Filed Date: Nov. 14, 2018
Closed Date: May 3, 2022
Clearinghouse coding complete
On November 14, 2018, a group of deaf prisoners in custody at the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) filed a putative class action against the CDOC alleging violations of the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act. Specifically, plaintiffs alleged that CDOC had failed to provide deaf inmates with functioning TTYs, videophones, or other communication assistance technology.
On November 20, 2018, plaintiffs moved to consolidate from the plaintiffs in Rogers v. Colorado Department of Corrections, another federal case against CDOC regarding the provision (or lack thereof) of videophones to deaf prisoners or relatives of deaf individuals. This motion was granted on December 20, 2018. For information about post-consolidation activity, see Rogers. Following consolidation, the majority of case activity occurred on the Rogers docket.
On February 7, 2020, this case was terminated pursuant to a consolidated consent decree. The consent decree ordered CDOC to install additional videophones in three facilities: the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility, Denver Women’s Correctional Facility, and the Denver Reception and Diagnostic Center. Additionally, if an eligible individual was housed in another facility for more than two weeks, CDOC was ordered to install a videophone for that person's use. Finally, CDOC was ordered to post notices to ensure individuals were aware of the videophones and to provide information to plaintiffs' counsel for compliance monitoring. The parties agreed to meet and confer before submitting any dispute to the court, and they requested the court retain jurisdiction for the two years the consent decree was to be in effect.
Per the terms of the consent decree, the decree was terminated on May 9, 2022, and the matter was dismissed with prejudice.
Summary Authors
Hannah Shilling (6/13/2022)
Rogers v. Colorado Department of Corrections, District of Colorado (2016)
For PACER's information on parties and their attrorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/16753755/parties/rabinkov-v-colorado-department-of-corrections/
Gallagher, Gordon P. (Colorado)
Hegarty, Michael E. (Colorado)
Varholak, Scott (Colorado)
Robertson, Amy (Colorado)
Spalding, Kathleen (Colorado)
Gallagher, Gordon P. (Colorado)
Hegarty, Michael E. (Colorado)
Varholak, Scott (Colorado)
Robertson, Amy (Colorado)
Spalding, Kathleen (Colorado)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/16753755/rabinkov-v-colorado-department-of-corrections/
Last updated Feb. 24, 2023, 3:04 a.m.
State / Territory: Colorado
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Nov. 14, 2018
Closing Date: May 3, 2022
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Four deaf prisoners on behalf of themselves and others in the custody of the Colorado Department of Corrections.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Mooted before ruling
Defendants
Defendant 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
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Order Duration: 2020 - 2022
Content of Injunction:
Issues
General:
Screen readers and similar accessibility devices
TTY/Close Captioning/Videophone/etc.
Discrimination-area:
Discrimination-basis:
Disability (inc. reasonable accommodations)
Disability:
Type of Facility: