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CLOSED,JURYDEMAND

U.S. District Court United States District Court for the Western District of Washington (Seattle)
CIVIL DOCKET FOR CASE #: 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

C.S. et al v. King County et al Assigned to: U.S. District Judge John C Coughenour Cause: 42:1983 Civil Rights Act

Date Filed: 10/20/2017 Date Terminated: 08/20/2018 Jury Demand: Defendant Nature of Suit: 440 Civil Rights: Other Jurisdiction: Federal Question

Plaintiff
C. S. a minor, by and through his mother, SONYA STOKES

represented by Nicholas Broten Straley COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES (SEA) 101 YESLER WAY STE 300 SEATTLE, WA 98104-2552 206-464-0838 Fax: 206-382-3386 Email: nick.straley@columbialegal.org LEAD ATTORNEY ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED

Michael Althauser COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES (OLY) 711 CAPITOL WAY S STE 304 OLYMPIA, WA 98501 360-943-6585 Fax: 360-754-4578 Email: michael.althauser@columbialegal.org TERMINATED: 01/03/2018

Nicholas Brian Allen COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES (SEA) 101 YESLER WAY STE 300 SEATTLE, WA 98104-2552 206-464-0838 Fax: 206-382-3386 Email: nick.allen@columbialegal.org ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED

Sujatha Branch COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES (SEA) 101 YESLER WAY STE 300 SEATTLE, WA 98104-2552 206-287-9665

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Plaintiff J. R. a minor, by and through his mother, QUINIECA TAYLOR

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Email: sujatha.branch@columbialegal.org TERMINATED: 08/16/2018
represented by Nicholas Broten Straley (See above for address) LEAD ATTORNEY ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED

Michael Althauser (See above for address) TERMINATED: 01/03/2018

Nicholas Brian Allen (See above for address) ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED

Plaintiff
D. B. a minor, by and through his mother, KIMBERLEY FALL

Sujatha Branch (See above for address) TERMINATED: 08/16/2018
represented by Nicholas Broten Straley (See above for address) LEAD ATTORNEY ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED

Michael Althauser (See above for address) TERMINATED: 01/03/2018

Nicholas Brian Allen (See above for address) ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED

Plaintiff
K. C. by and through his guardian ad litem, MARIE CALLENDRET, on bhelaf of themselves and all others similarly situated

Sujatha Branch (See above for address) TERMINATED: 08/16/2018
represented by Nicholas Broten Straley (See above for address) LEAD ATTORNEY ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED

Michael Althauser (See above for address) TERMINATED: 01/03/2018

Nicholas Brian Allen (See above for address) ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED

Sujatha Branch

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V. Defendant King County
Defendant Kent School District

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(See above for address) TERMINATED: 08/16/2018
represented by Pascal Herzer KING COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY'S OFFICE 516 3RD AVENUE, ROOM W400 SEATTLE, WA 98104 206-477-1120 Email: pascal.herzer@kingcounty.gov ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED
Samantha Kanner KING COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY'S OFFICE (4TH AVE) 500 4TH AVE STE 900 SEATTLE, WA 98104-5039 206-296-8820 Email: samantha.kanner@kingcounty.gov ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED

Date Filed 10/20/2017
10/23/2017 10/23/2017
10/23/2017 10/23/2017 10/24/2017

# Docket Text
1 COMPLAINT for Injunctive and Declaratory Relief against All Defendants (Receipt # 0981-5061514) Attorney Nicholas Broten Straley added to party C. S.(pty:pla), ﬁled by C. S.. (Attachments: # 1 Summons King County, # 2 Civil Cover Sheet)(Straley, Nicholas) (Entered: 10/20/2017)
U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour added. (DJ) (Entered: 10/23/2017)
NOTICE to Filer: SUMMONS FORM INCOMPLETE - ATTORNEY ADDRESS BLOCK LEFT BLANK: There is no name or address listed in the block for counsel. Please post your corrected summons(es) using the event "Praecipe For a Summons" found under "Other Documents." All summons(es) should be posted under this one event. Thank you.(DJ) (Entered: 10/23/2017)
2 AMENDED COMPLAINT for Injunctive & Declaratory Relief against defendant(s) King County, ﬁled by C. S..(Straley, Nicholas) (Entered: 10/23/2017)
3 PRAECIPE TO ISSUE SUMMONS re Notice-Other, by Plaintiffs D. B., K. C., J. R., C. S. (Straley, Nicholas) (Entered: 10/23/2017)
4 MINUTE ENTRY re: STATUS CONFERENCE.

The attorney who will be responsible for trying the case should attend the conference and be prepared to discuss the following matters at the conference: 1. The nature of the case; 2. The status of matters which are presently set before the Court, e.g., hearings, motions, etc.;

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3. The status of discovery and a time schedule for its completion; 4. A statement of any legal issues about which motions are contemplated and a possible brieﬁng schedule; 5. An estimate of the number of days needed for trial; 6. Whether the case is jury or non-jury; 7. The date by which the case will be ready for trial; 8. Settlement probabilities; and 9. Whether the parties consent to proceed to trial before an assigned magistrate judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 636(c). If counsel's ofﬁce is outside of the Greater Metropolitan Seattle area, arrangements may be made to participate telephonically in the conference by contacting the Courtroom Deputy Clerk at Paul_Pierson@wawd.uscourts.gov at least TEN (10) days prior to the proceeding. Counsel do NOT need to ﬁle a Joint Status Report or Rule 26(f) Report in advance of the Status Conference. Counsel should plan on arriving 10-15 minutes early to check in with the Courtroom Deputy Clerk, as the Court's calendar begins promptly at 9:00 a.m. COUNSEL OR THE PRO SE PARTY WHO FILED THIS MATTER SHALL IMMEDIATELY NOTIFY ALL PARTIES OF THE DATE AND TIME OF THE SCHEDULED STATUS CONFERENCE.

10/24/2017 10/24/2017 10/27/2017 10/27/2017 10/27/2017 10/27/2017 11/03/2017 11/13/2017 11/15/2017 11/29/2017 01/03/2018 01/16/2018
02/13/2018

A Status Conference is set for 1/30/2018 at 9:00 AM in Courtroom 16206 before U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour. (PP) (Entered: 10/24/2017)
5 ORDER REGARDING DISCOVERY AND DEPOSITIONS by U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour. (PP) (Entered: 10/24/2017)
6 Summons Electronically Issued as to defendant King County. (TH) (Entered: 10/24/2017)
7 AFFIDAVIT of Service of Summons and Complaint on Janet Masuo on 10/25/2017, ﬁled by Plaintiffs D. B., K. C., J. R., C. S.. (Straley, Nicholas) (Entered: 10/27/2017)
8 NOTICE of Appearance by attorney Nicholas Brian Allen on behalf of Plaintiffs D. B., K. C., J. R., C. S.. (Allen, Nicholas) (Entered: 10/27/2017)
9 NOTICE of Appearance by attorney Samantha Kanner on behalf of Defendant King County. (Kanner, Samantha) (Entered: 10/27/2017)
10 NOTICE of Association of Attorney by Pascal Herzer on behalf of Defendant King County. (Herzer, Pascal) (Entered: 10/27/2017)
11 NOTICE of Appearance by attorney Michael Althauser on behalf of Plaintiffs D. B., K. C., J. R., C. S.. (Althauser, Michael) (Entered: 11/03/2017)
12 NOTICE of Appearance by attorney Sujatha Branch on behalf of Plaintiffs D. B., K. C., J. R., C. S.. (Branch, Sujatha) (Entered: 11/13/2017)
13 ANSWER to 2 Amended Complaint with JURY DEMAND by King County.(Kanner, Samantha) (Entered: 11/15/2017)
14 NOTICE of Unavailability of counsel Samantha Kanner for Defendant King County from 01/12/18 to 01/22/18. (Kanner, Samantha) (Entered: 11/29/2017)
15 NOTICE OF WITHDRAWAL OF COUNSEL: Attorney Michael Althauser for Plaintiffs D. B., K. C., J. R., C. S.. (Althauser, Michael) (Entered: 01/03/2018)
16 NOTICE OF RESCHEDULED STATUS CONFERENCE. The Court, on its own motion, hereby orders the Status Conference RESET from 1/30/2018 to 2/13/2018 at 9:00 AM in Courtroom 16206 before U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour.(PP) (Entered: 01/16/2018)
17 MINUTE ENTRY for proceedings held before U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour; CRD: Paul Pierson; Plaintiff's Counsel: Nicholas Straley; Defense Counsel: Pascal Herzer & Samantha Kanner; CR: Andrea Ramirez; Time of Hearing: 9:00 a.m.; Courtroom: 16206;Status Conference was held on 2/13/2018. Plaintiffs' counsel advised the Court

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04/09/2018 04/12/2018 04/12/2018 04/12/2018
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that additional parties may be added in an amended complaint and requested this matter be continued. The Court ordered a Further Status Conference be set for 4/17/2018 at 9:00 AM in Courtroom 16206 before U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour. (PP) (Entered: 02/13/2018)
18 NOTICE OF RESCHEDULED STATUS CONFERENCE. The Court, on its own motion, hereby orders the Status Conference RESET from 4/17/2018 to 5/1/2018 at 9:00 AM in Courtroom 16206 before U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour.(PP) (Entered: 04/09/2018)
19 NOTICE of Unavailability of counsel Samantha Kanner for Defendant King County from 05/09/18 through 05/14/18. (Kanner, Samantha) (Entered: 04/12/2018)
20 Unopposed MOTION to Appoint Guardian ad Litem for Plaintiff K.C., ﬁled by Plaintiffs D. B., K. C., J. R., C. S.. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order) Noting Date 4/12/2018, (Straley, Nicholas) (Entered: 04/12/2018)
21 ORDER granting Plaintiff's 20 Unopposed Motion to Appoint Guardian ad Litem for Plaintiff K.C.. Appointment of a GAL is appropriate in this case to represent K.C.'s interests. Marie Callendret is a suitable person with the requisite knowledge and expertise to perform the duties required to protect K.C.'s ﬁduciary and legal interests in this case. Signed by U.S. District Judge John C Coughenour. (TH) (Entered: 04/12/2018)
22 MINUTE ENTRY for proceedings held before U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour; CRD: Paul Pierson; Plaintiffs' Counsel: Nicholas Straley; Defense Counsel: Samantha Kanner; Court Reporter: Nancy Bauer; Time of Hearing: 9:00 a.m.; Courtroom: 16206;Status Conference was held on 5/1/2018. Plaintiff's counsel advised the Court that the matter has been settled and appropriate dismissal paperwork will follow. (PP) (Entered: 05/01/2018)
23 Joint MOTION for Joinder of a Party, ﬁled by Plaintiffs D. B., K. C., J. R., C. S.. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order) Noting Date 7/9/2018, (Allen, Nicholas) (Entered: 07/09/2018)
24 MOTION to Approve Consent Judgment , ﬁled by Plaintiffs D. B., K. C., J. R., C. S.. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Proposed Order) Noting Date 8/3/2018, (Allen, Nicholas) (Entered: 07/09/2018)
25 DECLARATION of Nicholas B. Straley ﬁled by Plaintiffs D. B., K. C., J. R., C. S. re 24 MOTION to Approve Consent Judgment (Allen, Nicholas) (Entered: 07/09/2018)
26 DECLARATION of George Yeannakis ﬁled by Plaintiffs D. B., K. C., J. R., C. S. re 24 MOTION to Approve Consent Judgment (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C)(Allen, Nicholas) (Entered: 07/09/2018)
27 DECLARATION of Nicholas B. Allen ﬁled by Plaintiffs D. B., K. C., J. R., C. S. re 24 MOTION to Approve Consent Judgment (Allen, Nicholas) (Entered: 07/09/2018)
28 MOTION to Dismiss Action, ﬁled by Plaintiffs D. B., K. C., J. R., C. S.. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order) Noting Date 8/3/2018, (Allen, Nicholas) (Entered: 07/09/2018)
29 MINUTE ORDER granting parties' 23 Joint Motion for Joinder of a Party. The Clerk is DIRECTED to update the caption to reﬂect the Kent School District as a defendant. Authorized by U.S. District Judge John C Coughenour. (TH) (Entered: 07/09/2018)
30 MOTION to Appoint Guardian Ad Litem for Minor Plaintiffs for Settlement Purposes, ﬁled by Plaintiffs D. B., K. C., J. R., C. S.. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order) Noting Date 8/17/2018, (Allen, Nicholas) (Entered: 08/07/2018)

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31 MINUTE ORDER re-noting Plaintiffs' motions to approve settlement and dismiss (Dkt. Nos. 24 , 28 ) to August 17, 2018. Authorized by U.S. District Judge John C Coughenour. (TH) (Entered: 08/08/2018)
32 NOTICE OF WITHDRAWAL OF COUNSEL: Attorney Sujatha Branch for Plaintiffs D. B., K. C., J. R., C. S.. (Branch, Sujatha) (Entered: 08/16/2018)
33 ORDER granting Plaintiffs' motions to appoint guardian ad litem (Dkt. No. 30 ), approve settlement (Dkt. No. 24 ) and voluntarily dismiss (Dkt. No. 28 ). Signed by U.S. District Judge John C Coughenour. (TH) (Entered: 08/20/2018)

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 Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 1 Filed 10/20/17 Page 1 of 18

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

7

AT SEATTLE

8

C.S., a minor, by and through his mother,

CLASS ACTION

9 SONYA STOKES, on behalf of himself and all

others similarly situated,

No.

