Santana v. United States

88 F.R.D. 549, 31 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 1152, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14877
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedSeptember 11, 1980
DocketCiv. Nos. 75-1187, 75-1213 and 75-1466
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 88 F.R.D. 549 (Santana v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Santana v. United States, 88 F.R.D. 549, 31 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 1152, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14877 (prd 1980).

Opinion

DECISION AND ORDER

TORRUELLA, District Judge.

This matter is presently before us on Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss the United States of America’s “Complaint In Intervention.”

BACKGROUND

This action is a consolidation of three separate suits, Santana v. Collazo, Civil Number 75-1187 (filed on October 10,1975), Olivo v. Rios, Civil Number 75-1213 (filed on October 24, 1975) and Ibañez v. Rios, Civil Number 75-1466 (filed on December 12, 1975). In these suits Plaintiffs allege that juveniles confined in the Mayaguez Industrial School in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico and the Maricao Juvenile Camp in Maricao, Puerto Rico are being denied their constitutional rights. On August 10, 1976 these actions were certified as class actions, the class being composed of all present and future juveniles who are committed to the Industrial School and Juvenile Camp.

Plaintiffs’ complaints were filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and seek declaratory and injunctive relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1651, 2201 and 2202. They claim in [551]*551substance, that Defendants acting under color of state law deprived Plaintiffs of their constitutional and civil rights, including, inter alia, the right to due process of law prior to denial of liberty, the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, the right to be free from involuntary servitude, the right to equal protection of the laws, and the right to rehabilitation and treatment services. More specifically Plaintiffs claim: (1) utilization of extensive seclusion in solitary confinement without basic necessities and treatment services; (2) prolonged disciplinary confinement imposed without due process; (3) lack of individualized, comprehensive rehabilitation plans; (4) inadequate opportunities for education and rehabilitation; (5) inadequate medical care, including lack of psychiatric and psychological services; (6) unsanitary conditions throughout the institutions; (7) lack of opportunities for physical exercise and recreation; and (8) that inadequately qualified and trained staff is responsible for the juvenile’s rehabilitation. Plaintiffs seek declaratory relief to specify minimal constitutional standards for adequate rehabilitation of juveniles, and injunctive relief to rectify the alleged unconstitutional conditions, policies and practices. They also wish to enjoin Defendants from further admitting juveniles into these institutions until the constitutional standards which they claim are violated have been achieved.

Complaint in Intervention

The Complaint in Intervention w.as ten- - dered on November 29,1976. On December 3, 1976, Defendants filed a Motion for extension of time within which to respond to the Motion to Intervene. On December 6, 1976 the Court granted the intervention without explicitly ruling on the Motion for Extension (on March 10, 1977, the Magistrate denied it as moot). On February 4, 1977 Defendants answered the Complaint in Intervention and alleged Plaintiff-Interventor’s lack of standing as an affirmative defense.

Plaintiff-Intervenor’s Complaint alleges that Defendants’ acts and omissions are violative of the confined juveniles’ rights under the Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, Ninth, Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution. It charges that: (1) juveniles with mental retardation, emotional disturbance and other handicaps are inappropriately placed in institutions which lack appropriate treatment services; (2) juveniles are placed in the Industrial School or Juvenile Camp without due consideration, development or operation of alternative community-based placements which are less restrictive in nature and conditions; (3) juveniles are denied the right to treatment and rehabilitative care, because of inadequate staff and facilities, lack of appropriate treatment and rehabilitative plans, and inhumane physical and psychological environment which fails to provide minimum standards of safety and health; (4) juveniles are subjected to extreme and unnecessary disciplinary measures, including prolonged solitary confinement and corporal punishment; (5) juveniles are forced to undergo excessive and/or non-therapeutic sedation by injection or ingestion of tranquilizing drugs; (6) juveniles are forced to perform non-therapeutic, institution-maintaining labor without financial compensation; and (7) juveniles are deprived of adequate and appropriate education, training and treatment services. Plaintiff-Intervenor requests a declaratory judgment and injunction against Defendants for failing or refusing to provide appropriate care and treatment in the least restrictive setting to all juveniles in their control or custody.

The intervening complaint’s jurisdictional statement claims that this Court has jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1343(3) and that declaratory relief is authorized in accordance with 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202. It also states the following:

“. . . The proper care and treatment of such juveniles is a matter of direct concern to the United States as evidenced by congressional enactments in the area of juvenile justice as: Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Offenses Control Act of 1961 (PL 87-274), Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 [552]*552U.S.C. § 240C) (75 Stat. § 572); Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Control Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. § 3812); Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 3811 et seq.); Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. §§ 5601 et seq.); Federal Youth Corrections Act (18 U.S.C. § 5001 et seq.). As well as in related areas such as: Titles IV and XIX of the Social Security Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. §§ 601 et seq. and §§ 1396 et seq.); the Developmental^ Disabled Assistance and Bill of Rights Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 6001 et seq.).”

Both before and after the granting of the intervention in this case the parties engaged in extensive discovery, including Court-sanctioned participant observation studies. Thereafter, at the request and urging of the Court all parties, including Plaintiff-Intervenor, engaged in various settlement negotiations and agreements, which proposals were denied approval in our orders of January 18 and September 5, 1979.

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Related

Santana v. Collazo
533 F. Supp. 966 (D. Puerto Rico, 1982)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
88 F.R.D. 549, 31 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 1152, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14877, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/santana-v-united-states-prd-1980.