Filed Date: Sept. 21, 2011
Closed Date: July 9, 2012
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This jail conditions case was brought in December 2011 by a deaf man who speaks American Sign Language and has little or no ability to lip read. He has very limited ability to read or write in either Spanish or English. On March 2011, he was arrested and detained by El Paso County Sheriff's deputies and taken to the Downtown Detention Facility. His repeated requests for an interpreter were ignored. Late that night, he was driven to a store and approached by a woman whom the officers described as a judge. He again requested an interpreter and again was ignored.
The following day, the plaintiff was placed in the Annex jail, where he was imprisoned with no explanation for 11 days. He was handcuffed and unable to use the old and malfunctioning TTY/TDD phone.
Plaintiff, represented by the Paso Del Norte Civil Rights Project and other attorneys, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, claiming his treatment violated the Texas Human Resources Code, § 121.003(a), the Americans With Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. He sought declaratory, injunctive and monetary relief.
According to the docket, the parties stipulated to dismissal of the case after reaching a settlement on July 6, 2012. Although the settlement is not publicly available, according to reports, videophones have now been installed at the jails.
Summary Authors
Denise Heberle (7/24/2012)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4400558/parties/rodriguez-v-county-of-el-paso-texas/
Alehashem, Amin (Texas)
Benoit, Christopher (Texas)
Berra, Joseph Pacifico (Texas)
Harrington, James C (Texas)
Kaplan, Ian Russell (Texas)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4400558/rodriguez-v-county-of-el-paso-texas/
Last updated April 20, 2025, 9:12 a.m.
State / Territory: Texas
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Sept. 21, 2011
Closing Date: July 9, 2012
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
a man with a hearing disability
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
County of El Paso, Texas, County
Defendant Type(s):
Facility Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111 et seq.
Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act), 29 U.S.C. § 701
Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Issues
General/Misc.:
Disability and Disability Rights:
TTY/Close Captioning/Videophone/etc.
Discrimination Area:
Discrimination Basis: