On October 12, 1978, maximum security prisoners at the Colorado State Penitentiary filed a class action lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the Colorado Department of Corrections in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. The prisoners alleged that their constitutional rights had been violated by the prison officials' placement of prisoners in punitive and administrative segregation without due process, which was a failure to comply with the procedures set forth in the prison manual.

On February 28, 1979, the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado (Judge John Kane) granted the plaintiffs' request for a temporary restraining order, holding that the prison manual created constitutionally protected liberty interests for the inmates and that the prison officials' failures to comply were unjustified. Marioneaux v. Colorado State Penitentiary, 465 F.Supp. 1245 (D.Colo. 1979).

The defendants asked the court to enjoin one of the named plaintiffs, Richard Thiery, from proceeding with an action in the state district court in Canon City, Colorado. On March 9, 1984, the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado (Judge Kane) denied the motion. Marioneaux v. Colorado State Penitentiary, 581 F.Supp. 26 (D.Colo. 1984).

On January 9, 1989, one of plaintiffs, Jack Chrisman, filed a motion asking the court to force the defendants to comply with the consent decree. On October 18, 1990, the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado (Judge Sherman G. Finesilver) entered an order of closure to terminate the class action lawsuit, ruling that inmates would be allowed to proceed on their own if they had issues that were not settled by the termination of the class action lawsuit. On January 14, 1991, the plaintiffs and defendants reached a partial settlement. Individual plaintiffs continued to litigate their own claims, but the class action lawsuit was closed. We have no further information on the individual lawsuits.

Kristen Sagar - 03/17/2006


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