10

Plaintiff,

COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND

11

vs.

DECLARATORY RELIEF

12 KING COUNTY, 13

Defendants.

14
I. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT 15
1.1 This class-action civil-rights lawsuit challenges King County’s pervasive policy 16
and practice of holding children who have not been convicted of any crime in long term solitary 17
confinement (“isolation”) at King County’s Maleng Regional Justice Center (“RJC”) and the 18
Defendants’ denial of an adequate education to every child held at the RJC. 19
1.2 Despite a scientific consensus that solitary confinement places children at risk of 20
serious emotional, psychological and physical harm, King County has embraced the frequent and 21
arbitrary use of solitary confinement. 22

COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF- Page 1

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 1 Filed 10/20/17 Page 2 of 18

1

1.3 King County regularly confines children incarcerated at the RJC alone in

2 miniscule, barren cells for 23 or 24 hours a day. King County holds children in isolation cells for

3 weeks or months on end.

4

1.4 These children, many of whom already have mental illnesses, have little to

5 nothing to do in their cells: no meaningful human interaction, little to no education or

6 programming, no music or television, and very few reading materials. Even when allowed out of

7 their cells, children in isolation are alone in the day room. Any “recreation” the children in

8 isolation receive takes place alone in an empty, concrete pen.

9

1.5 Isolating children so that they have minimal meaningful social contact causes

10 trauma, depression, anxiety, and psychosis, increases the risk of suicide and self-harm, and

11 permanently interferes with a child’s psychological and social development. For children with

12 mental illnesses or disabilities, the risk of harm from isolation is even greater because those

13 illnesses or disabilities worsen.

14

1.6 Compounding the profound consequences of King County’s wanton use of

15 isolation, King County is also denying all children held at the RJC basic educational services and

16 programming.

17

1.7 By holding children in isolation for long periods of time and refusing to provide

18 them an adequate education, King County has violated and continues to violate the rights of all

19 children held at the RJC; rights guaranteed them by the United States and Washington

20 constitutions, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and other applicable laws.

21

1.8 Plaintiff seeks to certify a class of all children King County currently houses at

22 the RJC and all children it will hold there in the future and asks the Court to issue declaratory

COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF- Page 2

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 1 Filed 10/20/17 Page 3 of 18

1 and injunctive relief that will end the Defendants’ unlawful policies and practices.

2

II. PARTIES

3 Defendants

4

2.1 Defendant King County is the governmental entity that owns and operates the

5 RJC and is responsible for the unlawful policies, practices and practices and customs challenged

6 by Plaintiff, including those related to the use of isolation.

7

2.2 King County employees, agents or others operating at King County’s direction are

8 hereinafter referred to as “jail staff” or “jail staffperson.”

9

2.3 King County is legally responsible for the actions or inactions described herein

10 committed by any jail staffperson.

11

2.4 King County failed to properly train or supervise jail staff and failed to properly

12 promulgate policies and standards to ensure that the RJC is operated in a lawful manner.

13

2.5 The actions or inactions described herein committed by King County or by jail

14 staff were taken under color of state law and constitute state action for all purposes.

15 Plaintiff

16

2.6 The Plaintiff, C.S., represented by his mother, Sonya Stokes, is a minor under the

17 age of 18, who has been injured by the Defendants’ actions as described herein.

18

2.7 The terms child, children or youth as used herein all mean a person or persons

19 under the age of 18.

20

III. FACTS

21

King County holds children in isolation cells for weeks and months on end.

22

3.1 King County operates two jails designed to hold adults, the RJC and the King

COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF- Page 3

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 1 Filed 10/20/17 Page 4 of 18

1 County Jail.

2

3.2 Located in Kent, Washington, the RJC is a courthouse complex and correctional

3 facility. The jail portion of the RJC houses pre-trial detainees and people serving criminal

4 sentences. It generally has a daily census of between 830 and 950 adults.

5

3.3 Under Washington law, any child charged with certain crimes who is 16 or 17 at

6 the time of the alleged offense is automatically referred to the adult criminal justice system for

7 the adjudication of the criminal charge.

8

3.4 Younger children may also be sent to the adult system, but only after a Superior

9 Court Judge holds a hearing and determines that adult jurisdiction is appropriate.

10

3.5 By policy and practice, King County generally holds all children charged as

11 adults in King County at the RJC pending resolution of their criminal cases. This has been the

12 practice for a number of years.

13

3.6 Typically, King County holds 15 to 25 children at the RJC at any given time.

14

3.7 These children have not been convicted, but are detained at the RJC awaiting trial.

15

3.8 Depending on the nature of the charged offense, the County may detain a child in

16 jail at the RJC for months or even years.

17

3.9 Nonetheless, King County holds many children at the RJC in isolation, alone in

18 their cells, for days, weeks or months on end.

19

3.10 The children’s isolation unit King County operates at the RJC consists of a few

20 cells that are small and stark.

21

3.11 A typical cell is small and contains a stainless steel toilet, a sink, a mattress, and

22 an overhead fluorescent light. The cell floors and walls are concrete. The cells have no windows

COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF- Page 4

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 1 Filed 10/20/17 Page 5 of 18

1 to the outside nor does natural light enter them. The cell door is solid with narrow plexiglass

2 windows. A “pass through” slot allows correctional officers to pass food and papers to the youth

3 locked inside. The cells have no phones, radios, or televisions.

4

3.12 Children held in isolation spend typically 23 hours a day locked in their cells.

5

3.13 When children are allowed out of their cells, they are alone in the day room that

6 adjoins their cell.

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3.14 Often, King County fails to allow children out of their cells for even an hour a

8 day.

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3.15 On many occasions, children have been held for 47 or 48 hours at a time and even

10 more without being allowed out of their cells.

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3.16 On occasion, children, including the Plaintiff C.S., have been allowed out of their

12 cells for only 15 minutes every three days.

13

3.17 Children held at the RJC are subject to adult discipline, including long term

14 solitary isolation.

15

3.18 Correctional officers regularly take even the single hour away from children for

16 alleged transgressions of RJC rules.

17

3.19 These decisions are often arbitrary and based on minor misbehaviors that are

18 common for many teenagers, particularly those with mental health disabilities and those who

19 have been confined alone in a cell with nothing to do for days or weeks on end.

20

3.20 Children have been placed in isolation for failing to meet dress code rules,

21 mouthing off to correctional officers and other minor transgressions.

22

3.21 Not addressing a staff member by his proper title, annoying the staff, being loud,

COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF- Page 5

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 1 Filed 10/20/17 Page 6 of 18

1 or violating the dress code can result in weeks or months of isolation.

2

3.22 King County also holds children in isolation for reasons other than discipline.

3

3.23 King County holds children in “protective custody” isolation when there is a

4 concern that a particular child may not be able to live alongside other children held at the RJC.

5

3.24 Children have been held in “protective custody” isolation for months because

6 King County has not provided them with an alternative housing option that does not require

7 isolation.

8

3.25 This “protective custody” isolation is identical to the “disciplinary housing”

9 isolation that King County imposes on many children, as it entails at least 23 hours a day of

10 isolation in a cell alone with no meaningful social interaction, environmental stimulation, or

11 human contact.

12

3.26 King County has held children in these conditions at the RJC for weeks and

13 months on end.

14

3.27 Children locked in King County’s children’s isolation unit have virtually no

15 meaningful human interaction.

16

3.28 “Recreation” consists of being placed alone in a small, barren box with a concrete

17 floor, concrete walls and little else.

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3.29 Before being able to leave a cell for a visit with family, the child must place his

19 hands through the metal slot in the door to be handcuffed.

20

3.30 Many children held in isolation are handcuffed and escorted by two correctional

21 officers whenever they are visited by family or friends, further humiliating the child in front of

22 their loved ones.

COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF- Page 6

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 1 Filed 10/20/17 Page 7 of 18

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3.31 Children in the isolation cells cannot participate in recreational activities, such as

2 basketball, cards or chess.

3

3.32 While in isolation, children are not allowed to order anything from the

4 commissary. As a result, many children held in isolation report being hungry.

5

3.33 They are denied other privileges as well.

6

3.34 Additionally, children in isolation are regularly denied access to reading or

7 writing materials or other items that would help them to pass the time while locked in their cells

8 23 hours per day.

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3.35 They eat their meals alone in their cells.

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3.36 They receive no meaningful education while in isolation.

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3.37 Their one hour out is the only time when they can go outside to the rec yard, use

12 the telephone, or take a shower. Even in the rec yard, they are alone and kept apart from other

13 isolated children. Otherwise, they are locked alone in the cells.

14

3.38 Their requests for help and written grievances are routinely and regularly ignored

15 by staff. Some are held weeks and months beyond the date which they are scheduled to be

16 released from isolation.

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3.39 Potentially dangerous for anyone, solitary confinement is especially harmful for

18 children, who are still developing physically, psychologically, and socially.

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3.40 King County has a special relationship with the children under its care.

20

3.41 As a result of this special relationship, King County has a duty to protect and

21 maintain the health, safety and welfare of all the children it holds at the RJC.

22

3.42 Nonetheless, King County’s use of isolation is inflicting serious harm on children

COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF- Page 7

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 1 Filed 10/20/17 Page 8 of 18

1 and exposing them to a substantial risk of serious harm.

2

3.43 King County’s use of isolation at the RJC has caused children to suffer from

3 suicidal ideation or intent, anxiety, depressive symptoms, post-traumatic symptoms, and

4 worsening behavior.

5

3.44 Children have reported feeling “crazy,” depressed, and anxious from the lack of

6 stimulation caused by isolation and the lack of contact with others.

7

3.45 Some are unable to sleep at night because of the anxiety and depression caused by

8 being isolated for days at a time.

9

3.46 Their sleep is also troubled by the screams of adult inmates that they can hear

10 through their vents throughout the night.

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3.47 Children held in isolation at the RJC have threatened suicide.

12

3.48 King County has acknowledged that isolation harms children and has been

13 informed about the injuries it is causing children by isolating them.

14

3.49 One of King County’s current policies regarding the use of isolation at the RJC

15 states that an “Inmate-patient[] under the age of 19” is a “contraindication” for the use of

16 isolation.

