In 1982, plaintiffs filed a lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the Michigan Department of Corrections (DOC) in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The plaintiffs were individuals who had been convicted and incarcerated under Michigan's "Guilty but Mentally Ill" statute, C.L.A. § 768.36, which provides that a criminal defendant who is found guilty but mentally ill and is committed to the custody of the DOC shall undergo further evaluation and be treated for mental illness or mental retardation. Plaintiffs claimed that the DOC lacked the resources to provide any psychiatric treatment to prisoners other than the most extreme disciplinary problems.

On February 16, 1984, the court (Judge Charles Joiner) granted class certification, concluding that the action could proceed as a class action if limited to the issue of whether the Department of Corrections had devised institutional policy and procedures, and if they had not, whether that failure was a constitutional violation of due process and the Eighth Amendment. Gorton v. Johnson, 100 F.R.D. 801 (E.D. Mich. 1984). The issues certified did not include those related to individual evaluation of prisoners, except where necessary to determine policy and procedure. All of our information regarding this case comes from the decision regarding class certification.

Angela Heverling - 04/05/2006


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