Case: Taylor v. Wolff

In 1979, inmates of the Nevada State Prison system filed a Section 1983 class action suit in the District of Nevada, against officials of the Nevada Department of Prisons. Plaintiffs alleged violations of the First, Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Specifically, plaintiffs alleged that the medical and mental health services were inadequate. Plaintiffs had counsel from Washoe Legal Services and the ACLU National Prison Project.

In November 1983, the parties submitted a stipulated settlement agreement whithatch required defendants to implement new procedures regarding the treatment, classification, and segregation of inmates with mental health needs. The agreement also required an independent auditor to evaluate defendants' compliance over an 18 month period. At the auditor's discretion, the period for compliance could be extended an additional twelve months. The duties and responsibilities of the auditor were largely drawn from the settlement agreement in Shapley v. O'Callaghan (PC-NV-005). The plaintiffs in Shapley were also represented by Washoe Legal Services and the ACLU National Prison Project.

In April 1984, the settlement agreement was amended to incorporate additional training requirements and suicide watch procedures. The amended stipulated settlement agreement led to an order approving compromise of the class action in 1984. Allen F. Breed was named as the independent auditor and submitted three progress reports over the next eighteen months. Mr. Breed had previously been named the independent auditor in Shapley v. O'Callaghan. Finding that the defendants were not in compliance, Mr. Breed extended the monitoring period for an additional twelve months.

In May 1988, the District Court (Judge James M. Burns) issued a final order finding that defendants had fully complied with all but two of the provisions of the stipulated agreement. Judge Burns directed defendants to implement the Mental Health Plan co-written by Dr. William S. Logan and Mary Alice Conroy. Dr. Logan was appointed to monitor the implementation of the Mental Health Plan and compliance with the stipulated agreement and the final order.

Following seven progress reports by Dr. Logan between 1988 and 1993, defendants requested a finding of compliance by the court. Judge Burns held that defendants were in full compliance with the order, but required Dr. Logan to monitor for an additional year to ensure defendants' continued compliance. Taylor v. Wolff, 158 F.R.D. 671 (D. Nev. 1993). Following an additional three progress reports by Dr. Logan, defendants' motions to terminate jurisdiction, dissolve the consent decree, and dismiss the case with prejudice were granted in November 1994. Taylor v. Wolff, 158 F.R.D. 671 (D. Neb. 1994).

The docket for this case is not available on PACER, and therefore our information ends with the most recent court opinion, dated November 10, 1994.