Jails/Prisons/Detention
May 8, 2024
In May 2024, DRA filed a class action lawsuit along with The Legal Aid Society and Winston & Strawn LLP on behalf of incarcerated New Yorkers with disabilities against the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (“DOCCS”) and the New York State Office of Mental Health (“OMH”) for their ongoing violations of … Continue reading » “Anthony v. New York State Department of Corrections & Community Supervision (DOCCS)”
September 5, 2023
In August 2023, Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) and Disability Rights California (DRC) released a report, “Youth in Crisis: How Kings County Locks Up Youth With Disabilities.” This report outlines findings from a multi-year investigation of the conditions at the Kings County Juvenile Center. Read the full report with recommendations and images of the facility. DRA … Continue reading » “Kings County Juvenile Center”
September 19, 2022
This lawsuit, filed in March 2020 on behalf of several Deaf and hard of hearing people incarcerated in Tennessee Department of Correction (“TDOC”) facilities, challenges TDOC’s failure to provide effective communication to Deaf and hard of hearing incarcerated people, and seeks to enable them to access the same programs and services as non-disabled people who are incarcerated. Plaintiffs Kevin Trivette, … Continue reading » “Trivette v. Tennessee Department of Correction”
August 30, 2021
On August 30, 2021, Disability Rights Advocates and Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York filed a class action lawsuit against the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) on behalf of people with disabilities who are incarcerated at Five Points Correctional Facility and have been denied mobility-related accommodations they need to get … Continue reading » “Cardew v. New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision”
April 21, 2021
On April 20, 2021, Disability Rights Advocates and Lynn S. Walsh filed a class action lawsuit against the State of Oregon and the Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) on behalf of current and former people with disabilities who are incarcerated and who have been charged for the costs of the prostheses and other equipment they … Continue reading » “Terrill v. State of Oregon”
August 19, 2019
Click here for community resources (English and Spanish) including information explaining the consequences of the court’s order, who it applies to, and aspects of the decision that may be useful in your advocacy. According to the April 20, 2020 emergency order, ICE must conduct custody redeterminations for all subclass members. Click here for information on … Continue reading » “Fraihat v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement”
February 22, 2018
Read the Class Notice in English or Spanish. On February 22, 2018, Disability Rights Advocates, in partnership with Disability Rights California (“DRC”), released a 50-page report on our 6-month investigation of the treatment of youth with disabilities at the Kern County Juvenile Hall and other Kern County juvenile detention facilities. Our investigation uncovered abuse and … Continue reading » “T.G. v. Kern County”
July 28, 2017
Disability Rights Advocates represents Santa Clara County Jail inmates with mobility disabilities in litigation against Santa Clara County. Currently, there are no housing areas at the County Jails compliant with federal or state accessibility standards, and much of the rest of the County Jails have some sort of architectural barriers. Accordingly, some inmates report suffering … Continue reading » “Cole, et al. v. County of Santa Clara, et al.”
January 11, 2017
Please see the notice to individuals who may be impacted by the class action settlement agreement at the following link: https://bit.ly/3H8v9Ln . The New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) will drastically improve the provision of special education services for people in its prisons, according to a settlement preliminarily approved by the federal District Court for … Continue reading » “Adam X. v. New Jersey Department of Corrections”
May 19, 2015
Disability Rights Advocates in partnership with Public Counsel filed this lawsuit because Contra Costa County Juvenile Hall had a policy and practice of locking young people with disabilities in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day and depriving them of education. In a video, parents of young people held at Juvenile Hall say … Continue reading » “G.F. et al. v. Contra Costa County et al.”
