Victor Parsons v. Charles Ryan

The defendants, senior officials of the Arizona Department of Corrections (“ADC”), appeal an order certifying a class and a subclass of inmates in Arizona’s prison system who claim that they are subject to systemic Eighth Amendment violations. The inmates allege that numerous policies and practices of statewide application governing medical care, dental care, mental health care, and conditions of confinement in isolation cells expose them to a substantial risk of serious harm to which the defendants are deliberately indifferent. The inmates seek declaratory and injunctive relief from the alleged constitutional violations. After reviewing the substantial record compiled by the plaintiffs, which includes four expert reports, hundreds of internal ADC documents, depositions of ADC staff, and inmate declarations, the district court determined that the plaintiffs meet the standard for class certification set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. It therefore certified a class of inmates challenging ADC health care policies and practices, and a subclass of inmates challenging ADC isolation unit policies and practices. We conclude that the district court did not abuse its…