that qualified immunity bars the constitutional damages claims against individual defendants.