U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick
A federal judge has rejected a class-action lawsuit filed against Louisiana’s governor and corrections officials that sought certification on behalf of the guardians of juvenile offenders who were once housed on a section of the Louisiana State Penitentiary.
Judge Shelly Dick of the Middle District of Louisiana handed down the decision July 2, stressing that it wasn’t the role of the federal judiciary to monitor day-to-day operations of the state’s Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ) – or go too far in intruding on the administration of state prison systems.
Dick also said that the facts of the case have changed significantly since the litigation was initiated in 2022 with the help of attorneys from the ACLU. The plaintiffs named in the initial lawsuit have “aged out,” the Angola facility that initially housed juveniles temporarily under the directive of former Gov. John Bel Edwards has been closed and an agreement to house youths at a Jackson Parish facility has been revoked.
“The court held in (a) previous ruling that, ‘Should all OJJ youth be removed from Jackson Parish and housed in OJJ secure care facilities, this lawsuit will be moot,’” Dick said in the opinion. “The uncontroverted record in this matter shows that this has been accomplished. … Accordingly, defendants’ amended motion to dismiss is granted.”
Attorneys for juveniles who have been held in Louisiana’s custody and their guardians had sought a permanent court order enjoining the state from sending juveniles to Angola or to any other adult jail or prison. The youths would be at substantial risk of serious harm if prison officials decide to transfer them to an adult facility sometime in the future, the plaintiffs said in a motion opposing the dismissal of the case.
Nancy Rosenbloom, senior litigation advisor with the ACLU’s National Prison Project, said the three-year litigation did produce benefits for the plaintiffs.
“Our brave young clients and their families asserted their constitutional rights in this case, and succeeded for three years in forcing the state of Louisiana to stop locking up children with juvenile delinquency cases in adult prisons and jails,” Rosenbloom said in a statement emailed to the Louisiana Record. “While the state has fought us every step of the way, we will continue to make clear that young people have a right to rehabilitative services rather than punishment.”
In her decision, Dick made clear that the conditions of confinement were not an issue germane to the resolution of the lawsuit.
“The stated goal … has always been to house OJJ youth in a secure care facility operated by the OJJ,” the judge’s opinion states. “This has now been accomplished. There is no evidence to contradict this fact. Simply because it is in the realm of possibility that youth could be transferred to another facility at some unspecified time in the future does not save plaintiffs’ claims.”
The plaintiffs wanted the court to require state officials to pledge that juveniles would no longer be used to house juveniles at institutions where adult prisoners are held.
“The court should deny defendants’ motion so the parties may engage in discovery for trial and/or attempt to settle this case with a court-enforceable stipulation to not use adult prisons to house children in the state’s delinquency system,” the plaintiffs said in their motion opposing dismissal.