17

3.50 Though its own policies indicate that isolation is inappropriate for children,

18 nonetheless, King County routinely isolates children and does not provide adequate mental

19 health services for children held in isolation.

20

3.51 Children in isolation do not receive mental health evaluations upon being placed

21 in isolation cells or at any time during their confinement in them.

22

3.52 Children housed in King County’s children isolation unit are not monitored by

COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF- Page 8

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 1 Filed 10/20/17 Page 9 of 18

1 any qualified mental health professional.

2

3.53 No other counselor regularly or routinely inquires about the mental health or well

3 being of the children held in King County’s children isolation unit.

4

3.54 King County’s on-going use of isolation has physically and psychologically

5 injured many children and poses a substantial risk of serious harm to all children held at the RJC.

6

3.55 These injuries will continue absent court intervention.

7

No Children Held at the RJC Receive an Adequate Education.

8

3.56 Children held at the RJC have a constitutional right to an appropriate and

9 adequate education.

10

3.57 Defendant King County has an obligation to ensure that all of the children under

11 its care held at the RJC receive adequate educational services, including appropriate special

12 educational services.

13

3.58 Children in isolation receive no more than a few minutes of face-to-face time with

14 a instructor on school days during the school year.

15

3.59 However, no child at the RJC receives more than an hour of face-to-face

16 instruction per day.

17

3.60 Only a single instructor is provided to all children at the RJC.

18

3.61 This one instructor provides services to children housed in three separate housing

19 pods.

20

3.62 In the two general housing pods, the person provides groups of children no more

21 than an hour of education a day.

22

3.63 Generally, the hour involves 10 or 20 minutes of discussion about a topic,

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101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

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1 followed by individual work by the children on written work sheets.

2

3.64 Often the information on the work sheets is inappropriate; it is too difficult or too

3 easy for the individual child. All children, regardless of grade level or comprehension, receive

4 the same assignements and work packets.

5

3.65 Because the instructor does not see all of the children in each pod simultaneously,

6 he or she must limit his or her teaching to only an hour per group in order to be able to travel

7 between all of the pods, meet with the groups, and the individuals in isolation all within the 7

8 hour work day.

9

3.66 Some days the instructor does not come at all, without explanation or warning.

10

3.67 Children are not tested and receive no evaluation of the work that they complete.

11

3.68 Children at the RJC receive no educational services during the summer, holiday

12 breaks, or on weekends.

13

3.69 Children received no educational services for the first several weeks of this school

14 year because no instructor was available.

15

3.70 The federal Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) requires that

16 eligible students receive special education services.

17

3.71 King County has an obligation to ensure that children under their care receive

18 special educational services for which they are eligible.

19

3.72 Many of the children held at the RJC are eligible to receive special education

20 services.

21

3.73 Many of them have existing Individual Educational Plans (IEPs) that were created

22 by their home school districts before they were incarcerated.

COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF- Page 10

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

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1

3.74 IEPs are plans that all schools must create in collaboration with eligible students,

2 their parents and school staff to address the special educational needs of students living with

3 disabilities.

4

3.75 King County does not provide appropriate special educational services to the

5 children at the RJC or ensure that they receive them.

6

Children in Isolation Are Denied an Education Without Due Process of Law.

7

3.76 As detailed above, the educational services provided to all of the children at the

8 RJC are constitutionally inadequate. However, those provided to children held in isolation are

9 particularly troubling.

10

3.77 Children in isolation receive even fewer educational resources and less face-to-

11 face time with an instructor than students in the general population pods.

12

3.78 At most, children in isolation receive a few minutes of time per day with an

13 instructor. They are then left to do paper worksheets alone in their cells.

14

3.79 Even the few minutes of face-to-face instruction occurs through the closed and

15 locked steel cell door.

16

3.80 Children in isolation are not able to access even the hour of group instruction that

17 is provided to other children in the general population pods.

18

3.81 It is King County’s policy and practice to severely limit educational services

19 solely because a child is placed in isolation.

20

3.82 King County denies children in isolation the limited educational services provided

21 to those in general population, as well as related services and programming, without giving them

22 notice or an opportunity to be heard, even though the reason for isolating the child may have

COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF- Page 11

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 1 Filed 10/20/17 Page 12 of 18

1 nothing to do with their participation in educational activities.

2

3.83 When children are informed that they will be subject to isolation, the Defendants

3 do not evaluate the impact of the discipline on their schooling.

4

3.84 Children receive no notice when placed in isolation that it will result in a denial of

5 educational instruction or that they will be cut off from their regular class work.

6

3.85 Children placed in isolation receive no hearing at which they can challenge the

7 denial of educational services as a result of their placement in isolation.

8

3.86 There is no process for reviewing the denial of educational services.

9

IV. FACTS REGARDING INDIVIDUAL PLAINTIFF

10

4.1 Plaintiff C.S. entered the RJC in April 2017.

11

4.2 C.S. is a person under the age of 18.

12

4.3 King County jail staff placed him in isolation in early August.

13

4.4 C.S. has been in isolation since that date and remains in isolation today.

14

4.5 Since August 2017, he has been locked alone in his cell for at least 23 hours a

15 day.

16

4.6 He has been denied any time out of his cell on a number of occasions, meaning

17 that he often remains alone in his cell for 47 or more straight hours.

18

4.7 Recently he was prescribed mental health medications because he is clinically

19 depressed.

20

4.8 Long term isolation is causing C.S. and all children held in isolation ongoing,

21 serious physical and psychological harm.

22

4.9 C.S. has also been denied an adequate education.

COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF- Page 12

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

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1

4.10 He currently receives only a few minutes of face-to-face instruction Monday

2 through Friday.

3

4.11 The worksheets that he is provided are not appropriate for his educational level or

4 his particular educational needs.

5

4.12 He receives no feedback or evaluations of his work.

6

4.13 He is not tested on his competency or understanding of the subject matter.

7

4.14 C.S. has received special education services in the past.

8

4.15 C.S. is currently eligible to receive special educational services and is in need of

9 such services.

10

4.16 C.S. has an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) or is in need of such a plan.

11

4.17 King County has not provided C.S. with the special education services he needs

12 or ensured that he receives them.

13

4.18 King County has not engaged with C.S.’s mother regarding C.S.’s educational

14 needs, his IEP, or his eligibility for special educational services.

15

4.19 King County has failed to provide C.S. or his mother with notice of his rights to

16 receive special educational services.

17

4.20 C.S. was not provided notice that he would lose educational services as a result of

18 being placed in isolation and did not receive a hearing to contest the loss of educational services

19 as a result of being placed in isolation.

20

4.21 C.S. and the other children at the RJC are being injured as a result of the

21 inadequate education they are receiving.

22

COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF- Page 13

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

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1

V. CLASS ALLEGATIONS

2

5.1 Plaintiff brings this action pursuant to Rule 23(a) and (b)(2) of the Federal Rules

3 of Civil Procedure, and seeks declaratory and injunctive relief on behalf of a class of:

4

All people under the age of 18 who are currently incarcerated at the Maleng

Regional Justice Center or will be incarcerated there at any time in the future.

5

6

5.2 All class members face a substantial risk of serious harm as a result of King

7 County’s use of isolation and the Defendants’ denial of an appropriate and adequate education.

8

5.3 The facts and claims meet the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a).

9

5.4 Numerosity: Joinder of all class members is impracticable because of the size of

10 the class and the characteristics of the class members. At any given time, all of the children

11 incarcerated at the RJC are at a significant risk of unconstitutional isolation and each is denied an

12 appropriate education. Every month, additional class members cycle in and out of the RJC. Many

13 of these children are unable to file lawsuits on their own because of their youth, disabilities, and

14 lack of financial resources.

15

5.5 Commonality: There are questions of law and fact common to all members of the

16 class, including but not limited to: whether King County’s policies and practices of placing

17 children in isolation pose a substantial risk of serious harm to the Plaintiff Class and violate

18 rights guaranteed them by the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States

19 constitution and by Washington’s constitution and laws; and whether the Defendants have

20 unlawfully denied educational services in violation of the class members’ Fourteenth

21 Amendment rights, the Washington Constitution, the IDEA and applicable Washington laws.

22

5.6 Typicality: The claims of the named Plaintiff are typical of those of the class.

COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF- Page 14

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

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1

5.7 Adequacy of Representation: The named Plaintiff, his representative, and class

2 counsel will fairly and adequately represent the interests of the class. The named Plaintiff and his

3 representative have no interests in this matter that are antagonistic to other class members. Class

4 counsel have many years of experience in civil rights and class action litigation.

5

5.8 Class-wide declaratory and injunctive relief are appropriate under Rule 23(b)(2)

6 because the Defendants have acted or refused to act on grounds generally applicable to the class

7 as a whole.

8

VI. JURISDICTION AND VENUE

9

6.1 This action arises under the Constitution and laws of the United States, including

10 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400-1482.

11 This Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1343(a)(3) and

12 supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims presented in this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C.

13 § 1367.

14

6.2 This Court has jurisdiction to issue the declaratory relief requested pursuant to the

15 Declaratory Relief Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202 and this Court may also grant injunctive

16 relief pursuant to Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

17

6.3 This Court has authority to award costs and attorneys’ fees under 42 U.S.C. §

18 1988 and 20 U.S.C. § 1415.

19

6.4 Venue is proper in the Western District of Washington pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §

20 1391(b)(1) and (b)(2). King County is located in the Western District of Washington, and a

21 substantial part of the events and omissions giving rise to the claims in this action occurred in

22 this district.

COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF- Page 15

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 1 Filed 10/20/17 Page 16 of 18

1

VII. CLAIMS FOR RELIEF

2

7.1 First Claim: By isolating children in the conditions described above, King

3 County has acted under color of state law and has violated and continues to violate the named

4 Plaintiff’s and putative class members’ rights under the Eighth Amendment and Fourteenth

5 Amendment of the United States Constitution, which are actionable pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §

6 1983.

7

7.2 Second Claim: By isolating children in the conditions described above, King

8 County has acted under color of state law and has violated and continues to violate the named

9 Plaintiff’s and putative class members’ rights under Article I, section 14 of Washington’s

10 Constitution.

11

7.3 Third Claim: By isolating children, King County has violated and continues to

12 violate its duty to protect and maintain the health, safety and welfare of the individual Plaintiff

13 and the members of the Plaintiff class.

14

7.4 Fourth Claim: By denying all children an appropriate and adequate education,

15 King County has acted under color of state law and violated and continue to violate the rights of

16 the Plaintiff and the rights of putative class members under Article IX of the Washington

17 Constitution.

18

7.5 Fifth Claim: By denying special educational services and resources to children

19 held at the RJC, King County acted under color of state law and has violated and continues to

20 violate the rights of named Plaintiffs and the rights of the putative class members under the

21 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 et seq.

22

7.6 Sixth Claim: By denying all children an appropriate and adequate education,

COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF- Page 16

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 1 Filed 10/20/17 Page 17 of 18

1 King County has violated and continues to violate its duty to protect and maintain the health,

2 safety and welfare of the individual Plaintiff and the members of the Plaintiff class.

3

7.7 Seventh Claim: By denying children held in isolation an appropriate and

4 adequate education without due process of law, King County has acted under color of state law

5 and their actions or inactions have violated and continue to violate the named Plaintiffs’ and

6 putative class members’ rights under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States

7 Constitution, which are actionable pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

8

VIII. RELIEF REQUESTED

9

The Plaintiff respectfully requests that this Court:

10

8.1 Certify this action as a class action.

11

8.2 Adjudge and declare that the actions, customs, conditions, policies, and practices

12 described in this Complaint violate the rights of the Plaintiff and the class he seeks to represent

13 under the federal and state constitutions and other applicable laws.

