NCJ Number
136102
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 71 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring-Summer 1991) Pages: 4-23
Date Published
1991
Length
20 pages
Annotation
In January 1971, six jail inmates in Wayne County (Michigan) sued the sheriff, the jail administrator, the county commissioners, and the State Department of Corrections for relief from prison conditions they alleged violated State and Federal constitutions as well as local housing laws. Based on information collected from some of the attorneys, judges, jail monitors, and administrators involved, this article examines the factors that led to the longevity of this case which is still alive 20 years after it was initially filed, despite a victory by the plaintiffs in the Michigan Supreme Court.
Abstract
The central concerns of this analysis focus on the dynamics and process of the lawsuit itself including: the personal and institutional forces that led to the original filing, the length of its implementation phase, the effect the suit had on jail conditions, and the impact of the suit on the morale and actions of jail administrators. The suit demonstrates the principle that noncompliance with litigated reform is inevitable when the defendants are unwilling to institute reform and the judiciary is too weak to compel it. In Wayne County, other factors which contributed to noncompliance included the continued tenure of the sheriff and the friction between the corrections department and the legislature. However, compliance finally began to occur when there was a fundamental shift in administrative thinking and action, in this case, when a new county administrator was appointed with a clear mandate to implement jail reform. 50 notes and 18 references