Case: Fiandaca v. Cunningham
1:83-cv-00400 | U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire
Filed Date: June 30, 1983
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Case Summary
On June 30, 1983, female prisoners at the New Hampshire State Prison filed a class action lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the New Hampshire Department of Corrections in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire. The plaintiffs, represented by New Hampshire Legal Assistance and the Disabilities Rights Center, challenged the state's failure to establish a facility for female inmates with programs and services equivalent to those provided to male inmates at the state prison as a violation of equal protection.
On January 13, 1987, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire (Judge Martin F. Loughlin) found that the state had violated the plaintiffs' right to equal protection of the law and ordered the construction of a permanent in-state facility for the plaintiffs no later than July 1, 1989. The court also ordered the state to provide a temporary facility for the plaintiffs until the new one was built, but prohibited the state from establishing this facility on the grounds of the Laconia State School and Training Center, which was the state's only institution for care and treatment of citizens with intellectual disabilities.
The defendants appealed this decision, challenging the district court's refusal to disqualify New Hampshire Legal Assistance from representing the plaintiffs due to an unresolvable conflict of interest (they were also attorneys for students at the Laconia State School and Training Center, which opposed the placement of the prisoners at their campus). They also asked the court to overturn the portion of the district court's opinion that barred the establishment of an interim facility at the Laconia State School and Training Center, arguing that this is prohibition was unsupported by facts or the record. On August 25, 1987, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (Judge Frank Coffin) held that New Hampshire Legal Assistance should have been disqualified by the district court due to conflict of interest and that a second class of state mental hospital residents were entitled to intervene after their facility was considered for use by the female prisoners. Fiandaca v. Cunningham, 827 F.2d 825 (1st Cir. 1987). The case was affirmed in part, vacated and remanded in part.
Because this case predates pacer, we do not have any further information. We presume the case is now closed.
Summary Authors
Kristen Sagar (8/6/2007)
People
Coffin, Frank Morey (Maine)
Astles, Bertram D. (New Hampshire)
Boots, Robin (New Hampshire)
Isaac, Andrew L. (New Hampshire)
Judge, Stephen J. (New Hampshire)
Documents in the Clearinghouse
Docket
Last updated March 24, 2025, 8:07 a.m.
Case Details
State / Territory:
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: June 30, 1983
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
female prisoners at the New Hampshire State Prison
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: Unknown
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
State
New Hampshire Department of Corrections
Facility Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Other Dockets:
District of New Hampshire 1:83-cv-00400
U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit 87-01199
U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit 87-01200
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff OR Mixed
Relief Granted:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Issues
General/Misc.:
Discrimination Basis:
Affected Sex/Gender(s):
Case Summary of Fiandaca v. Cunningham, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/822/ (last updated 8/6/2007).