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On October 16, 2000, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) initiated an investigation into the conditions of confinement at the Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC), pursuant to the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997 and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, 42 U.S.C. § 14141. As part of its investigation, the DOJ conducted on-site inspections of the facility with expert consultants; interviewed correctional and administrative staff, inmates, medical and mental health care providers, and fire safety, food service and sanitation personnel; and reviewed BCDC's policies and procedures, incident reports, medical and mental health records, inmate grievances, use of force records, and investigative reports.
On August 13, 2002, the DOJ issued a findings letter which concluded that certain conditions at BCDC violated the constitutional rights of prisoners at the facility. Specifically, the DOJ found that BCDC was deliberately indifferent to prisoners' medical and mental health needs, prisoners suffered harm from deficiencies in the facility's fire safety protections and sanitation, and juveniles detained at the facility were not kept safe from adult inmates. In addition, the DOJ found that BCDC violated eligible prisoners' rights to education. The DOJ articulated a series of remedies for BCDC to implement to correct the above unconstitutional practices. In 2003, the State of Maryland and BCDC voluntarily initiated a commitment to change the environment at the facility.
In 2005, the DOJ again toured BCDC to review the progress made. On January 16, 2007, the parties entered a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that outlined specific reforms and improvements to be made to remedy the above constitutional violations. The MOA provided that DOJ and its experts would conduct periodic monitoring to ensure compliance with the terms of the Agreement. The MOA was set to terminate four years after its effective date.
In April 2012, because BCDC had not yet achieved substantial compliance with several provisions of the Agreement, the parties agreed to enter into an Extension of the MOA. In the Extension, the parties removed those provisions with which the DOJ acknowledged the state had achieved substantial compliance and maintained the other provisions from the original Agreement. The Extension was set to terminate two years after its execution date. According to the DOJ's website, it is continuing to monitor conditions at BCDC as of the date of this summary.
Summary Authors
Dan Dalton (2/11/2008)
Nate West (11/14/2014)
Abbate, Julie K. (District of Columbia)
Austin, Roy L. (District of Columbia)
Cheng, Christopher N. (District of Columbia)
Curran, John Joseph Jr. (Maryland)
Boyd, Ralph F. Jr. (District of Columbia)
Abbate, Julie K. (District of Columbia)
Austin, Roy L. (District of Columbia)
Cheng, Christopher N. (District of Columbia)
Curran, John Joseph Jr. (Maryland)
Delaney, Joshua (District of Columbia)
Hansher, Beth (District of Columbia)
Kim, Wan J. (District of Columbia)
Last updated Aug. 30, 2023, 2:31 p.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Maryland
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Case Ongoing: Yes
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division
Plaintiff Type(s):
U.S. Dept of Justice plaintiff
Attorney Organizations:
U.S. Dept. of Justice Civil Rights Division
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Defendant Type(s):
Facility Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997 et seq.
Indv. w/ Disab. Educ. Act (IDEA), Educ. of All Handcpd. Children Act , 20 U.S.C. § 1400
Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act), 29 U.S.C. § 701
Special Case Type(s):
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Content of Injunction:
Order Duration: 2007 - 2014
Issues
General/Misc.:
Food service / nutrition / hydration
Sanitation / living conditions
Staff (number, training, qualifications, wages)
Disability and Disability Rights:
Affected Sex/Gender(s):
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
Assault/abuse by non-staff (facilities)
Sexual abuse by residents/inmates
Suicide prevention (facilities)
Medical/Mental Health Care: