Charles v. Leblanc
Advocating for mental health care for incarcerated men at David Wade Correctional Center
Date Filed: February 20, 2018
Court where filed: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, Shreveport Division
Case Number: 5:18-cv-00541
Co-Counsel: Originally filed by Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center, in partnership with Disability Rights Louisiana, then known as Advocacy Center of Louisiana. The lawsuit has been primarily litigated by attorneys from Disability Rights Louisiana and cooperating counsel for ACLU of Louisiana, with support from lawyers with the Promise of Justice Initiative and the law firms of Adams & Reese and Cohen Milstein.
This is a class action lawsuit that DRLA filed on behalf of hundreds of men with mental illness, who were facing abuse and neglect in solitary confinement at a state prison in North Louisiana called David Wade Correctional Center. After two trials, the court found that the prison had failed to provide these men with mental healthcare, was causing their mental health conditions to worsen, and was inflicting other cruel and unusual punishments.
These actions violate the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The court ordered the appointment of three experts to evaluate the prison’s current conditions and develop a plan for the prison and the State to remedy the violations.
This remedial plan is on hold pending an appeal by the Defendants.