14

8.3 Preliminarily and permanently enjoin the Defendant, its agents, employees, and

15 all persons acting in concert with them from subjecting the individual Plaintiff and the Plaintiff

16 Class to the actions, customs, conditions, policies, and practices described in this Complaint.

17

8.4 Appoint a Special Master pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 53 to oversee the

18 Defendant’s compliance with any orders the Court will issue in the future. Order the Defendants

19 to provide all appropriate and necessary funds to compensate the Special Master for his or her

20 duties.

21

8.5 Retain jurisdiction of this case until such time as the Defendant has fully

22 complied with all orders of the Court or Special Master, and there is reasonable assurance that

COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF- Page 17

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 1 Filed 10/20/17 Page 18 of 18

1 the Defendant will continue to comply in the future with these orders.

2

8.6 Award Plaintiff and the Plaintiff Class their reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs

3 pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988, 20 U.S.C. § 1415 and any other applicable statute or court rule.

4

8.7 Award Plaintiff and the Plaintiff Class such other and further relief as justice may

5 require.

6

Respectfully submitted this 20th day of October, 2017.

7

ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFFS

8

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES

/s/ NICHOLAS B. STRALEY

9

Nicholas B. Straley, WSBA #25963

Nicholas B. Allen, WSBA #42990

10

Michael Althauser, WSBA #49842

Sujatha Branch, WSBA #51827

11

Attorneys for Plaintiffs

Nick.Straley@Columbialegal.org

12

Nick.Allen@Columbialegal.org

Michael.Althauser@Columbialegal.org

13

Sujatha.Branch@Columbialegal.org

Columbia Legal Services

14

Institutions Project

101 Yesler Way, Suite 300

15

Seattle, WA 98104

(206) 464-0838 – phone

16

(206) 382-3386 – fax

17

18

19

20

21

22

COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF- Page 18

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

 
 Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 2 Filed 10/23/17 Page 1 of 38

1

DISTRICT JUDGE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR

2

3

4

5

6

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

7

AT SEATTLE

8

C.S., a minor, by and through his mother,

CLASS ACTION

9 SONYA STOKES, J.R., a minor, by and through

his mother, QUINIECA TAYLOR, D.B., a

No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

10 minor, by and through his mother, KIMBERLEY

FALL, and K.C., by and through his guardian ad FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR

11 litem, MARIE CALLENDRET, on behalf of INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY

themselves and all others similarly situated,

RELIEF

12

Plaintiffs,

13

vs.

14 KING COUNTY, 15

Defendant.

16

I. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

17

1.1 This class-action civil-rights lawsuit challenges King County’s pervasive policy

18 and practice of holding children who have not been convicted of any crime in long term solitary

19 confinement (“isolation”) at King County’s Maleng Regional Justice Center (“RJC”) at the King

20 County Jail and of denying children held at the RJC an adequate education.

21

1.2 Despite a scientific consensus that isolation places children at risk of serious

22 emotional, psychological and physical harm, King County has embraced its frequent and

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101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

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1 arbitrary use at the RJC and King County Jail.

2

1.3 King County regularly confines children incarcerated at the RJC alone in

3 miniscule, barren cells for 23 or 24 hours a day in a unit dedicated to isolating children

4 (“Children’s Isolation Unit”). King County holds children in these isolation cells for weeks or

5 months on end.

6

1.4 These children, many of whom already have mental illnesses, have little to

7 nothing to do in their isolation cells: no meaningful human interaction, little to no education or

8 programming, no music or television, and very few reading materials. Even when allowed out of

9 their cells, children in isolation are alone in the day room. Any “recreation” the children in

10 isolation receive takes place alone in an empty, concrete pen.

11

1.5 Isolating children so that they have minimal meaningful social contact causes

12 trauma, depression, anxiety, and psychosis, increases the risk of suicide and self-harm, and

13 permanently interferes with a child’s psychological and social development. For children with

14 mental illnesses or disabilities, the risk of harm from isolation is even greater because those

15 illnesses or disabilities worsen.

16

1.6 Compounding the profound consequences of King County’s wanton use of

17 isolation, King County is also denying all children held at the RJC basic educational services and

18 programming.

19

1.7 King County gives children in isolation only a few minutes of face-to-face

20 instruction. They are then left to complete paper worksheets alone in their cells.

21

1.8 Even children in general population get no more than an hour of instruction.

22

1.9 The vast majority of children injured by King County’s illegal actions are children

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101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 2 Filed 10/23/17 Page 3 of 38

1 of color. Of the children King County sent to the RJC in 2016 86% were children of color. In

2 2015, every child King County locked up at the RJC were a child of color.

3

1.10 By holding children in isolation for long periods of time and refusing to provide

4 them an adequate education, King County has violated and continues to violate the rights of all

5 children held at the RJC; rights guaranteed them by the United States and Washington

6 constitutions, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) and other applicable

7 laws.

8

1.11 Plaintiffs seek to certify a class of all children King County currently houses at

9 the RJC and all such children it will hold there in the future and ask the Court to issue

10 declaratory and injunctive relief that will end King County’s unlawful policies and practices.

11

II. PARTIES

12

Plaintiffs

13

2.1 The Plaintiff, D.B., represented by his mother Kimberley Fall, is a minor under

14 the age of 18, who has been injured by King County’s actions as described herein.

15

2.2 The Plaintiff, C.S., represented by his mother Sonya Stokes, is a minor under the

16 age of 18, who has been injured by King County’s actions as described herein.

17

2.3 The Plaintiff, J.R., represented by his mother Quinieca Taylor, is a minor under

18 the age of 18, who has been injured by King County’s actions as described herein.

19

2.4 The Plaintiff, K.C., represented by his stepmother/guardian ad litem Maria

20 Callendret, is a minor under the age of 18, who has been injured by King County’s actions as

21 described herein.

22

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEFPage 3 No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

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1

Defendant

2

2.5 Defendant King County owns and operates the RJC and is responsible for the

3 unlawful policies, practices and practices and customs challenged by Plaintiffs.

4

2.6 King County employees, agents or others operating at King County’s direction are

5 hereinafter referred to as “jail staff” or “jail staff person.”

6

2.7 King County is responsible for the actions or inactions described herein

7 committed by any jail staff person.

8

2.8 King County failed to properly train or supervise jail staff and failed to properly

9 promulgate policies and standards to ensure that the RJC and the King County Jail are operated

10 in a lawful manner.

11

2.9 The actions or inactions described herein committed by King County or by its jail

12 staff were taken under color of state law and constitute state action for all purposes.

13

III. FACTS

14

King County Holds Children In Isolation Cells For Weeks And Months On End.

15

3.1 King County operates two jails designed to hold adults, the RJC and the King

16 County Jail.

17

3.2 Located in Kent, Washington, the RJC is a courthouse complex and correctional

18 facility. The jail portion of the RJC houses pre-trial detainees and people serving criminal

19 sentences. It generally has a daily census of between 830 and 950 adults.

20

3.3 The King County Jail is in downtown Seattle and houses more than 2100 adults

21 every night.

22

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEFPage 4 No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

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101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

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1

Facts About The Children That King County Isolates.

2

3.4 Under Washington law, any child a prosecutor charges with one of a list of a

3 certain crimes who is 16 or 17 at the time of the alleged offense is automatically referred to the

4 adult criminal justice system for the adjudication of the criminal charge.

5

3.5 Younger children may also be sent to the adult system, but only after a Superior

6 Court Judge holds a hearing and determines that adult jurisdiction is appropriate.

7

3.6 By policy and practice, King County generally holds all children charged as

8 adults in King County at the RJC pending resolution of their criminal cases. This has been King

9 County’s policy and practice for a number of years.

10

3.7 On occasion, a child charged as an adult may be held at the King County Jail, if a

11 King County employee determines that “[m]edical, psychiatric, or security issues require” that

12 the child be held at the King County Jail and not at the RJC.

13

3.8 Typically, King County holds 15 to 25 children at the RJC at any given time.

14

3.9 These children have not been convicted, but are detained at the RJC awaiting trial.

15

3.10 Depending on the nature of the charged offense, the County may detain a child in

16 jail at the RJC for months or even years.

17

3.11 Nonetheless, King County holds many children at the RJC in isolation, alone in

18 their cells, for days, weeks or months on end.

19

3.12 Generally, the children held at the RJC and their families do not have the financial

20 means to afford bail that would allow the children to leave jail pending the dispositions of their

21 cases.

22

3.13 The vast majority of children that King County charges as adults are children of

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(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

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1 color.

2

3.14 In 2015, every child charged as an adult in King County was a child of color.

3

3.15 In 2016, 86% of the children charged as adults in King County were children of

4 color.

5

3.16 As a consequence, the vast majority of children held at the RJC and King County

6 Jail are children of color, as are the vast majority of children King County holds in isolation and

7 fails to properly educate.

8

3.17 The vast majority of the children come from families experiencing severe poverty.

9

3.18 Many who arrive at the RJC have experienced homelessness prior to their

10 incarcerations.

11

3.19 Many have mental or physical disabilities.

12

3.20 Many have suffered physical, emotional or sexual abuse in their pasts.

13

3.21 Many come from families that have suffered serious disruptions and social

14 dislocation.

15

3.22 Many have suffered psychological injuries from being taken from their families

16 by the State and placed in Washington’s foster care system.

17

3.23 King County holds these children in its adult jails even though many will

18 eventually be sentenced as juveniles because of plea deals.

19

Facts About The Children’s Isolation Unit At The RJC.

20

3.24 The children are housed in one of three different housing units at the RJC; Mary

21 East, Nora West, and the Children’s Isolation Unit.

22

3.25 These units or pods are differentiated based on the freedoms and privileges that

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEFPage 6 No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 2 Filed 10/23/17 Page 7 of 38

1 are allowed and the classification levels of the children.

2

3.26 The Children’s Isolation Unit King County operates at the RJC consists of a few

3 cells that are small and stark.

4

3.27 A typical cell is small and contains a stainless steel toilet, a sink, a mattress, and

5 an overhead fluorescent light. The cell floors and walls are concrete. The cells have no windows

6 to the outside and natural light does not enter them. The cell door is solid with narrow Plexiglas

7 windows. A “pass through” slot allows correctional officers to pass meals to the youth locked

8 inside. The cells have no phones, radios, or televisions.

9

3.28 Children held in isolation spend at least 23 hours a day locked in their cells.

10

3.29 Often King County fails to allow children out of their cells for even an hour a day.

11

3.30 On many occasions, children have been held for 47 or 48 hours at a time and even

12 more without being allowed out of their cells.

13

3.31 On occasion, children, including the Plaintiffs, have been allowed out of their

14 cells for only 15 minutes every three days.

15

3.32 When children are allowed out of their cells, they are alone in the day room that

16 adjoins their cell.

17

3.33 King County isolates children in order to punish them for minor misbehaviors.

18

3.34 King County refers to this type of isolation as “disciplinary housing.”

19

3.35 These decisions are often arbitrary and based on minor misbehaviors that are

20 common for many teenagers, and common particularly for children who have been confined

21 alone in a cell with nothing to do for days or weeks on end.

22

3.36 For example, children have been placed in isolation for failing to meet dress code

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEFPage 7 No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 2 Filed 10/23/17 Page 8 of 38

1 rules, mouthing off to correctional officers, placing jam in a key hole, and refusing to quiet

2 down.

3

3.37 Not addressing a staff member by his proper title, annoying the staff, being loud,

4 or violating the dress code can result in weeks or months of isolation.

5

3.38 Once a child is placed in isolation, correctional officers regularly take all or some

6 of the child’s “out of cell time” for alleged transgressions of RJC rules, meaning that children

7 remain alone in their cells for days at a time without being allowed out.

8

3.39 Some children are held for weeks or months beyond the date which they are

9 scheduled to be released from isolation.

10

3.40 King County also holds children in isolation for reasons other than punishment.

11

3.41 King County holds children in “protective custody” isolation when there is a

12 concern that a particular child may not be able to live alongside other children held at the RJC.

