Case: Steven L. v. Kern County

1:83-cv-00189 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California

Filed Date: May 5, 1983

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Case Summary

On February 17, 1983, juvenile inmates represented by Legal Assistance and Youth Law Center filed class action lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, against the Kern County Juvenile Hall and the Kern Youth Facility. The complaint sought declaratory and injunctive relief on behalf of the class, and compensatory and punitive damages for the individually named plaintiffs, for violations of 1st, 6th, 8th, and 14th Amendment rights related to…

On February 17, 1983, juvenile inmates represented by Legal Assistance and Youth Law Center filed class action lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, against the Kern County Juvenile Hall and the Kern Youth Facility. The complaint sought declaratory and injunctive relief on behalf of the class, and compensatory and punitive damages for the individually named plaintiffs, for violations of 1st, 6th, 8th, and 14th Amendment rights related to mail censorship, heavily restricted access to attorneys and courts, disciplinary practices including extended isolation or room restriction, and lack of adequate medical and psychiatric care. The judge indicated by the docket designation was Judge Edward Dean Price.

On March 7, 1991, the parties entered into a non-court ordered settlement agreement. Defendants agreed to the following conditions: attorneys would be allowed to visit detained minors without prior court approval; minors would be allowed to send and receive unlimited amounts of mail unless there is reasonable cause to believe that it is correspondence regarding the furtherance of a criminal act, escape plan, or contained obscene material; postage for privileged mail would be paid by the probation department; minors would not be isolated for purposes of treatment or punishment, but only when they presented a direct threat to themselves or others, and they must be checked every 15 minutes; room restriction could be used as sanction, but never involving removal of basic hygiene materials (toothbrush, soap, bedding, etc.), and minors must be checked every 20 minutes; written explanations of these rules and guidelines had to be accessible to all detainees; and juveniles must be granted a hearing within 72 hours of any filed complaint.

For a period of one year after the agreement was entered, defendants were to provide monitoring information (number of detainees, instances of isolation, etc.) to plaintiffs' attorneys every quarter, or upon request. Reasonable attorneys' fees and costs are to be awarded to any party prevailing in subsequent litigation challenging compliance, including defendant, if plaintiffs' complaint is shown to be frivolous. The agreement did not waive the claim, but did resolve all outstanding issues except for attorneys' fees and costs for the immediate litigation.

There is no docket or other information.

Summary Authors

Greg Venker (5/17/2006)

People


Attorney for Plaintiff

Cline, Victoria (California)

Cooper, David (California)

Malahowski, Roy (California)

Shauffer, Carole B. (California)

Attorney for Defendant

Denatale, Thomas V. Jr. (California)

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Documents in the Clearinghouse

Document

1:83-cv-00189

Plaintiffs' First Amended Complaint

Feb. 17, 1984

Feb. 17, 1984

Complaint

1:83-cv-00189

Settlement Agreement

March 7, 1991

March 7, 1991

Settlement Agreement

Docket

Last updated Feb. 15, 2024, 3:14 a.m.

Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.

Case Details

State / Territory: California

Case Type(s):

Juvenile Institution

Key Dates

Filing Date: May 5, 1983

Case Ongoing: No reason to think so

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

Juveniles who are now, have been, or who will be confined in the Kern County Juvenile Hall or Kern Youth Facility

Plaintiff Type(s):

Private Plaintiff

Attorney Organizations:

Youth Law Center

Public Interest Lawyer: Yes

Filed Pro Se: Unknown

Class Action Sought: Yes

Class Action Outcome: Granted

Defendants

Kern County (Kern), County

Case Details

Causes of Action:

42 U.S.C. § 1983

Constitutional Clause(s):

Due Process

Freedom of speech/association

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Available Documents:

Complaint (any)

Outcome

Prevailing Party: Plaintiff

Nature of Relief:

Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement

Source of Relief:

Settlement

Form of Settlement:

Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree

Order Duration: 1991 - None

Issues

General:

Access to lawyers or judicial system

Disciplinary procedures

Mail

Sanitation / living conditions

Staff (number, training, qualifications, wages)

Totality of conditions

Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:

Confinement/isolation

Affected Sex or Gender:

Male

Medical/Mental Health:

Medical care, general

Mental health care, general

Type of Facility:

Government-run