Case Status:

Case Filed: 2015

Main Concern

To secure accommodations to allow inmates who are deaf/hearing impaired to communicate to the same degree as their non-disabled peers.

Summary

This class action was filed to redress lack of accommodations in Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) facilities for deaf and hard of hearing prisoners. Defendant’s motion to dismiss was denied in 2016; Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification was granted, and Defendant’s motion for summary judgment was denied, in 2017; and the court approved the parties’ settlement in 2019. The settlement was implemented with the assistance of a court-appointed monitor between 2019 and 2023.

Settlement Agreement

Outcome

As a result of the settlement, MDOC’s identification of deaf and hard of hearing prisoners dramatically increased, as did its provision of necessary accommodations. The monitor and court determined in 2023 that MDOC had substantially complied with the terms of the settlement.

 

Case name: Mary McBride, et al. v. MI Department of Corrections (2:15-cv-11222, E.D. Mich.)

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