On February 22, 1980, the parties to this lawsuit entered into a consent decree that was approved by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama. On July 1, 1997, the Alabama Department of Corrections (defendants) asked the court to terminate the consent decree pursuant to the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), 18 U.S.C. §3626(b)(2), which provided for termination of prospective relief in certain cases.

On July 8, 1997, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama (Judge William B. Hand) granted the defendant's request and terminated the consent decree. The plaintiffs asked the court to reconsider, arguing that the PLRA violated the separation-of-powers doctrine and was thus unconstitutional.

On July 24, 1997, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama (Judge Hand) ordered a temporary stay on the termination of the consent decree. On January 21, 1998, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama (Judge Hand) lifted the stay and reinstated the earlier decision to terminate the consent decree. The docket is not available on PACER, and we do not have any further information on the substance of this case.

Kristen Sagar - 06/19/2007


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