This lawsuit challenged solitary confinement practices at the Middlesex County Jail in “C-Pod”, a unit specifically for solitary confinement. Whether people are placed there for their own protection, for disciplinary reasons, or to separate them from a codefendant while they await trial for years, the conditions are equally deplorable. Plaintiffs are locked in a small cell alone almost continuously, where they languish in a state of forced idleness. They cannot interact with other inmates, family cannot visit them; they are not allowed outdoors; and they cannot participate in religious, educational or rehabilitative programs. The ACLU-NJ and its co-counsel partners sought to remedy the unconstitutional conditions in C-Pod and help set the minimum standards that must be adhered to going forward.

On October 24, 2018, the case was closed following a settlement agreement that implemented expansive reforms.

Attorney(s)

New Jersey Office of the Public Defender

Date filed

November 5, 2015

Court

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

Status

Closed