Conditions of Confinement

About 4,000 prisoners were unconstitutionally locked in cells with no toilets and no sinks while they were confined in Building 4 at the Suffolk County House of Correction at South Bay. Plaintiffs said that guards did not always permit them to use the bathroom, so they were forced to urinate and defecate in bags and makeshift containers. As a result, inmates were subjected to the stench of their own bodily wastes and were forced to sleep in close quarters with others resorting to such means. Tyler v. Suffolk County, 253 F.R.D. 8, (D. Mass. 2008)

Plaintiff died within 10 days of beginning pretrial confinement in a local jail near Gainesville, FL due to an ectopic pregnancy, but within one day of complaints of abdominal pain. Video evidence showed plaintiff virtually falling out of a wheelchair as she was transported out of GP into segregation. Case settled while pending interlocutory appeal on qualified immunity before Eleventh Circuit after all briefs filed. DMS

The Settlement Agreement covering the Baltimore City Detention Center was negotiated long after a previous Consent Decree had been entered and administratively closed. The settlement is comprehensive as to medical and mental health care, with some general physical plant provisions. The fees may also cover up to $100,000 in fees for formal post-settlement enforcement activities. Previous phases of the case prior to the old Consent Decree go as far back as 1965.

No lasting physical injuries. High functioning autistic young woman in pretrial detention. Client was tiny (110 lbs) but had boisterous and unfiltered personality that repeatedly triggered jailors. Tort claim alleged multiple deployments of restraint chair as punishment and for double the manufacturer’s recommended time limit. One hair hold attack where jailer slammed her to concrete floor while cuffed behind back. Just bruises and small tooth chip. Alleged jail has practice of “assembling a team” to place detainees in the chair. This team attack triggers panic in high functioning autism.