13

3.42 This “protective custody” isolation is identical to the “disciplinary housing”

14 isolation that King County imposes on many children.

15

3.43 “Protective custody” isolation entails at least 23 hours a day of isolation in a cell

16 alone with no meaningful social interaction, environmental stimulation, or human contact.

17

3.44 Children have been held in “protective custody” isolation for months because

18 King County has not provided them with any alternative housing option that does not require

19 isolation.

20

3.45 King County has other locations where it could house children in need of

21 protection that would not require them to be alone. Nonetheless, King County refuses to place

22 children in more appropriate housing.

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEFPage 8 No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 2 Filed 10/23/17 Page 9 of 38

1

3.46 One child was placed in “protective custody” isolation because of threats he had

2 received from other youth. As a result, he spent 5 months alone in a cell, even though King

3 County has other locations where he could have been housed with other children.

4

3.47 Children locked in King County’s Children’s Isolation Unit have virtually no

5 meaningful human interaction.

6

3.48 “Recreation” consists of being placed alone in a small, barren box with a concrete

7 floor, concrete walls and little else.

8

3.49 Before being able to leave a cell for a visit with family, the child must place his or

9 her hands through the metal slot in the door to be handcuffed.

10

3.50 Many children held in isolation are handcuffed and escorted by two correctional

11 officers whenever they are visited by family or friends, further humiliating the child in front of

12 their loved ones.

13

3.51 Children in the isolation cells cannot participate in any group recreational

14 activities, such as basketball, cards or chess.

15

3.52 While in isolation, children are not allowed to order anything from the

16 commissary. As a result, many children held in isolation report being hungry.

17

3.53 They are denied other privileges as well.

18

3.54 Additionally, children in isolation are regularly denied access to reading or

19 writing materials or other items that would help them to pass the time while locked in their cells

20 by themselves.

21

3.55 They eat their meals alone in their cells.

22

3.56 They receive no meaningful education while in isolation.

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEFPage 9 No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 2 Filed 10/23/17 Page 10 of 38

1

3.57 Their time out is the only time when they can go outside to the rec yard, use the

2 telephone, watch t.v., or take a shower.

3

3.58 They are alone, even in the rec yard.

4

3.59 King County has severely restricted the times when parents and other family

5 members may visit children held at the RJC to only a few hours a week.

6

3.60 King County refuses to allow parents to visit their children if they can’t get to the

7 RJC because of work, family commitments, or lack of transportation during the few hours King

8 County permits visits.

9

3.61 Furthermore, while children may have access to a telephone, King County

10 charges families a significant amount for use of the telephone. Many families do not have the

11 money for frequent phone calls. Consequently, children in isolation may go days or weeks

12 without any contact with family.

13

3.62 Children’s requests for help and written grievances are routinely and regularly

14 ignored by staff.

15

3.63 Nearly every aspect of living in King County’s Children’s Isolation Unit is

16 dehumanizing.

17

3.64 Depending on the circumstances, children may be shackled, pepper sprayed, or

18 strip searched by jail staff.

19

3.65 Staff members regularly use profanities, mock the children and treat them with

20 disrespect.

21

3.66 Children report being sworn at, called “stupid” and told to “shut up” regularly by

22 staff.

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEFPage 10 No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 2 Filed 10/23/17 Page 11 of 38

1

3.67 A few of the correctional officers are particularly unpleasant.

2

3.68 One particular correctional officer asked a child of color with a Latinx-sounding

3 surname, “You’re still here? I thought with the president cracking down you would’ve been

4 deported by now.” The youth informed the officer that he was Native American and a United

5 States citizen.

6

3.69 One youth subject to days of such disrespect from the same officer finally

7 snapped and spit in his face. He was immediately sent to isolation where he remained for two

8 months.

9

3.70 When his designated 7-day period of disciplinary isolation had passed, he was not

10 sent back to one of the other two pods. Instead he remained in isolation without explanation for

11 60 days.

12

3.71 Another child got into a verbal altercation with another youth and was sent to

13 isolation for several days. After fulfilling the time he had been given for the disciplinary

14 infraction, he was not returned to his original pod. Instead, he was told that there was no space in

15 either of the other pods, and he would have to stay in isolation until space became available.

16

3.72 King County has not provided the correctional officers who supervise the children

17 at the RJC or King County Jail with specialized training on how to manage children or teenagers,

18 unlike the staff at the juvenile detention facility.

19

3.73 King County has not promulgated appropriate policies and procedures that govern

20 the management of children at the RJC or King County Jail.

21

3.74 King County has not properly supervised the correctional officers who watch over

22 the children at the RJC or the King County Jail in order to ensure that they do not antagonize

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEFPage 11 No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 2 Filed 10/23/17 Page 12 of 38

1 children or drive them to commit misbehaviors that lead to their isolation.

2

3.75 King County has not put in place appropriate procedural safeguards to protect

3 children with mental health disorders from being isolated and that they get the attention and

4 support that they need in order to avoid behaviors that might lead to their isolation.

5

3.76 King County allows correctional officers to take children’s out of cell time

6 arbitrarily and without justification.

7

3.77 King County approves of the use of long-term isolation against children.

8

Facts About The Isolation Of Children At The King County Jail.

9

3.78 At times, King County places children in isolation at the King County Jail in

10 downtown Seattle. Typically this occurs because the child has been identified as in need of

11 mental health or medical services.

12

3.79 King County places children in isolation at the King County Jail if it believes that

13 the child may be suicidal or a threat to hurt him or herself.

14

3.80 By policy, all children held at the King County Jail are held in what King County

15 calls “single cell housing.”

16

3.81 “Single cell housing” is isolation, in that children are locked alone in a cell for

17 long periods of time.

18

3.82 Children held at the King County Jail are held in a unit designed to provide

19 mental health interventions for adult inmates in crisis.

20

3.83 These children are held alone in their cells for long periods of time without being

21 allowed out; sometimes for as long as 72 hours at a time.

22

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEFPage 12 No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 2 Filed 10/23/17 Page 13 of 38

1

Facts Showing That King County Isolates All Of The Children At The RJC For Long

Periods Of Time.

2

3.84 Children held in the Children’s Isolation Unit and at the King County Jail are

3

subject to the conditions, customs, policies and practices set forth above. However, even children

4

held in the general population pods at the RJC are subject to long-term isolation.

5

3.85 King County has a practice of locking down youth in the general population, Nora

6

West unit, for 21 hours per day.

7

3.86 Each cell in Nora West unit holds a single child. These children have therefore

8

been held in isolation for 21 hours a day.

9

3.87 Due to King County’s policies and practices every child held at the RJC has been

10

isolated or will be isolated in the future.

11

Facts About How King County Is Harming Children.

12

3.88 Potentially dangerous for anyone, solitary confinement is especially harmful for

13

children, who are still developing physically, psychologically, and socially.

14

3.89 King County has a special relationship with the children under its care.

15

3.90 As a result of this special relationship, King County has a duty to protect and

16

maintain the health, safety and welfare of all the children it holds at the RJC.

17

3.91 Nonetheless, King County’s use of isolation is inflicting serious harm on children

18

and exposing them to a substantial risk of serious harm.

19

3.92 King County’s use of isolation at the RJC has caused children to suffer from

20

suicidal ideation or intent, anxiety, depressive symptoms, post-traumatic symptoms, and

21

worsening behavior.

22

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEFPage 13 No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 2 Filed 10/23/17 Page 14 of 38

1

3.93 Children have reported feeling “crazy,” depressed, and anxious from the lack of

2 stimulation caused by isolation and the lack of contact with others.

3

3.94 Some are unable to sleep at night because of the anxiety and depression caused by

4 being isolated for days at a time.

5

3.95 Their sleep is also troubled by the screams of adult inmates that they can hear

6 through their vents throughout the night.

7

3.96 Some wonder whether those voices are actually real.

8

3.97 Some feel as though they “are not going to make it” because of the uncertainty

9 about how long they will be held alone in their cells.

10

3.98 Others report talking to themselves and having physical symptoms, like stomach

11 and headaches, related to the stress and boredom of long-term isolation.

12

3.99 Children have threatened suicide as a consequence of being isolated for so long.

13

3.100 Children report that because of the stress caused by long-time isolation, they have

14 agreed to accept plea deals in order to get out of isolation and into a different facility that does

15 not isolate children.

16

3.101 The parents of children isolated at the RJC have indicated that the long term

17 isolation has affected their children’s moods, emotions and personalities.

18

Facts Showing That King County Does Not Provide Mental Health Evaluations,

Monitoring Or Treatment To The Children It Isolates At The RJC.

19

3.102 Isolation is particularly awful for children who suffer from mental health

20

disorders.

21

3.103 Children in isolation do not receive mental health evaluations upon being placed

22

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEFPage 14 No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 2 Filed 10/23/17 Page 15 of 38

1 in isolation cells or at any time during their confinement in them.

2

3.104 Children housed in King County’s children isolation unit are not monitored by

3 any qualified mental health professional.

4

3.105 No counselor, therapist or mental health professional regularly or routinely

5 inquires about the mental health or wellbeing of the children held in King County’s children

6 isolation unit.

7

3.106 King County does not evaluate how isolating children will affect their mental

8 health or how it might injure them.

9

3.107 King County does not notify a child’s parents when he or she is placed in

10 isolation, explain the reasons for that isolation or explain when the child will be released and

11 under what conditions.

12

3.108 As described above, because of the severe limitations King County places on

13 visitation and the costs of telephone calls, parents may have no other way of finding out what

14 King County is doing to their child.

15

3.109 King County has not provided the children at the RJC or the King County Jail

16 with counseling, mental health support, specialized staff or other interventions that would reduce

17 or eliminate the behaviors that lead to children being isolated and that often result in long-term

18 isolation.

19

3.110 King County’s on-going use of isolation has physically and psychologically

20 injured many children and poses a substantial risk of serious harm to all children held at the RJC.

21

3.111 These injuries will continue absent court intervention.

22

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEFPage 15 No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 2 Filed 10/23/17 Page 16 of 38

1

Facts Showing That King County Is Aware That Isolation Is Harmful To Children But

Does It Anyway.

2

3.112 King County has acknowledged that isolation harms children and has been

3

informed about the injuries it is causing children by isolating them.

4

3.113 One of King County’s current policies regarding the use of isolation at the RJC

5

states that an “Inmate-patient[] under the age of 19” is a “contraindication” for the use of

6

isolation.

7

3.114 King County also operates a juvenile detention facility on First Hill in Seattle that

8

houses children under the age of 18.

9

3.115 By policy and practice, King County does not utilize long-term isolation against

10

children held at the juvenile detention facility.

11

3.116 Unlike at the RJC, at the juvenile detention facility, King County does not utilize

12

isolation as a form of discipline.

13

3.117 Multiple stakeholders, family members, children and other concerned individuals

14

have asked King County to treat the children held at the RJC as it treats the children held at the

15

juvenile detention center by not isolating them and by providing them with appropriate housing

16

options and additional programming opportunities. To date, King County has refused.

17

Facts Showing That King County’s Practice Of Continuing To Isolate Children Causes

18

Long-Lasting Harm And Has Been Rejected As Harmful And Counterproductive By

Scientific Consensus And Accepted Correctional Standards.

19

3.118 Defined by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care as “the housing

20

of an adult or juvenile with minimal to rare meaningful contact with other individuals,” solitary

21

confinement or isolation can harm both adults and children.

22

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEFPage 16 No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 2 Filed 10/23/17 Page 17 of 38

1

3.119 However, children are especially susceptible to serious psychological harm when

2 they are isolated from other people because they are still developing psychologically,

3 neurologically, and socially.

