Filed Date: Feb. 23, 1971
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Incarcerated people at the St. Louis City Jail in Missouri filed a class action lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against representatives of the city in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. The plaintiffs, represented by the Legal Aid Society, alleged that their civil rights had been violated by inadequacies at the jail, including overcrowding, sanitation and living conditions, discipline and procedures for solitary confinement, rules for mail and visitation, inadequate medical care, food, corporal punishment of prisoners, and failure to return personal property.
On July 13, 1973, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (Judge William Webster) granted injunctive relief to the prisoners, holding that use of solitary confinement did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment, but that confinement of three men in tiny two-man cells, the absence of recreational facilities, low quality of food services, inadequate ventilation, excessive corporal punishment of prisoners, and subjecting prisoners to disciplinary confinement without any grievance procedures violated the prisoners' constitutional rights. Johnson v. Lark, 365 F.Supp. 289 (E.D.Mis. 1973).
Summary Authors
Kristen Sagar (3/14/2006)
Fishman, Phillip F. (Missouri)
Heiser, Walter (Missouri)
FitzGibbon, John J. (Missouri)
Funsch, Richard O. (Missouri)
Koehr, Jack L. (Missouri)
Webster, John Stanley (Washington)
Last updated April 15, 2024, 3:21 a.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Missouri
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Feb. 23, 1971
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
all federal prisoners in the St. Louis City Jail
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: Unknown
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
St. Louis City Jail (St. Louis city), 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:
Order Duration: 1973 - None
Issues
General:
Food service / nutrition / hydration
Sanitation / living conditions
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
Assault/abuse by staff (facilities)
Assault/abuse by non-staff (facilities)
Medical/Mental Health:
Type of Facility: