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87 cases
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PRISON CONDITIONS
Palmigiano v. Garrahy

1:74-cv-00172 | U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island

Filed Date: July 16, 1974

Closed Date: Feb. 19, 2014

On 01/11/2007, six inmates in the "awaiting trial" section of the Adult Correctional Institutions of Rhode Island (ACI) filed a lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. §1983 against the Rhode Island Department of Corrections in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island. The plaintiffs, represented in part by the National Prison Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, asked the Court for declaratory and injunctive relief, alleging that their constitutional rights had been violated because …
PRISON CONDITIONS
Ruiz v. Estelle

4:78-cv-00987 | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas

Filed Date: June 1, 1972

Closed Date: June 17, 2002

This was a prisoner led class action which broadly challenged conditions and practices within the Texas state prison system. Issues covered included overcrowding, inadequate healthcare, unsafe working conditions, inadequate access to the justice system, and severe and arbitrary disciplinary procedures. The plaintiff’s 1980 trial victory was followed by over two decades of appeals and negotiations which culminated in numerous consent decrees. As one of the longest running prisoners' lawsuit in U…
JAIL CONDITIONS
Benjamin v. Horn

1:75-cv-03073 | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Filed Date: June 24, 1975

This case was consolidated for enforcement purposes with Ambrose v. Malcolm; Detainees of Queens House of Detention v. Malcolm; Detainees of Brooklyn House of Detention for Men v. Malcolm; Maldonado v. Ciuros; Forts v. Malcolm; and Rosenthal v. Malcolm. The summary below includes all of these in the consolidated form, but more information about each individual case is included in the "Related Cases" section. On June 24, 1975, a group of pretrial detainees at Rikers Island Detention Center for M…
JAIL CONDITIONS
Ambrose v. Malcolm

1:76-cv-00190 | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Filed Date: Jan. 14, 1976

In early 1976, the plaintiffs, pretrial detainees at a New York state detention facility, brought this class action suit against New York City, the New York City Department of Corrections, and its officials in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs challenged the constitutionality of their housing conditions. Specifically, the plaintiffs alleged that the dormitories Bronx House of Detention were overcrowded as they had a rated capacity of twenty-four indiv…
PRISON CONDITIONS
Balla v. Board of Corrections

1:81-cv-01165 | U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho

Filed Date: May 15, 1981

On May 15, 1981, a prisoner at the Idaho State Correctional Institution ("ISCI") filed a class action lawsuit against the Idaho State Board of Corrections in the United States District Court for the District of Idaho alleging Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment violations pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 as well as numerous state claims. The allegations included: (1) the prison was overcrowded and understaffed, increasing the likelihood of violence; (2) the classification system at the prison, which p…
JAIL CONDITIONS
Wayne County Jail Inmates v. Wayne County Sheriff

71-173217-CZ | Michigan state trial court

Filed Date: Jan. 1, 1971

This case arose amid a backdrop of increasing public opposition to poor conditions at the Wayne County Jail. In the 1960s, Detroit implemented tough-on-crime measures including a stop-and-frisk ordinance and aggressive enforcement of loitering and disorderly conduct laws. Around the same time, local judges began to set drastically higher bail rates. For example, the Detroit Traffic Court raised bail for speeding from $35 in March 1970 to $333 in November 1971. As a result, the Wayne County Jail…
JAIL CONDITIONS
Pederson v. County of Plumas

2:89-cv-01659 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California

Filed Date: Dec. 4, 1989

On December 4, 1989, detainees at the Plumas County Jail filed a class action complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California against the County of Plumas. The plaintiffs, represented by the Prisoner Rights Union and by private counsel, brought suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, challenging the constitutionality of their conditions of confinement. Specifically, they alleged problems with overcrowding, unequal access to programs and work opportunities for women detainees, l…
JAIL CONDITIONS
McClendon v. City of Albuquerque

6:95-cv-00024 | U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico

Filed Date: Jan. 10, 1995

On January 10, 1995, detainees at the Bernalillo County Detention Center (BCDC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico filed this class-action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico. Represented by private counsel, the plaintiffs sued the BCDC under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1983, 1985, and 1986, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000d), alleging that gross overcrowding and racial discrimination at the jail violated the First, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, Thir…
PRISON CONDITIONS
Williams v. McKeithen

3:71-cv-00098 | U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana

Filed Date: March 26, 1971

Closed Date: May 2, 2006

This is one of a collection of § 1983 inmate cases filed in Louisiana federal courts to challenge the operation and conditions of confinement in the Louisiana prison system and in parish and city jails through Louisiana. These cases have worked their way through the federal courts over the last four decades and are part of this collection, located at PC-LA, JC-LA and JI-LA.In this case, four Louisiana prison inmates filed a civil rights lawsuit on March 26, 1971, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 …
JAIL CONDITIONS
Kaiser v. County of Sacramento

2:91-cv-00300 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California

Filed Date: March 12, 1991

On March 12, 1991, prisoners at two Sacramento County jails filed a class action complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California against the County of Sacramento. The plaintiffs, represented by the Prisoner Rights Union and by private counsel, brought suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, challenging the constitutionality of their conditions of confinement. Specifically, they alleged problems with overcrowding, failure to provide beds, unequal access for women prisoners, lack…