4

3.120 Children in isolation face a significant risk of serious mental harm.

5

3.121 Isolation causes, perpetuates, and worsens mental health disorders, including but

6 not limited to post-traumatic stress disorders, psychosis, anxiety disorders, major depression,

7 hypervigilence, abnormal aggression, agitation, suicidal ideation, suicidal intent, self-mutilation,

8 and suicidal behavior.

9

3.122 Isolation can lead to chronic conditions like depression, which, in teenagers, can

10 manifest as anger or as self-harm.

11

3.123 Research shows that almost all suicides within juvenile correctional facilities

12 occur when the child is in some type of isolation.

13

3.124 Isolation can have lingering effects. Children who experience depression and

14 anxiety in their teenage years as a result of isolation are at a higher risk of presenting with these

15 diagnoses again.

16

3.125 Isolating children can also bring on paranoia, anger, and mistrust of adults or

17 authority figures. Unlikely to trust others, children emerging from isolation have trouble forming

18 the therapeutic relationships necessary to address the mental health concerns resulting from

19 solitary confinement.

20

3.126 Medical research on adolescent brains explains why children are more vulnerable

21 to the harms caused by isolation. In the adolescent brain, the connections between the frontal

22 lobe and the mid-brain have not fully developed. The severe physical or psychological trauma

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEFPage 17 No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 2 Filed 10/23/17 Page 18 of 38

1 brought on by isolation can cause permanent changes in the brain and increase the risk of

2 developing permanent psychiatric conditions.

3

3.127 The risk of harm from isolation is made worse by the disproportionately high

4 incidence of preexisting trauma and mental health disorders among children in the criminal

5 justice system. Research shows that over 60% of the youth in correctional settings have an

6 underlying major mental illness. Stress from isolation can compound past trauma and exacerbate

7 mental illnesses and disabilities. Trauma from social isolation will be more long-lasting for those

8 with mental illnesses or disabilities than for those without.

9

3.128 Isolating children is also counterproductive, because it does not reduce future

10 misbehavior. In fact, psychological research has shown the opposite: placing children in solitary

11 confinement can exacerbate the agitation and behavior that led to discipline in the first place.

12

3.129 In Ohio, the state Department of Youth Services’ (“DYS”) analysis of five years

13 of data showed that as the rate of solitary confinement increased, so did acts of violence—and

14 that when DYS cut its use of isolation for children it saw a dramatic reduction in the level of

15 violence within its juvenile facilities. Based upon this analysis, Ohio DYS concluded that

16 isolation “does not prevent violence or reduce assaults on staff and youths; instead . . . it actually

17 increases violence.”

18

3.130 Because it is harmful and counterproductive, the American Medical Association,

19 the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Correctional

20 Association and the National Commission on Correctional Health Care have all called for the

21 abolition of isolation against children.

22

3.131 The National Commission on Correctional Health Care, for example, issued a

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEFPage 18 No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 2 Filed 10/23/17 Page 19 of 38

1 statement articulating their position that children should not be placed in solitary confinement for

2 any duration and highlighted children’ particular vulnerability to adverse reactions from

3 isolation.

4

3.132 The American Correctional Association has issued draft standards that prohibit

5 the use of long-term isolation against children.

6

3.133 Similarly, organizations dedicated to the welfare of children, such as the Children

7 Detention Alternatives Initiative and the Performance- based Standards Learning Institute, have

8 also adopted standards that call for the elimination of isolation for children.

9

3.134 The World Health Organization, the United Nations, and other international

10 bodies have also recognized that isolation is harmful to a child’s psychological well-being and

11 cognitive development and must be ended.

12

3.135 The U.N. has repeatedly condemned the isolation of children, calling it torture.

13

3.136 Because of the undisputed scientific evidence, the United States Justice

14 Department (“DOJ”) recommended the abolition of the isolation for children.

15

3.137 Based on the DOJ recommendation, the scientific consensus, and the appreciation

16 of the harms isolation inflicts on children, the use of solitary confinement against children was

17 banned in all federal prisons.

18

3.138 Similarly, many states, counties and localities have banned the use of isolation

19 against children.

20

3.139 King County’s practice of isolating children is out of step with the science and

21 generally accepted correctional standards because it is harmful to children and

22 counterproductive.

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEFPage 19 No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 2 Filed 10/23/17 Page 20 of 38

1

Facts Showing That No Child Held At The RJC Receives An Adequate Education.

2

3.140 Children held at the RJC have a constitutional right to an appropriate and

3 adequate education.

4

3.141 King County has an obligation to ensure that all of the children under its care

5 receive adequate educational services, including appropriate special educational services.

6

3.142 Only a single instructor is provided to all the children at the RJC.

7

3.143 This one instructor provides services to children housed in three separate housing

8 pods.

9

3.144 Because the instructor does not see all of the children in each pod simultaneously,

10 he or she must severely limit his or her teaching to be able to travel between all of the pods, meet

11 with the groups, and the individuals in isolation all within the 7 hour work day.

12

3.145 Some days the instructor does not come at all, without explanation or warning.

13

3.146 In the two general housing pods, the person provides groups of children no more

14 than an hour of instruction a day.

15

3.147 Generally, the hour involves 10 or 20 minutes of discussion on only a single topic,

16 followed by individual, solitary work by the children on work sheets.

17

3.148 Often the work sheets are too difficult or too easy for the individual child.

18

3.149 All children, regardless of age, grade level or comprehension, receive the same

19 assignments and work packets.

20

3.150 Children are not tested and receive no evaluations of the work that they complete.

21

3.151 Children at the RJC receive no educational services during the summer, holiday

22 breaks, or on weekends.

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEFPage 20 No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 2 Filed 10/23/17 Page 21 of 38

1

3.152 Children received no educational services for the first several weeks of this school

2 year because no instructor was available.

3

3.153 The federal Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) requires that

4 eligible students receive special education services.

5

3.154 King County has an obligation to ensure that children under their care receive

6 special educational services for which they are eligible.

7

3.155 Many of the children held at the RJC are eligible to receive special education

8 services.

9

3.156 Many of them have existing Individual Educational Plans (IEPs) that were created

10 by their home school districts before they were incarcerated.

11

3.157 IEPs are plans that all schools must create in collaboration with eligible students,

12 their parents, and school staff to address the special educational needs of students living with

13 disabilities.

14

3.158 King County neither provides appropriate special educational services to the

15 children at the RJC nor ensures that they receive them.

16

Facts Showing That Children In Isolation Are Denied An Education Without Due

Process Of Law.

17

3.159 As detailed above, the educational services provided to all of the children at the

18

RJC are constitutionally inadequate. However, those services provided to children held in

19

isolation are particularly troubling.

20

3.160 Children in isolation receive even fewer educational resources and less face-to-

21

face time with an instructor than students in the general population pods.

22

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEFPage 21 No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 2 Filed 10/23/17 Page 22 of 38

1

3.161 At most, children in isolation receive a few minutes of time per day with an

2 instructor. They are then left to do paper worksheets alone in their cells.

3

3.162 Even the few minutes of face-to-face instruction occur through the closed and

4 locked steel cell door.

5

3.163 King County prohibits the children in isolation from participating in the limited

6 group instruction given to children in the general population pods.

7

3.164 It is King County’s policy and practice to severely limit educational services

8 solely because a child is placed in isolation.

9

3.165 King County does not give the children in isolation notice or an opportunity to be

10 heard before it denies them the limited educational services provided to those in general

11 population or at any point thereafter.

12

3.166 It refuses to provide notice or an opportunity to be heard even though the reason

13 for isolating the child may have nothing to do with his or her participation in educational

14 activities.

15

3.167 King County does not evaluate how isolating children will impact their schooling

16 or academic progress.

17

3.168 King County does not allow a child or a parent to explain why isolation and the

18 corresponding denial of educational services will harm the child.

19

3.169 Children receive no notice when placed in isolation that it will result in a denial of

20 educational instruction or that they will be cut off from their regular class work.

21

3.170 Children placed in isolation receive no hearing at which they can challenge the

22 denial of educational services as a result of their placement in isolation.

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101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

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1

3.171 There is no process for reviewing the denial of educational services.

2

3.172 King County makes no effort to inform parents about their children or about the

3 educational services to which their children are entitled.

4

Facts Showing That King County’s Illegal Policies, Practices And Omissions Will

Continue To Cause Harm Until This Court Orders It To Stop Isolating Children And

5

To Provide Them With An Adequate Education.

6

3.173 By and large the children locked up at the RJC are there because of operation of

7 the “auto-decline” law. See RCW 13.04.030(1)(e)(v).

8

3.174 The “auto-decline” law gives prosecutors unbridled power to decide which child

9 is sent to the adult system and which one remains in the juvenile system.

10

3.175 The “auto-decline” law prohibits any judge from stepping in and sending a child

11 back to the juvenile system, no matter the circumstances.

12

3.176 Only prosecutors get to decide who will be tried as an adult.

13

3.177 King County has argued in court that judges adjudicating individual criminal

14 matters regarding children charged as adults do not have jurisdiction to order children removed

15 from isolation or that they be provided appropriate educations.

16

3.178 King County has taken the position that the only way to properly challenge its

17 isolation of children and the inadequate education they receive is through a civil action like this

18 one.

19

3.179 A large percentage of the children that King County charges as adults and holds at

20 the RJC will eventually plead guilty to juvenile charges and accept juvenile sentences that are

21 longer than what they would have received if they had never been charged as adults.

22

3.180 As discussed herein, children subject to isolation and the hardships of living at the

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101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

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1 RJC regularly accept plea deals because they want to be moved to more humane facilities, not be

2 isolated for weeks on end, have more regular contact with family, and receive some semblance

3 of a proper education.

4

3.181 Prosecutors use the “auto-decline” law to coerce children into accepting longer

5 criminal sentences than they would get without the threat of long sentences in the adult system.

6

3.182 As detailed above, the vast majority of children charged as adults are children of

7 color.

8

3.183 A disproportionate number (86%) of children that King County charged as adults

9 in 2016 are children of color.

10

3.184 Every child that King County charged as an adult in 2015 was a child of color.

11

3.185 King County is also moving forward with building a new jail in which it plans to

12 incarcerate children for the next 50 years.

13

3.186 It is doing so even though its own experts in a recently released report say that the

14 County’s plans for the new children’s jail do not meet best practices. See, Eric Trupin and Mara

15 Lucia Puertolas, Working to Reduce the Use of Secure Confinement – A Review of King

16 County’s Children and Family Justice Center, (August 17, 2017), found at:

17 http://www.kingcounty.gov/elected/executive/constantine/news/release/2017/September/15-

18 trupin-CFJC.aspx.

19

3.187 This report, commissioned by King County states, “the incorporation of

20 mezzanines (pods) reminiscent of adult-correctional facilities totaling a large bed count (112)

21 runs contrary to best practices.”

22

3.188 Furthermore, the report notes that “[t]he progress of the CFJC project places clear

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101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

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1 constraints on the structure of the review and on the degrees of freedom of many of the

2 architectural recommendations, in particular as it relates to bed count and living unit

3 configurations.”

4

3.189 As detailed in the report, affected King County employees condemned King

5 County’s plans for the new jail as problematic and ill-conceived:

6

The facilities team for example, in attempts to improve the system from within,

referenced design elements that they had put forth as instrumental to improving

7

the day to day experience of youth in detention but that had been factored out of

the final design…Their frustrations stemmed from working with a design team

8

that had expertise in building adult correctional facilities before consultants with

more progressive juvenile treatment backgrounds were brought on, and because

9

of their perception that the courthouse portion of the facility was prioritized while

many innovations to the detention section were identified as too costly.

10

3.190 As its own experts note, in designing the new children’s jail King County ignored

11

its own employee’s suggestions and prioritized courtrooms over humane living conditions for

12

children.

13

3.191 Furthermore, King County is intent on building the jail even though Division II of

14

the Washington State Court of Appeals has ruled that the levy upon which King County relies to

15

fund the project is illegal. See End Prison Indus. Complex v. King Cty., No. 49453-1-II, 2017

16

Wash. App. LEXIS 2220 (Div II Sep. 26, 2017).

