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 (“ADCRR”) to make “substantial” 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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Court Case
Sep 2022
Prisoners' Rights
Alex A. v. Edwards
The ACLU 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 ACLU 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 ACLU, 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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61 Prisoners' Rights Cases
Montana
Mar 2017
Prisoners' Rights
Langford v. Bullock
This case was filed on behalf of prisoners following a serious disturbance in 1991 at the Montana State Prison (MSP) that resulted in seven deaths. The lawsuit challenges inadequate medical and mental health care, overcrowding, and inadequate environmental and fire safety conditions, classification policy, and sex offender policies. The parties settled all issues except those related to treatment of protective custody prisoners, which were ultimately tried in a separate case filed by the Department of Justice. A settlement was reached in 1995, but it required monitoring by experts to assure compliance with the terms of the settlement.
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Montana
Mar 2017
Prisoners' Rights
Langford v. Bullock
This case was filed on behalf of prisoners following a serious disturbance in 1991 at the Montana State Prison (MSP) that resulted in seven deaths. The lawsuit challenges inadequate medical and mental health care, overcrowding, and inadequate environmental and fire safety conditions, classification policy, and sex offender policies. The parties settled all issues except those related to treatment of protective custody prisoners, which were ultimately tried in a separate case filed by the Department of Justice. A settlement was reached in 1995, but it required monitoring by experts to assure compliance with the terms of the settlement.
Court Case
Nov 2016
Prisoners' Rights
National Security
ACLU v. Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons
The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against the federal Bureau of Prisons for refusing to fulfill a Freedom of Information Act request for documents related to its officials’ visit in 2002 to a CIA detention site in Afghanistan, their positive assessment of the conditions, and the training they provided to the site’s administrators. Code-named COBALT and also called “the Salt Pit,” the site held people suspected of terrorism, and they were tortured there, according to the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee’s torture report that was declassified in 2014.
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Court Case
Nov 2016
Prisoners' Rights
National Security
ACLU v. Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons
The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against the federal Bureau of Prisons for refusing to fulfill a Freedom of Information Act request for documents related to its officials’ visit in 2002 to a CIA detention site in Afghanistan, their positive assessment of the conditions, and the training they provided to the site’s administrators. Code-named COBALT and also called “the Salt Pit,” the site held people suspected of terrorism, and they were tortured there, according to the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee’s torture report that was declassified in 2014.
Court Case
May 2016
Prisoners' Rights
Smart Justice
Kelly v. Wengler
This case, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Idaho, seeks to put a stop to the culture of rampant violence that has led to carnage and suffering among prisoners at officials at the Idaho Correctional Center (ICC), the state-owned facility operated by the for-profit company Corrections Corporation of America (CCA).
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Court Case
May 2016
Prisoners' Rights
Smart Justice
Kelly v. Wengler
This case, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Idaho, seeks to put a stop to the culture of rampant violence that has led to carnage and suffering among prisoners at officials at the Idaho Correctional Center (ICC), the state-owned facility operated by the for-profit company Corrections Corporation of America (CCA).
Arizona
Apr 2016
Prisoners' Rights
Graves v. Penzone
Despite a federal court order from 2008, the Maricopa County jails – overseen by Sheriff Joe Arpaio –continue to skirt their constitutional responsibility for detainees' mental health. On April 1, 2016, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Arizona – which have represented the detainees at the Maricopa County jails for close to 20 years – filed a motion to enforce the 2008 order. Many detainees with mental illnesses were still suffering unnecessarily from the scarcity and poor quality of the jails' care.
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Arizona
Apr 2016
Prisoners' Rights
Graves v. Penzone
Despite a federal court order from 2008, the Maricopa County jails – overseen by Sheriff Joe Arpaio –continue to skirt their constitutional responsibility for detainees' mental health. On April 1, 2016, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Arizona – which have represented the detainees at the Maricopa County jails for close to 20 years – filed a motion to enforce the 2008 order. Many detainees with mental illnesses were still suffering unnecessarily from the scarcity and poor quality of the jails' care.
Court Case
Mar 2016
Prisoners' Rights
+4 Issues
Winston v. Salt Lake City Police Department, et al.
The Salt Lake City Police Department and the Salt Lake City School District will make broad changes in how they treat students of color and engage in school disciplinary issues under settlements announced today by the ACLU.
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Court Case
Mar 2016
Prisoners' Rights
+4 Issues
Winston v. Salt Lake City Police Department, et al.
The Salt Lake City Police Department and the Salt Lake City School District will make broad changes in how they treat students of color and engage in school disciplinary issues under settlements announced today by the ACLU.