In 1983, male prisoners at the Nebraska State Penitentiary filed a Section 1983 class action suit in the District of Nebraska against officials of the Nebraska Department of Corrections. Plaintiffs complained of defendants' policies and practices allowing female correctional staff to view male prisoners in the nude or in various states of undress.

Braasch v. Gunter was consolidated with Nielson v. Gunter for trial in April 1985. In the June 1985 decision, the Magistrate Judge David L. Piester held that plaintiffs' right to privacy outweighed the equal opportunity employment rights of the female correctional officers. However, the Magistrate Judge limited plaintiffs' privacy right to showering and pat down searches. Braasch v. Gunter, 1985 WL 3530 (D. Neb. July 15, 1985).

Plaintiffs appealed to the District Court from that portion of the magistrate's judgment which refused to extend plaintiffs' privacy rights to in-cell activity. On appeal, District Judge Urbom affirmed the decision of the Magistrate, reasoning that plaintiffs could easily conceal their nudity when in their cell. Nielson v. Gunter, 1986 WL 6480 (D. Neb. June 5, 1986). The docket for this case is not available on PACER, and therefore our information ends with the 1986 memorandum on appeal of magistrate's judgment.

Note: Documents from the Braasch and Nielson cases are included together in this file

Eoghan Keenan - 06/10/2005


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