Supermax Prisons and the Constitution: Liability ... - Supermaxed

10Supermax Prisons and the Constitution: LIABILITY CONCERNS IN THE EXTENDED CONTROL UNITMadrid was a sweeping attack on the operation ofPelican Bay. The complaint challenged everythingfrom the fundamental concept of the ECU prisonto a variety of operational concerns. The scopeand seriousness of the lawsuitare reflected in the massive138-page opinion the trialjudge wrote. While upholdingsome aspects of the operationof Pelican Bay, including thefundamental concept of theunit’s high-security nature, thejudge commented that conditionsin the facility “may pressthe outer bounds of what mosthumans can psychologicallytolerate . . . . ” 15Much of the Madrid opinion isa detailed catalog of what can go wrong with theoperation of this type of prison. The opinionchronicles errors in planning, initial staffing,training, and supervision. It finds constitutionalviolations regarding excessive force, medical andmental health care, and conditions of confinementfor some inmates.The Wisconsin (Jones’El) and Ohio (Austin) decisionsboth touch on a variety of issues, but theWisconsin case is particularly noteworthy becauseof its focus on problems with mentally ill inmatesin ECUs—a major issue in Madrid. The Ohiocase takes a controversial stand on the levels ofdue process that must be afforded inmates as partof the ECU admission process.None of the reported decisions and settlementsdiscussed above comes from a court of appeal.All are federal district court decisions. MadridGiven the generallack of appellatedecisions, a definitivediscussion ofwhat courts mayrequire of ECUs isa bit speculative.was not appealed. (The Austin decision recentlywas largely affirmed on appeal; see discussion inchapter 6.) Given the general lack of appellatedecisions, a definitive discussion of what courtsmay require of ECUs is a bitspeculative. However, trialcourt decisions to date show atrend indicative of issues likelyto arise around ECUs, includingthe following:■■■■Whether inmates with certainmental illnesses mustbe excluded from ECUplacement.■ The extent to which conditionsin the ECU may causemental illness in some inmates,and the ongoing screeningprocess that must exist to ensure that theseinmates are removed if their mental conditiondeteriorates past a certain point.Adequacy of medical care.Operational issues, such as the use of force,that may be tied closely to the quality of stafftraining and supervision.Specific conditions in ECUs, such as celllighting.Of these issues, those regarding mental health arethe most serious and are also unique to the ECU.The mental health issues raise the fundamentalquestion of whether certain inmates can even beplaced in an ECU and/or held there for an extendedperiod of time. Other issues, such as medicalcare, use of force, and conditions of confinement,15Madrid, 889 F. Supp. at 1267.