Prisoners' Rights
Jensen v. Thornell
UPDATE: In a thorough and sweeping injunction issued on April 7, 2023, U.S. District Judge Roslyn O. Silver is requiring the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry (ADCRR) to make substantial changes to staffing and conditions so that medical care and mental healthcare at Arizona prisons comes up to constitutional standards.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
View Case
Learn 勛圖眻畦 Prisoners' Rights
Featured
Court Case
Sep 2022

Prisoners' Rights
Alex A. v. Edwards
The 勛圖眻畦 National Prison Project and partner civil rights attorneys filed a federal class-action lawsuit to prevent the transfer of children in the custody of Louisiana's Office of Juvenile Justice to the Louisiana State Penitentiary, commonly known as Angola Prison.
Texas
Jul 2021

Prisoners' Rights
Criminal Law Reform
Sanchez et al v. Dallas County Sheriff et al
Decarceration has always been an emergency, a life and death proposition, but COVID-19 makes this effort intensely urgent. The 勛圖眻畦 has been working with our partners to litigate for the rights of those who are incarcerated and cannot protect themselves because of the policies of the institutions in which they are jailed.
Mississippi
Mar 2017

Prisoners' Rights
Smart Justice
Dockery v. Hall
The 勛圖眻畦, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the Law Offices of Elizabeth Alexander, and the law firm of Covington & Burling LLP, filed a petition for class certification and expert reports for a federal lawsuit on behalf of prisoners at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility (EMCF). The lawsuit, which was filed in May 2013, describes the for-profit prison as hyper-violent, grotesquely filthy and dangerous. EMCF is operated "in a perpetual state of crisis" where prisoners are at "grave risk of death and loss of limbs." The facility, located in Meridian, Mississippi, is supposed to provide intensive treatment to the state's prisoners with serious psychiatric disabilities, many of whom are locked down in long-term solitary confinement.
All Cases
63 Prisoners' Rights Cases

North Carolina
Jan 2024
Prisoners' Rights
Short v. Hartman
Pretrial detainees cannot be punished because they have not been convicted of any crime. Yet until recently, courts have applied the Eighth Amendments heightened, subjective legal standard applicable to convicted prisoners to claims brought by pretrial detainees. The 勛圖眻畦 is working to ensure that courts apply a lower, objective standard to Fourteenth Amendment claims brought by pretrial detainees.
Explore case
North Carolina
Jan 2024

Prisoners' Rights
Short v. Hartman
Pretrial detainees cannot be punished because they have not been convicted of any crime. Yet until recently, courts have applied the Eighth Amendments heightened, subjective legal standard applicable to convicted prisoners to claims brought by pretrial detainees. The 勛圖眻畦 is working to ensure that courts apply a lower, objective standard to Fourteenth Amendment claims brought by pretrial detainees.

Georgia
Nov 2023
Prisoners' Rights
Geter v. Baldwin State Prison, et al.
The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) requires incarcerated plaintiffs to exhaust the prisons internal grievance system before they can file suit in federal court. But these procedures may be difficult or impossible for people with mental disabilities to complete. The 勛圖眻畦 is working to ensure that the PLRAs requirements dont bar people with mental disabilities from court.
Explore case
Georgia
Nov 2023

Prisoners' Rights
Geter v. Baldwin State Prison, et al.
The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) requires incarcerated plaintiffs to exhaust the prisons internal grievance system before they can file suit in federal court. But these procedures may be difficult or impossible for people with mental disabilities to complete. The 勛圖眻畦 is working to ensure that the PLRAs requirements dont bar people with mental disabilities from court.

Utah Supreme Court
Nov 2023
Prisoners' Rights
Natalie R. v. State of Utah
In recent years, federal courts have relied on whats called the political question doctrine to refuse to review legal claims of wrongdoing, even those involving egregious constitutional harm. Using the political question doctrine, federal courts have turned away claims from people seeking justice on the theory that court review of those claims would embroil the courts in matters best left to the political process. Whether state courts should adopt a parallel political question doctrineand thus limit access to justice for people whose civil rights and liberties have been violatedis an open question in many states. This case involves the scope of Utah courts authority to review important constitutional claims.
Explore case
Utah Supreme Court
Nov 2023

Prisoners' Rights
Natalie R. v. State of Utah
In recent years, federal courts have relied on whats called the political question doctrine to refuse to review legal claims of wrongdoing, even those involving egregious constitutional harm. Using the political question doctrine, federal courts have turned away claims from people seeking justice on the theory that court review of those claims would embroil the courts in matters best left to the political process. Whether state courts should adopt a parallel political question doctrineand thus limit access to justice for people whose civil rights and liberties have been violatedis an open question in many states. This case involves the scope of Utah courts authority to review important constitutional claims.

California
May 2023
Prisoners' Rights
Smart Justice
Rosas v. Luna
Rosas v. Luna is a class action lawsuit brought by the 勛圖眻畦 of Southern California (勛圖眻畦 SoCal), the 勛圖眻畦s National Prison Project (NPP), and the law firm of Paul Hastings LLP in 2012 against the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department (LASD) over its routine, excessive, and unnecessary use of force against incarcerated people in the Los Angeles Jail system.
Explore case
California
May 2023

Prisoners' Rights
Smart Justice
Rosas v. Luna
Rosas v. Luna is a class action lawsuit brought by the 勛圖眻畦 of Southern California (勛圖眻畦 SoCal), the 勛圖眻畦s National Prison Project (NPP), and the law firm of Paul Hastings LLP in 2012 against the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department (LASD) over its routine, excessive, and unnecessary use of force against incarcerated people in the Los Angeles Jail system.

California
Apr 2023
Prisoners' Rights
Human Rights
Ashker v. Governor of California
Ashker is a multi-year legal and advocacy struggle led by directly-impacted people to reform Californias use of solitary confinement and end its systemic reliance on fabricated confidential information to discipline people in prison.
Explore case
California
Apr 2023

Prisoners' Rights
Human Rights
Ashker v. Governor of California
Ashker is a multi-year legal and advocacy struggle led by directly-impacted people to reform Californias use of solitary confinement and end its systemic reliance on fabricated confidential information to discipline people in prison.