Filed Date: Nov. 20, 1988
Closed Date: 1990
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On November 20, 1988, a class-action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on behalf of prisoners at Northampton County Prison challenging the adequacy of the prison law library materials and inmates' access to the courts. The plaintiff class was represented by the Philadelphia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. We do not have access to the original complaint or the ensuing court decree so we do not know whether the issues in the case were limited solely to inmates' access to the courts or if it covered institutions other than Northhampton.
On March 8, 1989, a consent decree was entered in the case. Serrano v. Northampton County Prison Commission, No. 88- 8966 (E.D.Pa.1989). It required a number of changes to law library policies, including establishing hours of operation, ensuring current volumes of a number of specific law reporters, rules and journals, providing inmates with timely access to materials requested that were not in the library, ensuring a working typewriter, and staffing the prison law library with an inmate trained in legal research to assist inmates in research. In subsequent separate litigation concerning adequacy of law library materials, prison officials submitted an affidavit attesting to the procedures they employed to remain in compliance with the 1989 decree.
According to the docket on PACER, the case was closed in June 1990. Because the docket is devoid of content save a listing of parties, all information about this case was obtained from a reference to the court decree in Thomas v. Olander, 877 F.Supp. 242 (E.D. Pa. 1995), a different case that addressed adequacy of law library provisions.
Summary Authors
Denise Lieberman (11/14/2005)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/8968441/parties/serrano-v-hartzell/
Huyett, Daniel Henry III (Pennsylvania)
Baratta, Stephen G. (Pennsylvania)
Huyett, Daniel Henry III (Pennsylvania)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/8968441/serrano-v-hartzell/
Last updated March 24, 2024, 3:09 a.m.
State / Territory: Pennsylvania
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Nov. 20, 1988
Closing Date: 1990
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
inmates at Northampton County Prison
Public Interest Lawyer: No
Filed Pro Se: Yes
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
Northampton Prison (Northampton), County
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Due Process: Procedural Due Process
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Order Duration: 1989 - 1990
Issues
General:
Access to lawyers or judicial system
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
Type of Facility: