The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana may file a new lawsuit against Monroe County over conditions at the Monroe County Jail.

ACLU Legal Director Ken Falk met this week with inmates at the jail to interview potential plaintiffs for a new lawsuit following the expiration of a previous settlement agreement.

Falk said the jail's problems have been documented for years and remain unresolved despite agreement about the need for improvements.

"I have never been in a situation where I've been promised so many times that the problem would be resolved and the problem was not resolved," Falk said. "It's just inconceivable to me how the can has been kicked down the road for 15, 16 years, and that's inexcusable."

County and city officials recently began joint discussions to identify a location and plan for a new jail facility. Falk said he remains "immensely pessimistic" after years of delays.

He said the jail suffers from overcrowding, aging infrastructure and a lack of space for treatment and rehabilitation programs.

"This is not a situation where there's any disagreement as to the facts," Falk said. "Everyone knows what the facts are."

Read more: County’s 18-year jail saga drags on as officials brace for another lawsuit

Falk said the ACLU is considering new litigation because the county failed to pursue long-term solutions despite having had years to address problems.

Falk said that, before dismissing the settlement agreement, the ACLU notified inmates that it was looking for prisoner comments concerning the facility. He said this week’s visit was to follow up on those.

"Summary judgment exists when the facts are uncontested, and the question is, 'what does the law say?'" Falk said. "I think the facts here are pretty egregious."

Falk did not say what form a new lawsuit could take. He said the ACLU is still reviewing information gathered during its recent visit and has not announced a timeline for potential litigation.

"The human beings who are being held in that facility now are being held in dangerous and unconstitutional conditions," Falk said. "That has to be remedied."