EFE Files Class-Action Lawsuit for Inmates with Mental Illness Against Cook County Jail

Equip for Equality, in conjunction with Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law and the law firm Deckert LLP, filed a class-action lawsuit in the federal court in Chicago on behalf of individuals with mental illness who are incarcerated by the Cook County Department of Corrections awaiting trial.

The suit alleges that Cook County is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by barring inmates with mental illness from substance-abuse programs and various supervised community release programs. It also contends that these inmates are denied due process under the 14th Amendment because they are released into the community without arrangements to access necessary medication or mental health services.

"People with psychiatric disabilities are entitled to equal access to government programs and services, including those provided by Cook County Jail," said Barry C. Taylor, Legal Advocacy Director for Equip for Equality. "The ADA prohibits people with disabilities from being excluded simply because of mental illness. Our suit seeks to rectify this unfair exclusion so people with psychiatric labels can receive the same opportunities as other detainees." Senior Attorney Byron Mason and Managing Attorney Laura Miller are Equip for Equality's lead attorneys on this case. An estimated 1,500 people with chronic mental illnesses are incarcerated in the Cook County jail at any given time. Many have committed low-level offenses, and it is believed that at least 60 inmates and possibly many more could benefit from the jail's supervised community and treatment programs if they were not excluded because of their disability. More than 100 people with mental illnesses are discharged each month without arrangements for case management or for accessing needed medication.

Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the case, claiming that the allegations should be combined with two previous class-action suits filed on behalf of inmates with mental illness. Once the courts rule on this motion, Equip for Equality and its co-counsel will move forward seeking to remedy the injustices inmates with mental illness are experiencing.

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