In 1972, Michael G. King, Jr. filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts against state officials concerning conditions at the Treatment Center for Sexually Dangerous Persons in Bridgewater. The plaintiffs were represented by private attorneys. This lawsuit was litigated with Williams v. Lesiak. (MH-MA-0003) The lawsuit settled in 1974 and the district court (Judge Charles Edward Wyzanski, Jr.) entered two consent decrees.

The decrees placed primary authority of the center with the Department of Mental Health, which was to exercise that authority so that residents were subject to the least restrictive environment. The decrees prohibited defendants from using solitary confinement for purposes of punishment or discipline and provided other constitutional guidelines. In December of 1981, plaintiffs sued, seeking enforcement of the consent decrees. After an appeal and remand, the district court entered judgment for the defendants and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (District Judge Ronald Lagueux, sitting by designation) affirmed, finding that there had been no due process violation. Pearson v. Fair, 935 F.2d 401 (1st Cir. 1999).

In 1992, the district court appointed a Special Master to advice the court regarding the continued viability of the consent decrees. Inmates challenged this order and asked for a mandamus asserting that the district court lacked the jurisdiction to appoint a master. The First Circuit (Judge Bruce Selya) denied this request. In re Pearson, 990 F.2d 653 (1st Cir. 1993).

Judge John J. McNaught officially consolidated the Williams and King cases in 1994 and appointed counsel for a class of 48 inmates who alleged constitutional violations in the facility. As a result of state legislation, control of the center was transfered to the state Department of Corrections. The Department of Corrections presented the court with a proposed plan for administering the facility and in 1995, Judge McNaught directed the parties to reach a consensus on the rules and regulations that would govern the facility. That did not occur.

On October 31, 1996, Judge A. David Mazzone granted Massachusetts's motion to modify the decrees but denied a motion to vacate the previous decrees. On June 21, 1999, Judge Mazzone granted the motion to vacate the consent decrees, because the court found that the conditions at the center that had been the basis of the consent decrees had been remediated, and the court also found that the Department of Corrections had demonstrated the intent and ability to operate the facility in a manner consistent with the rights of plaintiff patients and the goals of the treatment. King v. Greenblatt, 53 F. Supp. 2d 117 (D. Mass. 1999). Judge Mazzone ordered the case closed on that date.

Angela Heverling - 05/30/2007


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