17

3.192 In recent court filings, King County has stated that even if it cannot rely on the

18

levy funds it will take two hundred million dollars from some other part of its budget to ensure it

19

builds its jail, two hundred million dollars that would otherwise go to human services,

20

homelessness prevention programs, or environmental protection efforts.

21

3.193 King County has pledged hundreds of millions in public dollars to build an

22

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101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
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1 unnecessary and harmful children’s jail, but is unwilling to provide the funding necessary to give

2 the children at the RJC an appropriate education or to find them appropriate, humane housing

3 options that do not require them to be isolated for weeks and months on end.

4

3.194 King County will continue to isolate children and fail to properly educate them

5 until this Court orders King County to meet its legal obligations to the children under its care.

6

IV. FACTS REGARDING INDIVIDUAL PLAINTIFFS

7

Facts relating to Plaintiff D.B.

8

4.1 Plaintiff, D.B., entered the R.J.C. in March 2017.

9

4.2 D.B. is an African-American minor under the age of 18.

10

4.3 D.B. was placed in isolation on May 28, 2017.

11

4.4 He was sentenced to ten days of isolation after a disciplinary hearing.

12

4.5 At the end of the ten days he was not released from isolation.

13

4.6 Though he asked, no one explained to him why he remained in isolation.

14

4.7 King County held him in isolation for almost two months without explaining why.

15

4.8 After being released, D.B. was placed in isolation again on August 11, 2017.

16

4.9 He has been there ever since.

17

4.10 He has been told he is in isolation because he cannot be in the same pod with

18 another child and there is nowhere else to hold him at the RJC.

19

4.11 While in isolation, D.B. is out of his cell no more than an hour a day.

20

4.12 During stretches of days in September, D.B. was given only 15 minutes of out of

21 cell time every 3 days.

22

4.13 Correctional officers take D.B.’s out of cell time for minor misbehaviors or

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101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

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1 because other children in the children’s isolation unit are misbehaving.

2

4.14 Currently, D.B. is only being allowed out of his cell for a single hour every three

3 days. He is locked up in his cell alone with little to do for 71 of every 72 hours.

4

4.15 D.B. has also been denied an adequate education.

5

4.16 He currently receives only a few minutes of face-to-face instruction Monday

6 through Friday.

7

4.17 The worksheets that he is provided are not appropriate for his educational level or

8 his particular educational needs.

9

4.18 He receives no feedback or evaluations of his work.

10

4.19 He is not tested on his competency or understanding of the subject matter.

11

4.20 D.B. has received special education services in the past.

12

4.21 D.B. is currently eligible to receive special educational services and is in need of

13 such services.

14

4.22 D.B. has an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) or is in need of such a plan.

15

4.23 King County does not provide D.B. with the special education services he needs

16 or ensure that he receives them.

17

4.24 King County has not engaged with D.B.’s mother regarding D.B.’s educational

18 needs, his IEP, or his eligibility for special educational services.

19

4.25 King County has failed to provide D.B. or his mother with notice of his rights to

20 receive special educational services.

21

4.26 D.B. was not provided notice that he would lose educational services as a result of

22 being placed in isolation and did not receive a hearing to contest the loss of educational services

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101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

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1 as a result of being placed in isolation.

2

The Facts relating to Plaintiff C.S.

3

4.27 Plaintiff C.S. entered the RJC in April 2017.

4

4.28 C.S. is a white person who was child under the age of 18 when this lawsuit was

5 begun.

6

4.29 King County jail staff placed him in isolation in early August.

7

4.30 C.S. has been in isolation since that date and remains in isolation today.

8

4.31 Since August 2017, he has been locked alone in his cell for at least 23 hours a

9 day.

10

4.32 He has been denied any time out of his cell on a number of occasions, meaning

11 that he often remains alone in his cell for 47 or more straight hours.

12

4.33 Recently he was prescribed mental health medications because he is clinically

13 depressed.

14

4.34 Though King County charged him as an adult and kept him in the RJC for many

15 months, C.S. has now plead guilty to a juvenile charge and will serve his juvenile sentence in a

16 juvenile correctional facility. He will be released within three years.

17

4.35 C.S. has also been denied an adequate education.

18

4.36 He currently receives only a few minutes of face-to-face instruction Monday

19 through Friday.

20

4.37 The worksheets that he is provided are not appropriate for his educational level or

21 his particular educational needs.

22

4.38 He receives no feedback or evaluations of his work.

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101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

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1

4.39 He is not tested on his competency or understanding of the subject matter.

2

4.40 C.S. has received special education services in the past.

3

4.41 C.S. is currently eligible to receive special educational services and is in need of

4 such services.

5

4.42 C.S. has an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) or is in need of such a plan.

6

4.43 King County has not provided C.S. with the special education services he needs

7 or ensured that he receives them.

8

4.44 King County has not engaged with C.S.’s mother regarding C.S.’s educational

9 needs, his IEP, or his eligibility for special educational services.

10

4.45 King County has failed to provide C.S. or his mother with notice of his rights to

11 receive special educational services.

12

4.46 C.S. was not provided notice that he would lose educational services as a result of

13 being placed in isolation and did not receive a hearing to contest the loss of educational services

14 as a result of being placed in isolation.

15

The Facts Relating To Plaintiff J.R.

16

4.47 Plaintiff, J.R., entered the RJC in August 2017.

17

4.48 J.R., is an African-American child under the age of 18.

18

4.49 King County placed J.R. in isolation on August 21, 2017.

19

4.50 In September, while in isolation, King County took away his hour out for a

20 number of days because he was accused of having written on the walls of his cell and refused to

21 clean it up.

22

4.51 On other occasions in September he was only allowed out of his cell for 15

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(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

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1 minutes every three days.

2

4.52 After being in isolation for about a month and being limited to only 15 minutes

3 out of his cell every three days, King County sent J.R. to the King County Jail because it

4 believed that he might be suicidal.

5

4.53 King County did not remove him from isolation even though it was concerned

6 that he might be suicidal.

7

4.54 Currently, J.R. is only being allowed out of his cell for a single hour every three

8 days. He is locked up in his cell alone with little to do for 71 of every 72 hours.

9

4.55 J.R. has also been denied an adequate education.

10

4.56 He currently receives only a few minutes of face-to-face instruction Monday

11 through Friday.

12

4.57 The worksheets that he is provided are not appropriate for his educational level or

13 his particular educational needs.

14

4.58 He receives no feedback or evaluations of his work.

15

4.59 He is not tested on his competency or understanding of the subject matter.

16

4.60 J.R. has received special education services in the past.

17

4.61 J.R. is currently eligible to receive special educational services and is in need of

18 such services.

19

4.62 J.R. has an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) or is in need of such a plan.

20

4.63 King County does not provide J.R. with the special education services he needs or

21 ensure that he receives them.

22

4.64 King County has not engaged with J.R.’s mother regarding J.R.’s educational

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101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

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1 needs, his IEP, or his eligibility for special educational services.

2

4.65 King County has failed to provide J.R. or his mother with notice of his rights to

3 receive special educational services.

4

4.66 J.R. was not provided notice that he would lose educational services as a result of

5 being placed in isolation and did not receive a hearing to contest the loss of educational services

6 as a result of being placed in isolation.

7

The Facts Relating To Plaintiff K.C.

8

4.67 Plaintiff K.C. entered the RJC in August 2017.

9

4.68 K.C. is an African American child who is under the age of 18.

10

4.69 King County placed K.C. in isolation soon after he arrived at the RJC.

11

4.70 When he was placed in isolation, he was not given any reason to explain why he

12 was there.

13

4.71 After being in isolation for a few days, he was given an infraction for being noisy

14 at night. He received 5 days isolation for that infraction, even though he was already in isolation.

15

4.72 K.C. remains in isolation today.

16

4.73 For periods of time in September he was kept in isolation and only allowed out of

17 his cell for 15 minutes every three days.

18

4.74 Otherwise he has only received at most an hour of out of cell time a day.

19

4.75 K.C. has also been denied an adequate education.

20

4.76 He currently receives only a few minutes of face-to-face instruction Monday

21 through Friday.

22

4.77 The worksheets that he is provided are not appropriate for his educational level or

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1 his particular educational needs.

2

4.78 He receives no feedback or evaluations of his work.

3

4.79 He is not tested on his competency or understanding of the subject matter.

4

4.80 K.C. has received special education services in the past.

5

4.81 K.C. is currently eligible to receive special educational services and is in need of

6 such services.

7

4.82 K.C. has an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) or is in need of such a plan.

8

4.83 King County does not provide K.C. with the special education services he needs

9 or ensure that he receives them.

10

4.84 King County has not engaged with K.C.’s parents or guardian regarding his

11 educational needs, his IEP, or his eligibility for special educational services.

12

4.85 King County has failed to provide K.C. or his parents or guardian with notice of

13 his rights to receive special educational services.

14

4.86 K.C. was not provided notice that he would lose educational services as a result of

15 being placed in isolation and did not receive a hearing to contest the loss of educational services

16 as a result of being placed in isolation.

17

V. CLASS ALLEGATIONS

18

5.1 Plaintiffs bring this action pursuant to Rule 23(a) and (b)(2) of the Federal Rules

19 of Civil Procedure, and seeks declaratory and injunctive relief on behalf of a class of:

20

All people under the age of 18 who are currently incarcerated at the Maleng

Regional Justice Center or King County Jail or who will be incarcerated in either

21

facility at any time in the future.

22

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1

5.2 Plaintiffs also seek declaratory and injunctive relief on behalf of a subclass

2 of:

3

All people under the age of 18 who are currently incarcerated at the Maleng

Regional Justice Center or will be incarcerated there at any time in the future and

4

are children with disabilities, as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities

Education Act, and are in need of special education and related services (“IDEA

5

Subclass”).

6

5.3 All class and subclass members face a substantial risk of serious harm as a result

7 of King County’s use of isolation and King County’s denial of an appropriate and adequate

8 education.

9

5.4 The facts and claims meet the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a).

10

5.5 Numerosity: Joinder of all class and subclass members is impracticable because of

11 the size of the class and subclass and the characteristics of the class members. At any given time,

12 all of the children incarcerated at the RJC are at a significant risk of unconstitutional isolation

13 and each is denied an appropriate education. Every month, additional class and subclass

14 members cycle in and out of the RJC and King County Jail. Many of these children are unable to

15 file lawsuits on their own because of their youth, disabilities, and lack of financial resources.

16

5.6 Commonality: There are questions of law and fact common to all members of the

17 class and subclass, including but not limited to: whether King County’s policies and practices of

18 placing children in isolation pose a substantial risk of serious harm to the Plaintiff Class and

19 IDEA Subclass and violate rights guaranteed them by the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to

20 the United States constitution and by Washington’s Constitution and laws; and whether the

21 Defendants have unlawfully denied educational services in violation of the class members’

22 Fourteenth Amendment rights, the Washington Constitution, the IDEA and applicable

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1 Washington laws.

2

5.7 Typicality: The claims of the named Plaintiffs are typical of those of the class.

3

5.8 Adequacy of Representation: The named Plaintiffs, their representatives, and class

4 counsel will fairly and adequately represent the interests of the class. The named Plaintiffs and

5 their representatives have no interests in this matter that are antagonistic to other class members.

6 Class counsel have many years of experience in civil rights and class action litigation.

7

5.9 Class-wide declaratory and injunctive relief are appropriate under Rule 23(b)(2)

8 because King County has acted or refused to act on grounds generally applicable to the class as a

9 whole.

10

VI. JURISDICTION AND VENUE

11

6.1 This action arises under the Constitution and laws of the United States, including

12 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400-1482.

13 This Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1343(a)(3) and

14 supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims presented in this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C.

15 § 1367.

