Filed Date: 1982
Closed Date: 1997
Clearinghouse coding complete
Case code JC-LA-0021 is a collection of the PACER dockets for about 100 cases filed in Louisiana federal courts pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to challenge the conditions of confinement in parish and city jails through Louisiana. (Note: In Louisiana, county jails are called "Parish Prisons.") These cases worked their way through the federal courts for about three decades.
Note that in Hamilton v. Morial, 644 F.2d 351 (5th Cir. 1981) [See JC-LA-3 of this collection] the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that all federal litigation against state, parish or local prison facilities, relating to population issues, be consolidated in the District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, in order to avoid courts entering inconsistent decrees. Thereafter, many Louisiana state, parish, and city facilities entered into consent decrees which specified population limits and officer-to-incarcerated person ratios. Since 1981, those facilities were under the judicial oversight of District Judge Frank J. Polozola of the Middle District of Louisiana. Over the years Judge Polozola revised the decrees to adjust population caps and officer-to-prisoner ratios as necessary.
The PACER dockets reflect that on August 4, 1994, District Judge Polozola ordered that all cases involving population caps for parish prisons be reopened and reconsidered. Most dockets note that the individual case was again closed in December, 1997.
Summary Authors
Dan Dalton (2/9/2007)
Williams v. McKeithen, Middle District of Louisiana (1971)
Polozola, Frank Joseph (Louisiana)
Riedlinger, Stephen C. (Louisiana)
Polozola, Frank Joseph (Louisiana)
Riedlinger, Stephen C. (Louisiana)
Last updated May 13, 2022
State / Territory: Louisiana
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: 1982
Closing Date: 1997
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Inmates in Parish Jails
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: Unknown
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
Various parish and city jails throughout Louisiana, County
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Availably Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Issues
General:
Staff (number, training, qualifications, wages)
Crowding:
Type of Facility: