Opinion ID: 776026
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: System-Wide Relief

Text: 53 The scope of injunctive relief is dictated by the extent of the violation established. Lewis, 518 U.S. at 359. The key question, for purposes of Lewis, is whether the inadequacy complained of is in fact widespread enough to justify system wide relief. Lewis, 518 U.S. at 359. Lewis reiterates the longstanding maxim that injunctive relief against a state agency or official must be no broader than necessary to remedy the constitutional violation. See Milliken v. Bradley, 433 U.S. 267, 280, 53 L. Ed. 2d 745, 97 S. Ct. 2749 (1977). System-wide relief is required if the injury is the result of violations of a statute or the constitution that are attributable to policies or practices pervading the whole system (even though injuring a relatively small number of plaintiffs), or if the unlawful policies or practices affect such a broad range of plaintiffs that an overhaul of the system is the only feasible manner in which to address the class's injury. However, if injunctive relief is premised upon only a few isolated violations affecting a narrow range of plaintiffs, its scope must be limited accordingly. 27 54 We also note that the decision to grant system-wide prospective injunctive relief does not occur in a vacuum; it is intimately connected to determinations made earlier in the lawsuit. The court's rulings concerning the likelihood of future injury at the standing stage obviously shades into those determining whether the complaint states a sound basis for equitable relief. Lyons, 461 U.S. at 103 (citing O'Shea, 414 U.S. at 499). And the court's determination that relief may be sought by a class of plaintiffs is relevant to the scope of the relief to be awarded. In fact, class certification serves to alter the court's inquiry: when a class is properly certified, the injury asserted by the named plaintiffs at the standing stage of our inquiry is asserted on behalf of all members of the class. Accordingly, although in a class-action lawsuit, as in any other suit, the remedy must . . . be limited to the inadequacy that produced the injury in fact that the plaintiff has established, see Lewis, 518 U.S. at 357, the plaintiff has been broadened to include the class as a whole, and no longer simply those named in the complaint. 55 In this case, system-wide injunctive relief was justified by the district court's extensive findings of fact setting forth in meticulous detail the injuries suffered by seventeen different prisoners and parolees at a variety of Board facilities and hearings. The district court expressly noted that these findings were not limited to the individual prisoners and parolees named in its opinion, but extended to members of the class throughout the parole system. The Board's treatment of the seventeen individuals was symptomatic of its treatment of a broad class of inmates with disabilities; and all of the violations the court found stemmed from the policies and practices of the Board, permeated its institutions, and were condoned by officials ranging from Commissioner Nielsen to the Board's deputy commissioners and Department officials acting as agents of the Board and under its guidelines. Such findings are sufficient to satisfy Lewis's requirement that factual findings support the relief sought. 56 Furthermore, we note that Lewis does not require a particular number of named plaintiffs before system-wide relief is appropriate. In a class-action lawsuit, Rule 23(b)(2) enables a trial court to determine the appropriateness of system-wide relief based on the individual experiences of the named plaintiffs. The district court retains wide discretion to hear evidence tending to establish the scope of the class and the range of claims it represents. For class certification to occur, the court must find that the named plaintiffs adequately represent the interests and experiences of the overall class. In making such findings, the trial court must be afforded a wide degree of discretion to determine when a particular number of inmate witnesses is sufficient to justify system-wide relief for the identified violation. So long as the trial court's conclusion is based upon adequate findings supported by substantial evidence in the record, we must defer to its evaluation of the scope of the class and the injury it suffered. In so doing we recognize the utility and propriety of various procedural rules (like the class action device) that authorize the trial court to view individual items of evidence as representative of larger conditions or problems. 28 The main concern of Lewis is to ensure that courts do not enter broader injunctions than are necessary, and do not prohibit conduct that is not threatened. (See also supra Part II. B) This is certainly not the case here. 29