Filed Date: May 14, 1985
Clearinghouse coding complete
On May 14, 1985, Lillian Robbins (administratrix of the estate of Kathy Robbins, deceased) filed a lawsuit against Glenn County, California. under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. The plaintiff, represented by the Youth Law Center, alleged that the civil rights of 15 year-old runaway Kathy Robbins had been violated during her detention at the Glenn County Jail because the jail administrators had refused to contact her family, subjected her to a strip search, refused to release her into her parents' custody, refused to place her into an available juvenile detention facility, failed to provide her with adequate clothing, authorized adult inmates to have direct contact with her, failed to adequately medically and psychologically examine her, failed to notice evidence of her previous suicide attempts, failed to deliver her phone messages and reading materials from her mother, harassed and psychologically abused her, failed to provide her opportunities for exercise or recreation, and failed to adequately monitor her. On August 29, 1984, Kathy Robbins committed suicide by hanging herself in her cell. The plaintiff asked the court for monetary general and punitive damages as well as attorney's fees. For injunctive purposes, the parties stipulated that the action could proceed as a class action on behalf of all juveniles who were or would be confined in the Glenn County Jail. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California (Judge Raul A. Ramirez) entered an undated consent decree stating that defendants agreed to stop confining juveniles at the Glenn County Jail.
Additionally, as part of a seemingly separate settlement agreement, plaintiff's parents were to be paid $125,000 in consideration of a full and final release of their claims in the matter. We have no further information about this case.
Summary Authors
Kristen Sagar (10/29/2007)
Ramirez, Raul Anthony (California)
Shauffer, Carole B. (California)
Smith, Greer M. (California)
Krup, Leonard G. (California)
Price, Philip B. (California)
Ramirez, Raul Anthony (California)
Last updated March 26, 2024, 3:11 a.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: California
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: May 14, 1985
Case Ongoing: No reason to think so
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
all juveniles who were or would be confined in the Glenn County Jail
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Amount Defendant Pays: 125,000
Issues
General:
Parents (visitation, involvement)
Sanitation / living conditions
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
Medical/Mental Health:
Type of Facility: