Source: https://www.clearinghouse.net/detail.php?id=825
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 12:05:07+00:00

Document:
On August 20, 1991, an inmate in the New Jersey State Prison [NJSP] filed this pro se civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, alleging that he and other African American inmates had been unlawfully placed in the Management Control Unit [MCU] of the NJSP solely because of their race and their affiliation with the Afrikan National Ujamma, an alleged terrorist organization. Numerous similar pro se lawsuits followed. The District Court consolidated all of the cases on October 1, 1993 with the lead case Pack v. Beyer, Civil Docket No. 91-3709 (GEB). Counsel was appointed to represent the plaintiffs. Plaintiffs sought injunctive and declaratory relief.
The parties engaged in somewhat contentious discovery, which resulted in several hearings and court rulings. See Pack v. Beyer, 157 F.R.D. 219 (D.N.J.1993) and Pack v. Beyer, 157 F.R.D. 226 (D.N.J.1994) for a recitation of the various discovery issues. After several years of discovery, the parties engaged in settlement negotiations and reached a proposed agreement to resolve all issues.
Following a settlement hearing, held on July 14, 1995, the parties consented to the jurisdiction of the Magistrate Judge. On September 25, 1995, (U.S. Magistrate Judge John J. Hughes) certified the class and set the case for an approval hearing. On December 15, 1995, Magistrate Judge Hughes approved the Settlement Agreement and adopted its terms as an order of the Court Judge Hughes also awarded attorneys fees of $150,000 to Plaintiffs' counsel and ordered the appointment of a Special Master. Pack v. Beyer, 1995 WL 775360 (D.N.J. Dec. 22, 1995).
The Court appointed Matthew P. Boylan as the Special Master.
The Settlement Agreement contained policies and procedures to be implemented by the New Jersey DOC regarding the circumstances and placement of any plaintiff inmate in the MCU. Those new policies and procedures included a review process whereby the Special Master would hear appeals of the Management Control Unit Review Committee [MCURC] decisions to place plaintiff class members into the MCU. The Agreement specified its duration at 2 ½ years.
Magistrate Judge Hughes entered several orders (dated 10/13/1999, 4/19/2000, 10/23/2000, 6/22/2001, 12/17/2001 and 2/19/2002) extending the duration of the Settlement Agreement, the last of which extended the duration to February 28, 2002.
Following approval of the Settlement Agreement, inmates filed various motions to enforce the Settlement Agreement and requesting other relief. Most of those motions were denied on their merits or as moot.
On May 2, 2002, the Court (Magistrate Judge Hughes) issued an order dissolving the Settlement Agreement and closing the entire case. Several pro se inmate appeals followed. According to the PACER docket, those appeals were dismissed for failure to prosecute. See also Pack v. Beyer, 65 Fed.Appx. 874 (3rd Cir. Table 2003) and Pack v. Beyer, 80 Fed.Appx. 287 (3rd Cir. Table 2003).
No further case activity was noted on the docket.
Plaintiff Description All African American inmates who had been confined to or recommended for confinement to the Management Control Unit ("MCU") of New Jersey State Prison ("NJSP") at any time since August 29, 1990.

References: § 1983
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