Public Justice is lead appellate counsel in Whitson v. Hanna, in which the Tenth established that a county is liable when a “final policymaker”, like an elected sheriff, commits a criminal or tortious act, like sexual assault, while carrying out their official duties. Peatinna Biggs is a woman with intellectual disabilities who was being held at…
For decades, the Monterey County Jail in Monterey, California has abused the civil rights of the people it cages. The suicide rate at the jail is over three times the average for California jails, and the death rate at the jail is over two times the national average. In this calendar year alone, four people…
Public Justice filed an amicus brief on behalf of Statutory Interpretation Scholars in Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County v. Talevski, a case brought before the U.S. Supreme Court that raises the question of whether § 1983 can be used to enforce Congress’s Spending Clause statutes. This case involves claims by the family of…
Corizon Health Services was one of the nation’s largest providers of correctional health care services in the United States. At one point, Corizon delivered health care to over 300,000 people incarcerated in state prisons and county jails across the country. But instead of providing good or even adequate care, Corizon chose to maximize profits by…
In this lawsuit against Webb County, Texas and jailers at Webb County Jail, we represented Nelda Nuncio, the mother of Luis Alberto “Albert” Barrientos, a 22-year-old who died of a treatable infection while in pre-trial detention at Webb County Jail after his medical needs were ignored for days. Beginning at least four days before his…
Family members or friends of people detained in jail or prison often need to send money to prisoners to pay for their basic needs such as toothpaste, toilet paper, and clothes. Historically, this would cost family members and friends nothing more than the cost of a stamp and the value of the money order when…
In a set of two companion cases against the “virtual real estate” company Everyrealm, Inc. in the Southern District of New York, former employees Teyo Johnson and Katherine Yost brought discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims. Notably, each plaintiff brought sexual harassment claims, in addition to other claims based on protected classes. The Access to Justice…
This is a D.C. Circuit appeal about the availability of a private right of action to enforce Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which mandates that federal agencies’ websites and information technology be accessible to people with disabilities. Jahinnslerth Orozco has worked as an intelligence analyst for the FBI since 2012. Mr. Orozco…
Neutral policies that harm people due to a protected status, like race, sex, or disability — even if they don’t intend to — create what’s called disparate impact. For example, it would be widely recognized as discrimination (or disparate treatment) if a landlord refused to rent to Black tenants. But what if the landlord had…