Case: Diamond v. Thompson

2:72-cv-03828 | U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama

Filed Date: Nov. 9, 1972

Closed Date: Nov. 28, 1975

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Case Summary

In 1972, inmates confined at Mt. Meigs Medical and Diagnostic Center brought a class action lawsuit in the Middle District of Northern Alabama alleging that Mt. Meigs and the state Board of Corrections violated their First, Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Plaintiffs requested various forms of injunctive relief including the return of certain personal property which they claimed had been confiscated without cause or compensation. On July 30, 1973, the District Court for the Midd…

In 1972, inmates confined at Mt. Meigs Medical and Diagnostic Center brought a class action lawsuit in the Middle District of Northern Alabama alleging that Mt. Meigs and the state Board of Corrections violated their First, Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Plaintiffs requested various forms of injunctive relief including the return of certain personal property which they claimed had been confiscated without cause or compensation.

On July 30, 1973, the District Court for the Middle District of Alabama (Judge Frank Minis Johnson, Jr.) found that, when plaintiffs were moved from the general population to administrative segregation, corrections officials improperly confiscated from them certain property to which they were entitled under prison rules governing administrative segregation. Because this property was never returned to the prisoners, the District Court issued an injunctive order requiring that the corrections officials either return the property to the inmates or replace it. Diamond v. Thompson, 364 F.Supp. 659 (M.D. Ala. 1973).

Both Plaintiffs and Defendants initially appealed from the District Court decree, but the appeal was eventually dismissed on joint motion of the parties.

A few months after the order was entered, three inmates filed motions in the District Court alleging that they were members of the class covered by the injunction and that defendants had failed to return to them all of their property. After holding hearings, the District Court entered judgment against defendants for the market value of the unreturned property.

On November 28, 1975, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Judges John Cooper Godbold, John Milton Bryan Simpson, and Charles Clark) affirmed the District Court decision. Diamond v. Thompson, 523 F.2d 1201 (5th Cir. 1975). The Fifth Circuit concluded that the defendants improperly sought to attack the factual basis of the July 30, 1973 District Court decree in the present appeal; such an attack should have been launched in the appeal from that decree (which was dismissed on joint motion of the parties), not in the present enforcement proceedings for such decree.

We have no further information on this case.

Summary Authors

Vidhya Reddy (2/19/2008)

People


Judge(s)

Clark, Robert M Jr (Texas)

Godbold, John Cooper (Louisiana)

Attorney for Plaintiff
Attorney for Defendant

Baxley, William J. (Alabama)

Bowen, William M. (Alabama)

Calhoun, Richard F. (Alabama)

Judge(s)

Clark, Robert M Jr (Texas)

Godbold, John Cooper (Louisiana)

Johnson, Carl E. Jr. (Alabama)

Simpson, Charles Ralph III (Kentucky)

Attorney for Plaintiff

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Documents in the Clearinghouse

Document

73-03328

Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

July 30, 1973

July 30, 1973

Order/Opinion

364 F.Supp. 364

74-03603

Per Curiam

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Nov. 28, 1975

Nov. 28, 1975

Order/Opinion

523 F.2d 523

Docket

Last updated Jan. 23, 2024, 3:18 a.m.

Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.

Case Details

State / Territory: Alabama

Case Type(s):

Prison Conditions

Key Dates

Filing Date: Nov. 9, 1972

Closing Date: Nov. 28, 1975

Case Ongoing: No

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

Inmates confined at the Mt. Meigs Medical and Diagnostic Center of the Alabama Department of Corrections.

Plaintiff Type(s):

Private Plaintiff

Public Interest Lawyer: No

Filed Pro Se: No

Class Action Sought: Yes

Class Action Outcome: Granted

Defendants

Alabama Penal System, State

Mt. Meigs Medical and Diagnostic Center (Mt. Meigs), State

Case Details

Causes of Action:

42 U.S.C. § 1983

Constitutional Clause(s):

Due Process

Freedom of speech/association

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Available Documents:

Any published opinion

Outcome

Prevailing Party: Plaintiff

Nature of Relief:

Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement

Source of Relief:

Litigation

Issues

General:

Classification / placement

Loss or damage to property

Affected Sex or Gender:

Female

Male

Type of Facility:

Government-run