Case 2:16-cv-00397-JMS-MJD Document 145 Filed 09/24/18 Page 1 of 3 PageID #: 1145

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
TERRE HAUTE DIVISION

JAUSTON H UERTA, ET AL., )

)
Plaintiffs, )
)
vs. ) No. 2:16-cv-00397-JMS-MJD
)
GREG EWING, ET AL., )
)
Defendants. )

MINUTE ENTRY

On September 21, 2018, the Court held a hearing on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Partial Summary

Judgment. Plaintiffs were present by counsel Kenneth Falk. Defendant Sheriff Greg Ewing was

present by counsel Craig McKee, David Friedrich, and Michael Wright. Defendants the Vigo

County Commissioners, the Vigo County Council, and the named individual Vigo County

Commissioners and Vigo County Council members were present by counsel David Friedrich and

Michael Wright. The Court Reporter was Jean Knepley.

The Court heard argument from counsel for Plaintiffs and Defendants regarding Plaintiffs’

Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. [Filing No. 118.] Based on that argument, and on the

briefs filed by the parties, the Court GRANTED Plaintiffs’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment

to the extent that it found that conditions at the Vigo County Jail (the “Jail”) are unconstitutional.

The Court then discussed the relief that Plaintiffs are entitled to, which must be within the

parameters of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”). The Court:

• ORDERED Defendants to prepare a reasonable timetable which reflects when

the new jail will be operational. Defendants are ORDERED to file their report
by October 15, 2018;

• ORDERED the parties to meet and confer regarding the measures Defendants
can take under the PLRA’s requirement that the measures be “narrowly drawn,

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Case 2:16-cv-00397-JMS-MJD Document 145 Filed 09/24/18 Page 2 of 3 PageID #: 1146

extend[ ] no further than necessary to correct the violation of the Federal right,
and [are] the least intrusive means necessary to correct the violation of the
Federal right” to increase staffing at the Jail in the meantime. Increased staffing
would further the goal of increasing the amount of recreation inmates could
engage in, and would improve the staff’s ability to perform medical and safety
checks. The parties are ORDERED to file their report by October 15, 2018.

The Court will issue a comprehensive Order on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment in the

near future, which discusses the relief to be afforded to Plaintiffs for Defendants’ constitutional

violations in more detail.

The Court noted that it is relying on the Vigo County Council’s approval of a Local Option

Income Tax, which would be used to fund a new jail, to show that Vigo County officials are serious

about alleviating the unconstitutional conditions at the Jail. The Court also noted that Vigo County

tax dollars would be best spent solving the issue of unconstitutional conditions at the Jail rather

than failing to solve the problem and exposing taxpayers to serial litigation brought by Jail inmates

who have suffered personal injuries due to those conditions. Additionally, Defendants should be

mindful that to the extent prisoners at the Jail are pre-trial detainees, they are presumed innocent

and have rights greater than those who have been convicted.

The Court will require the parties to report to the Court on a periodic basis regarding

construction of the new jail and efforts to minimize constitutional violations in the meantime

through the hiring of additional staff, increased recreation, and increased medical and safety

checks. The first such report will take place at a hearing on November 13, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. in

Room 131 of the United States Courthouse, 921 Ohio Street, Terre Haute, Indiana. The Sheriff,

the Presidents of the Vigo County Commissioners and the Vigo County Council, and any other

individuals who possess information necessary to provide a complete report to the Court are

ORDERED to be present at the hearing.

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The Court raised with the parties the issue of the class definition being overbroad for

Plaintiffs’ declaratory and injunctive relief claims – the only claims for which a class has been

certified. The parties agreed that the class definition should be revised, and defined as “any and

all persons currently confined, or who will in the future be confined, in the Vigo County Jail.”

The Court also ORDERED that, to the extent elections in November affect which

individuals should be named as defendants in this case, the parties must confer and file a notice

reflecting which parties should be substituted in as defendants.

Finally, the Court noted that unconstitutional conditions at the Jail is a local problem that

is best solved by local officials. However, to the extent the steps outlined above and in the Court’s

forthcoming Order on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment do not begin to alleviate

the problem to the Court’s satisfaction, the Court will not hesitate to provide all relief to Plaintiffs

permissible under the PLRA, which could include the appointment of a 3-judge panel to consider

whether a prisoner release order and other measures are appropriate.

Date: 9/24/2018

Distribution via ECF only to all counsel of record