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Case Name
U.S. v. California
ID-CA-0005
Docket / Court
90-CV-2641 ( N.D. Cal. )
State/Territory
California
Case Type(s)
Mental Health (Facility)
Case Summary
On January 23, 1985, four patients at the Napa State Hospital (NSH) in Napa Valley, California filed a lawsuit against the hospital and the Department of Mental Health for the State of California (DMH) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that their ...
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On January 23, 1985, four patients at the Napa State Hospital (NSH) in Napa Valley, California filed a lawsuit against the hospital and the Department of Mental Health for the State of California (DMH) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that their constitutional rights had been violated by conditions at the hospital. This lawsuit drew the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice, who initiated an investigation into the conditions at the hospital on June 25, 1985, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1997, the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA).
On September, 13, 1990, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the State of California in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The DOJ alleged that the defendants had violated the constitutional rights of NSH patients by failing to provide adequate medical and psychiatric care, inadequate staffing levels and staff training, inadequate status review for patients, inadequate record-keeping, inadequate procedures for administration of medicine, and misuse of bodily restraints.
On September 17, 1990, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Judge Eugene F. Lynch) issued a consent decree in the case. We have no information on the content of this decree. On June 2, 1995, the defendants asked the court to find them compliant with the court's orders and terminate the consent decree. The plaintiffs did not object to this motion, and on June 8, 1995, the court (Judge Lynch) terminated the decree and dismissed the case with prejudice.
Kristen Sagar - 07/18/2006
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Issues and Causes of Action
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Issues
General
Record-keeping
Restraints : physical
Staff (number, training, qualifications, wages)
Medical/Mental Health
Medical care, general
Medication, administration of
Mental health care, general
Mental Disability
Intellectual/developmental disability, unspecified
Plaintiff Type
U.S. Dept of Justice plaintiff
Type of Facility
Government-run
Causes of Action
42 U.S.C. § 1983
Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997 et seq.
Case Details
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Defendant(s)
Napa State Hospital
Plaintiff Description
United States Department of Justice
Class action status sought
No
Class action status granted
No
Filed Pro Se
No
Prevailing Party
Plaintiff
Public Int. Lawyer
Yes
Nature of Relief
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief
Settlement
Form of Settlement
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Order Duration
1990 - 1995
Filed
09/13/1990
Case Closing Year
1995
Case Ongoing
No
Related Cases
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Case Listing
MH-CA-0004
: U.S. v. California (C.D. Cal.)
Additional Resources
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See this case
at CourtListener.com
(May provide additional documents and, for active cases, real-time alerts)
An Analysis of CRIPA Findings Letters Issued to Jails for Constitutional Violations by the Department of Justice
Date: Apr. 15, 2016
By: Jeff Mellow, Bryce E. Peterson & Mijin Kim (John Jay College of Criminal Justice Faculty)
Citation: Am. J. Crim. Just. (April 2016)
[ Detail ]
[ External Link ]
Documents
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Court
Docket(s)
N.D. Cal.
06/06/1995
90-2641
ID-CA-0005-9000.pdf
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Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
General Documents
not recorded
06/25/1985
Memorandum re: Napa State Hospital Proposed S. 10 Investigation
ID-CA-0005-0001.pdf
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Detail
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation Section
not recorded
07/17/1985
Findings letter re: Investigation of Napa State Hospital, Imola, California
ID-CA-0005-0002.pdf
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Detail
N.D. Cal.
09/13/1990
Complaint (Civil Rights) [ECF# 1]
ID-CA-0005-0003.pdf
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Detail
N.D. Cal.
06/02/1995
Motion to Terminate Consent Decree [ECF# 29]
ID-CA-0005-0006.pdf
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Detail
N.D. Cal.
06/02/1995
Memorandum in Support of Motion to Terminate Consent Decree [ECF# 30]
ID-CA-0005-0004.pdf
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Detail
N.D. Cal.
06/02/1995
Statement of Non-Opposition [ECF# 31]
ID-CA-0005-0005.pdf
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Detail
N.D. Cal.
06/08/1995
Order of Dismissal [ECF# 33]
ID-CA-0005-0007.pdf
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Detail
People
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Judges
Lynch, Eugene F.
(N.D. Cal.)
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ID-CA-0005-0007 | ID-CA-0005-9000
Plaintiff's Lawyers
Deutsch, David
(District of Columbia)
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ID-CA-0005-0005
Dunne, John R.
(District of Columbia)
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ID-CA-0005-0003
McGivern, William T.
(California)
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ID-CA-0005-0003
Peabody, Arthur E. Jr.
(District of Columbia)
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ID-CA-0005-0001 | ID-CA-0005-0003
Reynolds, William Bradford
(District of Columbia)
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ID-CA-0005-0001 | ID-CA-0005-0002
Schoen, Benjamin P.
(District of Columbia)
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ID-CA-0005-0003
Spelke, Robert A.
(District of Columbia)
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ID-CA-0005-0002
Stern, Robert H.
(District of Columbia)
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ID-CA-0005-0003 | ID-CA-0005-0005
Stutman, Edward A.
(Pennsylvania)
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ID-CA-0005-0003
Thornburgh, Dick
(District of Columbia)
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ID-CA-0005-0003
Yamaguchi, Michael J.
(California)
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ID-CA-0005-0005
Defendant's Lawyers
Corcoran, Maureen
(District of Columbia)
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ID-CA-0005-0002
Dunst, Isabel
(District of Columbia)
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ID-CA-0005-0002
Johnson, Ralph M.
(California)
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ID-CA-0005-0004 | ID-CA-0005-0006
Lundgren, Daniel E.
(California)
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ID-CA-0005-0004 | ID-CA-0005-0006
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