Prisoners' Rights
Jensen v. Thornell
UPDATE: In a thorough and sweeping injunction issued on April 7, 2023, U.S. District Judge Roslyn O. Silver is requiring the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry (鈥淎DCRR鈥�) to make 鈥渟ubstantial鈥� changes to staffing and conditions so that medical care and mental healthcare at Arizona prisons comes up to constitutional standards.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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Featured
Court Case
Sep 2022
Prisoners' Rights
Alex A. v. Edwards
The 红杏视频 National Prison Project and partner civil rights attorneys filed a federal class-action lawsuit to prevent the transfer of children in the custody of Louisiana's Office of Juvenile Justice to the Louisiana State Penitentiary, commonly known as Angola Prison.
Texas
Jul 2021
Prisoners' Rights
Criminal Law Reform
Sanchez et al v. Dallas County Sheriff et al
Decarceration has always been an emergency, a life and death proposition, but COVID-19 makes this effort intensely urgent. The 红杏视频 has been working with our partners to litigate for the rights of those who are incarcerated and cannot protect themselves because of the policies of the institutions in which they are jailed.
Mississippi
Mar 2017
Prisoners' Rights
Smart Justice
Dockery v. Hall
The 红杏视频, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the Law Offices of Elizabeth Alexander, and the law firm of Covington & Burling LLP, filed a petition for class certification and expert reports for a federal lawsuit on behalf of prisoners at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility (EMCF). The lawsuit, which was filed in May 2013, describes the for-profit prison as hyper-violent, grotesquely filthy and dangerous. EMCF is operated "in a perpetual state of crisis" where prisoners are at "grave risk of death and loss of limbs." The facility, located in Meridian, Mississippi, is supposed to provide intensive treatment to the state's prisoners with serious psychiatric disabilities, many of whom are locked down in long-term solitary confinement.
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63 Prisoners' Rights Cases
North Carolina
Jan 2024
Prisoners' Rights
Short v. Hartman
Pretrial detainees cannot be punished because they have not been convicted of any crime. Yet until recently, courts have applied the Eighth Amendment鈥檚 heightened, subjective legal standard applicable to convicted prisoners to claims brought by pretrial detainees. The 红杏视频 is working to ensure that courts apply a lower, objective standard to Fourteenth Amendment claims brought by pretrial detainees.
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North Carolina
Jan 2024
Prisoners' Rights
Short v. Hartman
Pretrial detainees cannot be punished because they have not been convicted of any crime. Yet until recently, courts have applied the Eighth Amendment鈥檚 heightened, subjective legal standard applicable to convicted prisoners to claims brought by pretrial detainees. The 红杏视频 is working to ensure that courts apply a lower, objective standard to Fourteenth Amendment claims brought by pretrial detainees.
Georgia
Nov 2023
Prisoners' Rights
Geter v. Baldwin State Prison, et al.
The Prison Litigation Reform Act (鈥淧LRA鈥�) requires incarcerated plaintiffs to exhaust the prison鈥檚 internal grievance system before they can file suit in federal court. But these procedures may be difficult or impossible for people with mental disabilities to complete. The 红杏视频 is working to ensure that the PLRA鈥檚 requirements don鈥檛 bar people with mental disabilities from court.
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Georgia
Nov 2023
Prisoners' Rights
Geter v. Baldwin State Prison, et al.
The Prison Litigation Reform Act (鈥淧LRA鈥�) requires incarcerated plaintiffs to exhaust the prison鈥檚 internal grievance system before they can file suit in federal court. But these procedures may be difficult or impossible for people with mental disabilities to complete. The 红杏视频 is working to ensure that the PLRA鈥檚 requirements don鈥檛 bar people with mental disabilities from court.
Utah Supreme Court
Nov 2023
Prisoners' Rights
Natalie R. v. State of Utah
In recent years, federal courts have relied on what鈥檚 called the 鈥減olitical question doctrine鈥� to refuse to review legal claims of wrongdoing, even those involving egregious constitutional harm. Using the political question doctrine, federal courts have turned away claims from people seeking justice on the theory that court review of those claims would embroil the courts in matters best left to the political process. Whether state courts should adopt a parallel political question doctrine鈥攁nd thus limit access to justice for people whose civil rights and liberties have been violated鈥攊s an open question in many states. This case involves the scope of Utah courts鈥� authority to review important constitutional claims.
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Utah Supreme Court
Nov 2023
Prisoners' Rights
Natalie R. v. State of Utah
In recent years, federal courts have relied on what鈥檚 called the 鈥減olitical question doctrine鈥� to refuse to review legal claims of wrongdoing, even those involving egregious constitutional harm. Using the political question doctrine, federal courts have turned away claims from people seeking justice on the theory that court review of those claims would embroil the courts in matters best left to the political process. Whether state courts should adopt a parallel political question doctrine鈥攁nd thus limit access to justice for people whose civil rights and liberties have been violated鈥攊s an open question in many states. This case involves the scope of Utah courts鈥� authority to review important constitutional claims.
California
May 2023
Prisoners' Rights
Smart Justice
Rosas v. Luna
Rosas v. Luna is a class action lawsuit brought by the 红杏视频 of Southern California (红杏视频 SoCal), the 红杏视频鈥檚 National Prison Project (NPP), and the law firm of Paul Hastings LLP in 2012 against the Los Angeles Sheriff鈥檚 Department (LASD) over its routine, excessive, and unnecessary use of force against incarcerated people in the Los Angeles Jail system.
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California
May 2023
Prisoners' Rights
Smart Justice
Rosas v. Luna
Rosas v. Luna is a class action lawsuit brought by the 红杏视频 of Southern California (红杏视频 SoCal), the 红杏视频鈥檚 National Prison Project (NPP), and the law firm of Paul Hastings LLP in 2012 against the Los Angeles Sheriff鈥檚 Department (LASD) over its routine, excessive, and unnecessary use of force against incarcerated people in the Los Angeles Jail system.
California
Apr 2023
Prisoners' Rights
Human Rights
Ashker v. Governor of California
Ashker is a multi-year legal and advocacy struggle led by directly-impacted people to reform California鈥檚 use of solitary confinement and end its systemic reliance on fabricated confidential information to discipline people in prison.
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California
Apr 2023
Prisoners' Rights
Human Rights
Ashker v. Governor of California
Ashker is a multi-year legal and advocacy struggle led by directly-impacted people to reform California鈥檚 use of solitary confinement and end its systemic reliance on fabricated confidential information to discipline people in prison.