Filed Date: May 5, 1983
Clearinghouse coding complete
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)
Cline, Victoria (California)
Cooper, David (California)
Malahowski, Roy (California)
Shauffer, Carole B. (California)
Denatale, Thomas V. Jr. (California)
Last updated Feb. 15, 2024, 3:14 a.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: California
Case Type(s):
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):
Attorney Organizations:
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: Unknown
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
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: 1991 - None
Issues
General:
Access to lawyers or judicial system
Sanitation / living conditions
Staff (number, training, qualifications, wages)
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
Affected Sex or Gender:
Medical/Mental Health:
Type of Facility: