Filed Date: May 17, 1979
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In May, 1979, inmates at the Bucks County Prison in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, filed a lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. §1983 against the county in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The plaintiffs, represented by Buck's County Legal Aid and the Public Defender, asked the court for declaratory and injunctive relief, alleging that their constitutional rights had been violated by unspecified conditions of confinement. The class consisted of all current and future inmates at the Bucks County Prison.
On June 13, 1983, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Judge Clifford Scott Green) issued a consent decree in the case, providing for plaintiff relief in the areas of population caps, physical temperature of the facility, work release, medical care, including specific medical and gynecological care for women inmates, access to other facilities for women inmates, staffing, classification procedures, pre-trial procedures, and transfer procedures.
On March 31, 2003, the parties modified the consent decree through a stipulated agreement. The new agreement provided for changes in the areas of modification to the physical facility of the prison, construction of a mental health unit for women, provision of an exercise yard for women, record keeping, programming, rehabilitative treatment for drug and alcohol abusers, staff training, and a prison oversight board.
Summary Authors
Kristen Sagar (10/13/2006)
Green, Clifford Scott (Pennsylvania)
Alberts, Anita F. (Pennsylvania)
Gates, David (Pennsylvania)
Downey, James A. III (Pennsylvania)
McNamara, James M. (Pennsylvania)
Green, Clifford Scott (Pennsylvania)
Last updated March 27, 2024, 3:21 a.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Pennsylvania
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: May 17, 1979
Case Ongoing: No reason to think so
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
all current and future inmates at the Bucks County Prison.
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
Bucks County Prison (Bucks), County
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Due Process: Substantive Due Process
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
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: 1983 - None
Issues
General:
Sanitation / living conditions
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
Discrimination-basis:
Affected Sex or Gender:
Medical/Mental Health:
Type of Facility: