Case: Hanna v. Toner

1:78-cv-01506 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio

Filed Date: Nov. 13, 1978

Closed Date: 1985

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Case Summary

On November 13, 1978, four juvenile inmates of the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Home (CCJDH) filed a class action lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Cuyahoga County in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. The plaintiffs, represented by the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, alleged that their constitutional rights had been violated by physical abuse, lengthy solitary confinement without a hearing, deprivation of education, and inhumane conditions at CCJDH. On May …

On November 13, 1978, four juvenile inmates of the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Home (CCJDH) filed a class action lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Cuyahoga County in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. The plaintiffs, represented by the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, alleged that their constitutional rights had been violated by physical abuse, lengthy solitary confinement without a hearing, deprivation of education, and inhumane conditions at CCJDH.

On May 22, 1979, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (Judge Robert B. Krupansky) dismissed the plaintiffs' complaint sua sponte in reliance upon an obscure and rarely used abstention doctrine. The plaintiffs appealed. On September 2, 1980, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (Judge George Clifton Edwards, Jr.) reversed the district court's decision, holding that the dismissal of the case was improper, and remanded it back to the district court. Hanna v. Toner, 630 F.2d 442 (6th Cir. 1980). The defendants appealed. On February 23, 1981, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal. Toner v. Hanna, 450 U.S. 919 (1981).

On January 29, 1985, the district court (Judge Samuel H. Bell) approved a consent decree in the case. The decree contained agreements in the areas of staffing levels, staff training, individual care plans for each juvenile, plans for a special treatment unit, psychological assessments for each child, medical evaluations, education, nutrition, record keeping, clothing, chemical restraints, mechanical/psychiatric restraints, isolation, strip searches, use of holding rooms, admission procedures, and monitoring.

On April 8, 1985, the plaintiffs asked the district court to award them attorneys fees. On July 9, 1985, the parties settled the issue of attorneys fees and the district court (Judge Bell) dismissed the case.

Summary Authors

Kristen Sagar (11/13/2007)

People


Judge(s)

Bell, Samuel H. (Ohio)

Edwards, George Clifton Jr. (Michigan)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Albracht, Joselle (Texas)

Carter, Carolyn L. (Ohio)

Delbaum, Charles M. (Ohio)

Attorney for Defendant
Expert/Monitor/Master/Other

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Documents in the Clearinghouse

Document

1:78-cv-01506

Docket

May 10, 1994

May 10, 1994

Docket

79-03476

Opinion

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Sept. 2, 1980

Sept. 2, 1980

Order/Opinion

630 F.2d 630

80-01028

Memorandum Decision

Toner v. Hanna

Supreme Court of the United States

Feb. 23, 1981

Feb. 23, 1981

Order/Opinion

450 U.S. 450

1:78-cv-01506

Final Consent Order

Oct. 3, 1984

Oct. 3, 1984

Order/Opinion

1:78-cv-01506

Order

July 6, 1985

July 6, 1985

Order/Opinion

Docket

Last updated March 25, 2024, 3:10 a.m.

Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.

Case Details

State / Territory: Ohio

Case Type(s):

Juvenile Institution

Key Dates

Filing Date: Nov. 13, 1978

Closing Date: 1985

Case Ongoing: No

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

Juveniles inmates of the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Home

Plaintiff Type(s):

Private Plaintiff

Attorney Organizations:

Legal Services/Legal Aid

Public Interest Lawyer: Yes

Filed Pro Se: No

Class Action Sought: Yes

Class Action Outcome: Granted

Defendants

Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Home (Cuyahoga), County

Case Details

Causes of Action:

42 U.S.C. § 1983

Constitutional Clause(s):

Due Process

Due Process: Substantive Due Process

Available Documents:

Trial Court Docket

Any published opinion

Outcome

Prevailing Party: Plaintiff

Nature of Relief:

Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement

Source of Relief:

Settlement

Litigation

Form of Settlement:

Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree

Order Duration: 1985 - 0

Issues

General:

Disciplinary procedures

Education

Sanitation / living conditions

Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:

Confinement/isolation

Assault/abuse by staff (facilities)

Medical/Mental Health:

Medical care, general

Type of Facility:

Government-run