In 1971, four inmates of the Dallas County Jail filed a class action suit under section 1983 against jail officials alleging that they were being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. In 1972, after a trial on the merits, the district court for the Northern District of Texas (Judge Sarah Tilghman Hughes) enjoined defendants from violating Texas state law, censoring inmates' mail, allowing overcrowded conditions, using inmates as corridor bosses, and destroying reading materials and instructed defendants to provide an outdoor area for exercise, provide sufficient security, implement policies and procedures regarding inmate conduct, change visitation policies, and create a classification system. Taylor v. Sterrett, 344 F. Supp. 411 (N.D. Tex. 1972). Defendants appealed and in 1974 the Fifth Circuit affirmed most of the district court's holdings but vacated and remanded the trial court's order regarding visitation and inmates as corridor bosses. Taylor v. Sterrett, 499 F.2d 367 (5th Cir. 1974). Subsequently, the district court ordered defendants to provide the court with written progress reports; defendants appealed, and the Fifth Circuit dismissed the appeal in a per curium opinion. Taylor v. Sterrett, 527 F.2d 856 (5th Cir. 1976).

Over the next several years, the district court vigilantly monitored jail conditions and progress. In 1979, the Fifth Circuit ordered the district court to stop exercising jurisdiction and to dismiss the case, finding that the jail was in compliance with previous court orders. Taylor v. Sterrett, 600 F.2d 1135 (5th Cir. 1979). In 1981, litigation continued over attorney's fees. Taylor v. Sterrett, 640 F.2d 663 (5th Cir. 1981). The docket for this case is not available on PACER, and therefore our information ends with the last reported decision in 1981.

Lauren Cutson - 05/26/2005


compress summary