Stop Solitary - Litigation Resources

Courts have consistently found that long-term isolation for the mentally ill is cruel and unusual punishment, and solitary confinement can have shattering psychological effects even for people without mental illnesses. Litigation is one of the many ways the ACLU and its allies are working to put an end to solitary confinement. Established international law can also be effectively integrated into litigation and advocacy strategies.

Domestic Law Resources

• U.S. Dept. of Justice Investigation of the State Correctional Institution at Cresson and Notice of Expanded Investigation (May 31, 2013)
• Edmund LaChance v. Commissioner of Correction, et al.: Amicus brief submitted by the ACLU National Prison Project and the ACLU of Massachusetts regarding the harms of solitary of solitary confinement and recent state level reforms in correctional practice
• Illinois v. Gay - Amicus Brief
• The Common Law of Supermax Litigation, David Fathi, 24 Pace L. Rev. 675 (2004)
• Report of Mental Health Issues at Los Angeles County Jail,Terry A. Kupers, MD, MSP (June 27, 2009)
• Los Angeles County Jails: ACLU Jails Project
• DAI v. OMH, No. 02-CIV-4002(GEL) (S.D.N.Y.)
  • Complaint (S.D.N.Y. May 28, 2002)
  • Settlement (S.D.N.Y. May 25, 2007)
  • Expert Report of Terry Kupers, MD, MSP (PART I) (S.D.N.Y. June 1, 2005) (mental illness in isolation)
  • Expert Report of Terry Kupers, MD, MSP (PART II) (S.D.N.Y. June 1, 2005) (mental illness in isolation)
  • Expert Report of Steven J. Martin (S.D.N.Y. June 1, 2005) (mental illness in isolation)
• Settlement Agreement, Jones' El v. Litscher, Case No. 00-C-421-C, (W.D. Wis. June 24, 2002).
• Settlement Agreement, OP&A v Choinski, No. 3:03CV1352 (RNC) (D.Conn. March 8, 2004)
• Declaration, Silverstein v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, No. 07-CV-02471-PAB-KMT (D. Col. February 4, 2011)(redacted)
• Complaint, Presley v. Epps, No. 4:05CV148-JAD (N.D. Miss. June 22, 2005)
• Supplemental Consent Decree, Presley v. Epps, No. 4:05CV148-JAD (N.D. Miss. November 3, 2007)
• Expert Report of James Austin, Presley v. Epps, No. 4:05CV148-JAD (N.D. Miss. November 15, 2007) (classification)
• Expert Report of Stuart Grassian, MD, JD, KC v. Townsend, No. 6:09-CV-012, (N.D. Tex. August 31, 2009) (juvenile isolation)
• Expert Report of Anne M. Nelsen, MSW, MPA, KC v. Townsend, No. 6:09-CV-012, (N.D. Tex. August 31, 2009) (juvenile isolation)
• Wilkinson v Austin, 544 U.S. 74 (2005)(The procedures by which Ohio's new policy classifies prisoners for placement at its Supermax facility provide prisoners with sufficient protection to comply with the Due Process Clause.)

Search generally for decrees and settlements involving supermax prisons and solitary confinement at: http://www.clearinghouse.net/search.php (click on the case type of prison conditions, then look for cases by issue)

International Law Resources

Treaties and Conventions

• Committee Against Torture
• Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• Solitary Confinement and International Human Rights: Why the U.S. Prison System Fails Global Standards (2005), by E. Vasiliades,Am. U. Int'l L. Rev. Vol. 21, p.71
• The Istanbul statement on the use and effects of solitary confinement (adopted 12-0-9-2007 at the International Psychological Trauma Symposium, Istanbul).
• U.N. Human Rights Committee
• U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture

Advocacy Documents

• European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, by the Council of Europe Committee for prevention of torture (COE-CPT)
• Interim report of the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
• ACLU submission on Solitary Confinement to UNHRC 19th Session
• ACLU submission on solitary confinement to UNHRC 16th session
• NRCAT's request to the Special Rapporteur on Torture to investigate solitary confinement in the U.S.
• Expert Report by Prof. Richard J. Wilson, K.C. v. Townsend, No. 6:09-CV-012, (N.D. Tex. August 31, 2009) (Customary International Law Applies and Supports U.S. Law to Bar or Limit Use of Certain Disciplinary Measure Taken Against Girls at Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex)