Civil Rights Impact Litigation

Advocating for Currently and Formerly Incarcerated People 

Impact litigation is one way to dismantle Louisiana’s criminal legal system, which incarcerates more people per capita than most countries.  Our approach is client-centered and data-driven. We work with impacted people, including families, to identify needed reform and take action.

Our Docket Includes

• Humphrey v. LeBlanc and Giroir v. LeBlanc: Challenging the State’s failure to timely release people who have already served their sentences 

• Lewis v. Cain: Certified class action challenging unconstitutional medical care at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola) 

• Ball v. LeBlanc: Challenge to unconditional conditions of confinement on Death Row 

• COVID Class Actions (Adult and Juvenile) 

Angola Medical Lawsuit

Joseph Lewis, Jr. et al. v. Cain et al., 3:15-cv-318-SDD-RLB (M.D. La.) 

PJI represents a certified class of thousands of men detained at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola) who raised Eighth Amendment and Americans with Disabilities Act claims related to medical care there. Incarcerated men are routinely ignored, accused of malingering, denied treatment, and left to languish in pain. 

We litigated these liability claims in a three-week trial in 2018. In March 2021, Chief Judge Dick of the Middle District of Louisiana issued a 124-page opinion overwhelmingly in favor of Plaintiffs. The court then ordered the parties to update the evidentiary record through expedited fact and expert discovery in advance of a remedial hearing. Plaintiffs’ experts reviewed the medical records of 60 class members, conducted a site visit, and issued updated reports in April 2022. The court held a two-week evidentiary hearing in June 2022, and a ruling is pending. 

Ball v. LeBlanc

Heat Conditions on Death Row 

In 2013, we represented several people on Death Row who were subject to serious mental and physical health risks from continuous exposure to severe seasonal heat. With average summer temperatures in the 90’s and triple digits, these individuals had no access to temperature control, exacerbating their serious medical conditions. 

The district court found for plaintiffs and ordered the State to develop a plan to reduce and maintain the heat index in the death row tiers at or below 88 degrees. After the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed part of the judgment, the parties reached a settlement that ensured that plaintiffs received necessary relief.