Opinion · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Ronald Paul Adams, Etc., United States of America, Plaintiff-Intervenor-Appellee v. Nathan Mathis v. Roy L. Thornell, State Fire Marshal

Ronald Paul Adams, Etc., United States of Am., Plaintiff-Intervenor-Appellee v. Nathan Mathis v. Roy L. Thornell, State Fire Marshal, 614 F.2d 42 (5th Cir. 1980)

Type
Opinion
Court
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Jurisdiction
Federal
Date
1980-03-17
Topic
litigation

How later courts describe this case

  • statutes gave state officials the explicit duty to supervise and control all penal and correctional institutions

Citator

UpLaw has not yet analyzed Ronald Paul Adams, Etc., United States of America, Plaintiff-Intervenor-Appellee v. Nathan Mathis v. Roy L. Thornell, State Fire Marshal. The absence of a flag is not a finding that it is good law.

Cited by
14 opinions
ADAMS v. MATHIS,614 F.2d 42(5th Cir. 1980)
RONALD PAUL ADAMS, ETC., ET AL., PLAINTIFFS, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
PLAINTIFF-INTERVENOR-APPELLEE, v. NATHAN MATHIS ET AL.,
DEFENDANTS-APPELLANTS, v. ROY L. THORNELL, STATE FIRE MARSHAL,
DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.
No. 78-2035.
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
March 17, 1980.
Page 43
Robert S. Lamar, Jr., Montgomery, Ala., W. Scears Barnes, Jr., Alexander City, Ala., for defendants-appellants.

Joel M. Nomberg, Daleville, Ala., for Ronald Paul Adams.

Drew S. Days, III, Asst. Atty. Gen., Civ. Rights Div., John B. Oakley, Barry E. Teague, U.S. Atty., Montgomery, Ala., Kenneth E. Vines, Asst. U.S. Atty., Dept. of Justice, Walter W. Barnett, Joan F. Hartman, Attys., Appellate Section, Civ. Rights Div., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., for the U.S.

Charles H. Barnes, State Dept. of Ins., David E. Allred, Montgomery, Ala., for Roy L. Thornell, State Fire Marshal.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.
Before AINSWORTH and HENDERSON, Circuit Judges, and HUNTER,fn*District Judge.
PER CURIAM:
[1] This class litigation was instituted by the filing of a pro se complaint alleging serious constitutional violations in the operation of the Houston County Jail in Dothan, Alabama. In March 1975 the Court granted the motion of the United States to intervene and subsequently certified a class of plaintiffs consisting of all inmates of the jail at any time since the suit was filed, as well as all future inmates to be confined in that facility.

[2] The District Court found that the jail was seriously overcrowded, posed a health hazard, was psychologically debilitating to inmates, did not adequately protect inmates from harm, had no classification system, and did not adequately separate male and female inmates. The District Judge's order of extensive relief was commensurate in scope with that of the infirmities discerned.1Williams v. Edwards,547 F.2d 1206(5th Cir. 1977);Newman v. Alabama,503 F.2d at 1320 (5th Cir. 1974). We affirm on the basis of the District Court's opinion at458 F. Supp. 302.

[3] AFFIRMED.Page 44
  1. District Judge of the Western District of Louisiana, sitting by designation. ↩
  2. Pursuant to court order, defendants have filed reports which reflect clear compliance with the specifics. The Fire Marshal argues that he has complied as precisely as possible, but seeks relief from the language which prohibits him, generally, from "depriving any member of the class of his or her constitutional rights." He argues persuasively that this language does not apprise him of the acts he is restrained from doing. Defendants may and should seek clarification from the district court. ↩