16

6.2 This Court has jurisdiction to issue the declaratory relief requested pursuant to the

17 Declaratory Relief Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202 and this Court may also grant injunctive

18 relief pursuant to Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and RCW 49.60.030(2).

19

6.3 This Court has authority to award costs and attorneys’ fees under 42 U.S.C.

20 § 1988, 20 U.S.C. § 1415 and RCW 49.60.030(2).

21

6.4 Venue is proper in the Western District of Washington pursuant to 28 U.S.C.

22 § 1391(b)(1) and (b)(2). King County is located in the Western District of Washington, and the

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1 events and omissions giving rise to the claims in this action occurred in this district.

2

VII. CLAIMS FOR RELIEF

3

7.1 First Claim: By isolating children in the conditions described above, King

4 County has acted under color of state law and has violated and continues to violate the named

5 Plaintiffs’ and putative class members’ rights under the Eighth Amendment and Fourteenth

6 Amendment of the United States Constitution, which are actionable pursuant to 42 U.S.C.

7 § 1983.

8

7.2 Second Claim: By isolating children in the conditions described above, King

9 County has acted under color of state law and has violated and continues to violate the named

10 Plaintiffs’ and putative class members’ rights under Article I, section 14 of Washington’s

11 Constitution.

12

7.3 Third Claim: By isolating children, King County has violated and continues to

13 violate its duty to protect and maintain the health, safety and welfare of the individual Plaintiffs

14 and the members of the Plaintiff class.

15

7.4 Fourth Claim: By denying all children an appropriate and adequate education,

16 King County has acted under color of state law and violated and continues to violate the rights of

17 the Plaintiffs and the rights of putative class members under Article IX of the Washington

18 Constitution.

19

7.5 Fifth Claim: By denying special educational services and resources to children

20 held at the RJC, King County acted under color of state law and has violated and continues to

21 violate the rights of named Plaintiffs and the rights of the putative IDEA Subclass’s members

22 under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 et seq.

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1

7.6 Sixth Claim: By denying all children an appropriate and adequate education,

2 King County has violated and continues to violate its duty to protect and maintain the health,

3 safety and welfare of the individual Plaintiffs and the members of the Plaintiff class.

4

7.7 Seventh Claim: By denying children held in isolation an appropriate and

5 adequate education without due process of law, King County has acted under color of state law

6 and its actions or inactions have violated and continue to violate the named Plaintiffs’ and

7 putative class members’ rights under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States

8 Constitution, which are actionable pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

9

7.8 Eighth Claim: By denying children who are predominantly children of color an

10 appropriate and adequate education, King County has acted under color of state law and its

11 actions or inactions have had a disparate impact upon children of color, which violates the named

12 Plaintiffs’ and putative class members’ rights under Article IX of the Washington Constitution

13 and Washington’s Law Against Discrimination, RCW 49.60.030 and RCW 49.60.400.

14

VIII. RELIEF REQUESTED

15

The Plaintiffs respectfully request that this Court:

16

8.1 Certify this action as a class action.

17

8.2 Adjudge and declare that the actions, customs, conditions, policies, and practices

18 described in this Complaint violate the rights of the Plaintiffs and the class they seek to represent

19 under the federal and state constitutions and other applicable laws.

20

8.3 Preliminarily and permanently enjoin the Defendant King County, its agents,

21 employees, and all persons acting in concert with them from subjecting the individual Plaintiffs,

22 the Plaintiff Class, and the IDEA Subclass to the actions, customs, conditions, policies, and

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1 practices described in this Complaint.

2

8.4 Appoint a Special Master pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 53 to oversee King County’s

3 compliance with any orders the Court will issue in the future. Order King County to provide all

4 appropriate and necessary funds to compensate the Special Master for his or her duties.

5

8.5 Retain jurisdiction of this case until such time as King County has fully complied

6 with all orders of the Court or Special Master, and there is reasonable assurance that King

7 County will continue to comply in the future with these orders.

8

8.6 Award Plaintiffs, the Plaintiff Class and the IDEA Subclass their reasonable

9 attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988, 20 U.S.C. § 1415, RCW 49.60.030(2)

10 and any other applicable statute or court rule.

11

8.7 Award Plaintiffs appropriate incentive payments.

12

8.8 Award Plaintiffs, the Plaintiff Class and the IDEA Subclass such other and further

13 relief as justice may require.

14

Respectfully submitted this 23rd day of October, 2017.

15

ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFFS

16

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES

17

/s/ NICHOLAS B. STRALEY

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Nicholas B. Straley, WSBA #25963

Nicholas B. Allen, WSBA #42990

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Michael Althauser, WSBA #49842

Sujatha Branch, WSBA #51827

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Attorneys for Plaintiffs

Nick.Straley@Columbialegal.org

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Nick.Allen@Columbialegal.org

Michael.Althauser@Columbialegal.org

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Sujatha.Branch@Columbialegal.org

FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEFPage 37 No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 2 Filed 10/23/17 Page 38 of 38

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Columbia Legal Services

Institutions Project

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101 Yesler Way, Suite 300

Seattle, WA 98104

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(206) 464-0838 – phone

(206) 382-3386 – fax

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FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEFPage 38 No. 2:17-cv-01560-JCC

COLUMBIA LEGAL SERVICES Institutions Project
101 Yesler Way, Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 464-0838 (phone); (206) 382-3386 (fax)

 
 Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 33 Filed 08/20/18 Page 1 of 3

THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR 1

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

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AT SEATTLE

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C.S., et al.,

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Plaintiffs,

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v.

CASE NO. C17-1560-JCC ORDER

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KING COUNTY, et al.,

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Defendants.

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This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiffs’ motions to appoint guardian ad litem

16 (Dkt. No. 30), approve settlement (Dkt. No. 24) and voluntarily dismiss (Dkt. No. 28). For the

17 reasons described below, Plaintiffs’ motions are GRANTED.

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Plaintiffs ask the Court to approve settlements resolving their outstanding claims against

19 King County and the Kent School District (Dkt. No. 24 at 3–4) and to appoint a guardian ad

20 litem for minor Plaintiffs for purposes of settlement (Dkt. No. 30 at 2). The Court must do so

21 when a minor plaintiff is involved in a settlement. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(c); Robidoux v.

22 Rosengren, 638 F.3d 1177, 1181 (9th Cir. 2011).

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The proposed settlements resolve claims for alleged physical and emotional injuries

24 resulting from King County’s use of solitary involuntary confinement on Plaintiffs at the Maleng

25 Regional Justice Center and the Kent School District’s denial of educational services to

26 Plaintiffs. (Dkt. Nos. 1, 24-1, 24-2.) While Plaintiffs filed a class action complaint (Dkt. No. 1),

ORDER C17-1560-JCC PAGE - 1

Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 33 Filed 08/20/18 Page 2 of 3

1 the case has not been certified as a class action. Therefore, the proposed settlement has no impact

2 on claims that any other party may have against Defendants.

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George Yeannakis has evaluated and advised minor Plaintiffs D.B., K.C., and J.R. about

4 the settlement proposals offered by Defendants. (See Dkt. No. 26-1.) The Court finds that Mr.

5 Yeannakis is a fit and proper person to do so and, therefore, should be appointed guardian ad

6 litem for minor Plaintiffs.

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Under the terms of the proposed settlements, Plaintiffs will receive $240,000 from King

8 County, less $25,000 in attorney fees, to be evenly apportioned amongst Plaintiffs, and $25,000

9 from the Kent School District, to be apportioned based upon the educational hours each Plaintiff

10 was denied. (Dkt. No. 24 at 3–4.) The respective settlements were reached following two

11 mediation sessions held with the assistance of Judge Paris Kallas. (Id. at 2.) Mr. Yeannakis

12 investigated the settlements and spoke with Plaintiffs and their mothers and guardian. (Dkt. No.

13 26.) He represents that the settlements are fair and reasonable as to each minor Plaintiff and

14 serves their best interests. (Id.) The Court notes that each Plaintiff will receive a significant

15 financial settlement, and Defendants have agreed to take additional steps to address issues

16 identified in Plaintiffs’ complaint. (See Dkt. Nos. 1, 24-1, 24-2.)

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The settlement is reasonable given the nature of the claims, the extent and type of injuries

18 alleged, the inherent uncertainty of an outcome should the case proceed to trial, and the benefits

19 to all parties of an expeditious resolution. Further, the financial amounts each Plaintiff will

20 receive are commensurate with comparable cases. See Doe v. Grays Harbor, C17-5186-RBL,

21 slip op. (W.D. Wash. Nov. 13, 2017). Therefore, the Court finds that the proposed settlements

22 are in the best interests of minor Plaintiffs.

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Accordingly, the Court ORDERS as follows:

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- Plaintiffs’ motion (Dkt. No. 24) to approve settlement is GRANTED.

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- Plaintiffs’ motion (Dkt. No. 30) to appoint Mr. Yeannakis as guardian ad litem for

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D.B., K.C., and J.R. is GRANTED.

ORDER C17-1560-JCC PAGE - 2

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- Plaintiffs motion (Dkt. No. 28) to dismiss1 is GRANTED.

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DATED this 20th day of August 2018.

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John C. Coughenour

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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1 Plaintiffs move for voluntary dismissal (Dkt. No. 28) pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil

Procedure 41(a)(2), as dismissal of this action is a condition of the settlement (see Dkt. Nos. 2426 1, 24-2).

ORDER C17-1560-JCC PAGE - 3

 
 Case 2:17-cv-01560-JCC Document 24-1 Filed 07/09/18 Page 1 of 6
EXHIBIT A

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Exhibit A-1

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Exhibit A-2

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Exhibit A-3

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Exhibit A-4

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Exhibit A-5

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EXHIBIT B

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CR 2A Agreement between KSD & CLS & Individuals Charles Stokes, Javier Rudy, Kimauri Carroll, & Darrius Bruton.

1. CLS withdraws OSPI Citizen Complaint #SECC1823.

2. Individuals named in OPSI Citizen Complaint #SECC1823 agree to sign Release of All Claims they may have & other forms required to execute the monetary settlement.

3. KSD agrees to pay the total sum of $25,000 in settlement of all claims the individuals named in the OSPI Citizen Complaint #SECC1823 may have against KSD.

4. Individuals will be solely liable for any income tax liability due on any portion of the Settlement Sum. KSD is not required to pay any further sums to Individuals individually or their counsel, even if the tax liabilities and consequences are ultimately assessed in a fashion which they do not presently anticipate. Neither KSD nor its attorneys have made any representations to Individuals concerning any tax aspects of the payment. KSD will file tax reporting forms in accordance with the applicable federal regulations.

5. KSD agrees to request that King County engage in review/revision of the Instructional Service Plan for KSD & King County Dept. of Adult and Juvenile Detention – Kent Division and the Interlocal Agreement between King County and KSD for the Establishment of the RJC Juvenile Educational Program, dated August/Sept. 1998 for the purpose of exploring maximizing KSD’s access to provide educational services to juveniles housed in the RJC in the future. The result of the discussions between KSD & King County will be reported by KSD to CLS.

5.5 As part of its engagement w/ King County under ¶5, KSD will consult w/ OSPI Institutional Educ Prog Supervisor. The result of this consultation will be reported by KSD to CLS, & KSD will consider CLS input.

6. For each individual receiving funds under this agreement, the agreement is subject to approval of a minor settlement.

7. The provisions of this Agreement will not be construed against either party. If any of the provisions of this agreement are held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will nevertheless continue to be valid and enforceable.

8. The parties agree that this constitutes an agreement under CR. 2A. The parties will draft and execute a final settlement agreement by Friday, June 30, 2018

Dated May 30, 2018.

Nicholas B. Straley For CLS & Claimants Charles Stokes, Javier Rudy Kimauri Carroll, Darrius Bruton

David T. Hokit For Kent School District

Exhibit B-1

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Exhibit B-2

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Exhibit B-3