Oregon’s prison system is facing a sweeping legal challenge out of Salem, where a new class-action lawsuit accuses the Department of Corrections of routinely locking people in prolonged isolation that plaintiffs say is degrading, harmful, and unlawful. If the case succeeds, the fallout could reshape how restrictive housing works for hundreds of adults in custody across the state.
Filed June 11 in Marion County Circuit Court, the complaint was brought by five adults in custody who say they are standing in for a much larger group of incarcerated people, according to the Grants Pass Tribune. The lawsuit targets long stretches of restrictive housing and asks a judge to rein in the state’s use of disciplinary segregation and other high-security units.
Attorneys with the Oregon Justice Resource Center and the Prison Law Office are representing the plaintiffs and describe the case as an institutional challenge, not just a set of personal horror stories. Their stated aim is to limit the Department of Corrections’ use of punitive segregation and to secure better accommodations for people with physical and mental health needs, according to the Oregon Justice Resource Center.
State data reviewed by reporters show a recent increase in the number of people held in disciplinary segregation, with about 561 adults in those units as of May 1, according to OPB. The complaint paints a stark picture: people confined 23 to 24 hours a day in cells that plaintiffs say offer almost no sunlight, limited programming, and minimal human contact.
The suit names the Oregon Department of Corrections itself along with several top officials as defendants, listing Director Mike Rees, Deputy Director Kyla Cummings, Inspector General Mark Nooth, and other senior leaders, the Grants Pass Tribune reported. Department spokespeople have declined to address the specific allegations while the lawsuit is pending, but have told reporters the agency remains committed to running operations that are safe, secure, and humane.
Legal Claims and State Rules
At the heart of the complaint is Article I, section 13 of the Oregon Constitution, often referred to as the “no unnecessary rigor” clause, along with state disability protections that plaintiffs argue the department has failed to honor. The constitutional language is blunt: “No person arrested, or confined in jail, shall be treated with unnecessary rigor.”
State administrative rules spell out when and how disciplinary segregation and other forms of restrictive housing can be used, limit certain consecutive disciplinary sanctions, and set up review processes for those placements. That framework is laid out in the Oregon Constitution and in the Department’s own Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) on disciplinary action and segregation.
Rising Scrutiny And Why Plaintiffs Say Reform Is Overdue
The new class action drops into an already tense moment for the Oregon Department of Corrections. Earlier this year, the state signed off on a multimillion-dollar settlement after a young man died while in solitary confinement, a case that advocates say spotlighted serious problems in how the agency responds to people in crisis. Law & Crime covered that settlement and the disturbing allegations behind it.
ODOC has also been battling other lawsuits over housing and safety in recent years, some of which have led to court oversight and injunctions. One federal case challenges the department’s policies on housing transgender adults in custody and has already moved through magistrate rulings and other filings, with documents available in the federal docket on Justia.
If a judge certifies the class and the plaintiffs ultimately win, the result could be sweeping policy changes for Oregon prisons, including tighter limits on how long people can be held in segregation, stronger review and accommodation processes for those with disabilities, and expanded oversight of restrictive housing decisions. Reporters who have examined the complaint and agency data note that class certification could set the stage for reforms affecting hundreds of people across the state, according to OPB.
