In 1984, inmates at the special housing units of several different state prisons in New York filed a class action lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the New York State Department of Corrections in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The prisoners, represented by Legal Aid Society of New York, asked the court for declaratory and injunctive relief, alleging that their constitutional rights had been violated by the conditions of their cofinement, including a lack of indoor exercise areas or recreational equipment in the outdoor exercise areas.

The parties reached a settlement regarding all issues in the litigation except the exercise and recreational issues. The district court (Judge Charles L. Brieant) granted summary judgment to the defendants on these remaining issues, and the plaintiffs appealed. On March 11, 1985, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Judge Jon O. Newman) affirmed the district court's decision, holding that exercise arrangements for inmates in special housing units did not violate the Eighth Amendment, and therefore the inmates were not entitled to indoor exercise areas or recreational equipment in the outdoor exercise areas. Anderson v. Coughlin, 757 F.2d 33 (2nd Cir. 1985).

We have no further information on the proceedings in this case.

Kristen Sagar - 10/31/2006


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