Case: National Prison Project & Arlington, VA Jail

No Court Case | No Court

Filed Date: Feb. 1, 1999

Case Ongoing

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Case Summary

On February 1, 1999, the National Prison Project of the American Civil Liberties Union entered into an agreement with Thomas N. Faust, the Sheriff of Arlington Virginia, concerning allegations of sexual misconduct by eight former inmates against correctional officers at the Arlington County Jail. In consideration for a settlement of the inmates' claims against the officers, the Sheriff agreed to modifications of the jail's policies regarding prevention of sexual misconduct against female inmat…

On February 1, 1999, the National Prison Project of the American Civil Liberties Union entered into an agreement with Thomas N. Faust, the Sheriff of Arlington Virginia, concerning allegations of sexual misconduct by eight former inmates against correctional officers at the Arlington County Jail.

In consideration for a settlement of the inmates' claims against the officers, the Sheriff agreed to modifications of the jail's policies regarding prevention of sexual misconduct against female inmates. The National Prison Project agreed to provide free technical assistance to assist the Sheriff in revising his policies and procedures in order to achieve compliance with the agreement.

The Sheriff agreed to designate a training supervisor to be responsible for development and implementation of policies and training programs relating to the issues of sexual misconduct at the jail. The supervisor's job included training all employees of the Sheriff's office about the new policies at the jail. All female inmates at the jail were to be provided with a written summary of the new policies and procedures, and a copy of the same was to be posted in the female residential common areas.

During the first ten days of January 2000-2004, the National Prison Project was to have access to confidential interviews with female inmates at the jail in order to ascertain whether the policies were being followed. In return, if the National Prison Project learned of a potential problem regarding sexual misconduct at the jail, they agreed to bring the information quietly to the sheriff's attention and attempt to achieve a mutually agreeable, non-adversarial resolution of the issue before initiating any legal action. All terms of this agreement were to remain in effect during the remainder of Sheriff Faust's tenure.

As of December 2014, information on subsequent projects on Sexual Assault Prevention by the Arlington County Sheriff's Office can be found here.

In response to the release of the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission's proposed standards in 2009, Sheriff Beth Arthur ordered a review all of the jail's policies and procedures in light of the draft standards. The staff made recommendations for changes to the physical plant, including installation of monitoring technology and installation of an inmate phone recording system.

Summary Authors

Kristen Sagar (6/14/2007)

People


Attorney for Plaintiff

Glasberg, Victor Michael (Virginia)

Goldberg, Jeanne (District of Columbia)

Attorney for Defendant

Brandt, John J. (Virginia)

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Documents in the Clearinghouse

Document

Agreement

Feb. 1, 1999

Feb. 1, 1999

Settlement Agreement

Docket

Last updated Aug. 30, 2023, 2:30 p.m.

Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.

Case Details

State / Territory: Virginia

Case Type(s):

Jail Conditions

Key Dates

Filing Date: Feb. 1, 1999

Case Ongoing: Yes

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

The National Prison Project of the American Civil Liberties Foundation on behalf of inmates at the Arlington County Detention Center

Plaintiff Type(s):

Private Plaintiff

Public Interest Lawyer: Yes

Filed Pro Se: No

Class Action Sought: No

Class Action Outcome: Not sought

Defendants

Arlington Jail (Arlington), County

Case Details

Causes of Action:

42 U.S.C. § 1983

Constitutional Clause(s):

Due Process

Due Process: Substantive Due Process

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Special Case Type(s):

Out-of-court

Available Documents:

None of the above

Outcome

Prevailing Party: Plaintiff

Nature of Relief:

Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement

Source of Relief:

Settlement

Form of Settlement:

Private Settlement Agreement

Order Duration: 1999 - 0

Issues

Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:

Sex w/ staff; sexual harassment by staff

Affected Sex or Gender:

Female

Type of Facility:

Government-run