Filed Date: Jan. 29, 1980
Clearinghouse coding complete
Inmates in the Oregon State Correctional Institute and the Oregon State Penitentiary filed this class-action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that the conditions of their confinement inflicted cruel and unusual punishment forbidden by the Eighth Amendment. Specifically, the inmates contended that the institutions were so crowded that the conditions were likely to cause physical and mental deterioration. The plaintiffs sought injunctive relief to reduce the inmate population at the prisons.
On, August 22, 1980, the District Court (Judge James M. Burns) held that the conditions present at the institutions constituted cruel and unusual punishment and were constitutionally impermissible. He therefore granted the requested injunction. Capps v. Atiyeh, 495 F. Supp. 802 (D. Ore. 1980). Subsequently, Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist, acting as Circuit Justice, stayed the injunction pending resolution of Rhodes v. Chapman, 452 U.S. 337 (1981), which at that time was pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. Capps/West v. Atiyeh, 449 U.S. 1312 (1981). On June 15, 1981, the Supreme Court held in Rhodes that double-celling did not constitute an Eighth Amendment violation. Following the Supreme Court's opinion, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Judges Anthony McLeod Kennedy, Arthur Lawrence Alacorn, and William P. Copple) vacated the injunction in Atiyeh and remanded the case for "further consideration and specific findings" in light of Chapman. Capps v. Atiyeh, 652 F.2d 823 (9th Cir. 1981). On remand, the District Court (Judge Burns) held that prison conditions met Eighth Amendment requirements in the matters of violence and guard behavior, segregation and isolation, inmate idleness and classification, shelter and sanitation, and the provision of mental health services. However, the court held that there were constitutional deficiencies in the provision of medical care, the process of milk pasteurization at the dairy farm serving the prisons, and fire safety at the prison dairy farm. Capps v. Atiyeh, 559 F. Supp. 894 (D. Ore. 1983). Because this case predates PACER, a docket is unavailable. This is is as much as we know about the case.
Summary Authors
David Terry (4/10/2006)
Megan Richardson (7/18/2014)
Alarcón, Arthur Lawrence (California)
Brennan, William Joseph Jr. (District of Columbia)
Burns, James Milton (Oregon)
Copple, William Perry (Arizona)
DeLessio, Patricia (Oregon)
Last updated March 22, 2024, 3:02 a.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Oregon
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Jan. 29, 1980
Case Ongoing: No reason to think so
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Inmates in the Oregon State Correctional Institute and the Oregon State Penitentiary
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
Oregon State Penitentiary, State
Facility Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Order Duration: 1983 - 0
Issues
General/Misc.:
Sanitation / living conditions
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions: