Although hundreds of prisons in the United States have been the object of court orders, few have been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of all parties. Following a summary of the long history of one such case, Palmigiano v. Garrahy, this paper presents an in-depth analysis of the process of disengagement that ultimately led to the termination of court supervision. The process is related to contextual factors bearing upon it; the major issues in the process are identified, and the manner of their res olution described. The agreement reached in Palmigiano could serve as a model for the settlement of other cases.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Allen, H.F. (1977, April 14). Judge tours ACI; expert calls it unfit for humans. The Providence Evening Bulletin, p. A3.
2.
Camp, G. & Camp, C. (1995). Adult corrections. The corrections year book 1995. South Salem, NY: Criminal Justice Institute.
3.
Carroll, L. (1998). Lawful order: a case study of correctional crisis and reform. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc.
4.
Cooper, P.J. (1988). Hard judicial choices: federal district court judges and state and local officials. New York: Oxford University Press.
5.
Crouch, B.M. and Marquart, J.M. (1987). An appeal to justice: litigated reform of Texas prisons. Austin: University of Texas Press.
6.
Editors of the Journal-Bulletin ( 1977, August 11). ACI's long history of neglect must come to an end. The Providence Journal, p. A26.
7.
Feeley, M.A. & Hanson, R. (1990). The impact of judicial intervention on prisons: a framework for analysis and a review of the literature. In J. J. DiIulio (Ed.), Courts, corrections and the constitution (p. 1-46). New York, Oxford University Press.
8.
Jacobs, J.B. (1995). Judicial impact on prison reform. In T. Blomberg & S. Cohen (Eds.), Punishment and social control: essays in honor of Sheldon L. Messinger (p. 63-75 ). New York: Aldine De Gruyter.
9.
— (1977). Stateville: the penitentiary in mass society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
10.
Keating, J.M., Jr., Chm. (1993). Report of the Governor's Commission to Avoid Future Prison Overcrowding and Terminate Federal Court Supervision over the Adult Correctional Institutions. Providence, RI: Governor's Justice Commission.
11.
Maguire, K & Pastore, A. (eds.) (1995) Sourcebook of criminal justice statistics 1994. Washington: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
12.
Morin, S.F. (1977, August 11). Garrahy ponders his ACI options. The Providence Journal, p. A1.
13.
National Prison Project (1995). Status report: state prisons and the courts. Washington, DC: American Civil Liberties Union Foundation.
14.
Sturm, S.P. (1993). The legacy and future of corrections litigation . University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 142. 639-738.
15.
Legal Cases Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U. S. 520 (1979).
16.
Cooper v. Pate, 378 U. S. 546 (1964).
17.
Farmer v. Brennan, 114 S. Ct. 1970 (1994).
18.
Holt v. Sarver, 309 F. Supp. 362 (E. D. Ark., 1970).
19.
Jones v. North Carolina Prisoners' Union, 433 U. S. 119 (1977).
20.
Morris v. Travisono, 373 F. Supp. 959 (D.R.I. 1970).
21.
National Prisoners Reform Association v. Sharkey, 347 F. Supp. 1234 (D. R. I., 1972)
22.
Palmigiano v. Almond, C. A. 74-172, (D. R. I., July 10, 1995 ).
23.
Palmigiano v. Garrahy, 443 F. Supp. 956 (D. R. I., 1977).
24.
Palmigiano v. Sundlun, C. A. 74-172, "Transcript of Chambers Conference" (D. R. I., January 10, 1991).
25.
" Settlement Agreement" (D. R. I., March 19, 1994).
26.
" Transcript of Hearing" (D. R. I., June 30, 1994).
27.
—" Memorandum in Support of Motion for Determination of Compliance" (D. R. I., December 6, 1994).
28.
Pugh v. Locke, 406 F. Supp. 318 (M.D. Ala. 1976).
29.
Rhodes v. Chapman, 452 U. S. 337 (1981).
30.
Rufo v. Inmates of the Suffolk County Jail, 112 S. Ct (1992 ).
31.
Ruiz v. Estelle, 503 F. Supp. 1265 (S. D. Tex., 1980).
32.
Sandin v. Conner, 115 S. Ct. 2293 (1995).
33.
Wilson v. Seiter, 111 S. Ct. 2321 (1991).
34.
Wolf v. McDonnell, 94 S. Ct. 2963 (1974).
35.
36.
Bronstein, A.J. (1992, October 3). Interview.
37.
—. ( 1996, August 21). Interview.
38.
—. (1994, August 11). Letter to A. T. Wall, Assistant Director of Corrections.
39.
Cipriano, A.A. (1996, July 19). Interview. Mr. Cipriano is Chief Legal Counsel for the Department of Corrections.
40.
King, L. (1994, August 4). Letter to A. J. Bronstein.
41.
Powitz, R.W. (1994, July 5). Memo to A. T. Wall and A. J. Bronstein .
42.
—. (1994, November 7). Memo to A. T. Wall and A. J. Bronstein .
43.
Souza, A. (1996, August 15). Interview. Mr. Souza was one of the original plaintiffs in Palmigiano and has remained in the ACI through out the history of the case.
