Monroe County’s long-running jail dispute is likely to end at the negotiating table rather than at trial, one legal expert said.
Nicholas Almendares, associate professor at Indiana University Maurer School of Law, said courts may hesitate to force the county to build a new jail, but it is a potential path to resolution.
“It's not easy for a court or anyone really to tell Monroe County what to do,” he said. “And there's like a million little decisions in there.”
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal class action lawsuit against the Monroe County Council, Monroe County Commissioners and Sheriff Ruben Marté earlier this month on behalf of jail detainees, alleging unconstitutional conditions that the organization has pressed the county to fix for nearly two decades.
Almendares said he thinks the most likely outcome is a negotiated settlement in which the ACLU and the county agree on terms before trial.
In 2009, the county agreed to build a new jail to address the ACLU’s allegations of unconstitutional conditions and overcrowding as part of a settlement agreement.
“If I had to pick where I expect the most action to be in this case, it’s probably what the remedy is,” he said. “In other words, what happens after the lawsuit concludes?”
In jail cases, Almendares said, that can include long-term court oversight or a consent decree, where a judge periodically reviews whether officials are meeting benchmarks. But he cautioned that the law can “run out” if local officials do not follow through.
“It would take that bold decision, like by a court, to try and find some way to hold them accountable,” he said.
Almendares said he would not be surprised if the judge granted summary judgment, which allows a judge to decide a case without a trial because the basic facts are no longer in dispute.
“I don't think there's probably a question about what the facts on the ground are,” he said. “There's really a question of what those facts on the ground mean legally.”
As far as legal costs, Almendares said most will be through time and energy rather than a clear price tag, though the expense of building a new jail would be separate.
A city-county subcommittee on a new jail site recommended that the county renovate the current jail alongside the Curry Building. That came days after the ACLU filed the suit, but the path forward remains unclear.
