Inmates at the Dutchess County Jail in New York filed a lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against representatives of the county in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The inmates asked the court to grant them injunctive relief against the county, alleging that their constitutional rights had been violated by inadequacies at the jail in the areas of classification, personal hygiene, health services, kitchen sanitation, and recreation.

On July 25, 1973 the parties entered into a stipulation with respect to the improvements needed in the jail which the defendants agreed to implement. On July 30, 1973, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Judge Murray Gurfein) issued an opinion and order approving the stipulation that had been entered into between the parties.

On December 8, 1975 the plaintiffs asked the court to hold Sheriff Quinlan in contempt for non-compliance with the agreement and order. On June 21, 1976, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Judge Henry Werker) held that the Sheriff was willfully in contempt for failure to comply with the stipulation and fined him $500. Lasky v. Quinlan, 419 F.Supp. 799 (S.D.N.Y. 1976). On October 8, 1976, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Judge Werker) issued another opinion requiring the Sheriff to pay $35,000 in legal fees and $9,573.48 in disbursements. Lasky v. Quinlan, 426 F.Supp. 682 (S.D.N.Y. 1976). The Sheriff appealed these decisions.

On July 29, 1977, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Judge Edmund Palmieri) vacated the district court's judgment, holding that because there were no individual plaintiffs still in custody at the jail and the district court had expressly denied class certification, the case was moot. Lasky v. Quinlan, 558 F.2d 1133 (2nd Cir. 1977).

Kristen Sagar - 06/09/2007


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