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Public Interest Law Section of The Florida Bar

Topic

Roundtable Discussion: An Inside Look at Solitary Confinement Policies in Florida & Pending Legal Challenges

Description

*Co-sponsored by PILS: 1 CLE approved*

Join distinguished panelists Andrea Costello (Florida Legal Services), Kelly Knapp (Southern Poverty Law Ctr), & Melissa Duncan (Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach Co) as they discuss Florida's policy and practice of solitary confinement in jails and prisons and the legal theories being used to challenges these policies and practices. Moderated by Sabarish Neelakanta (SPN Law)

Introduction of panelists and summary of discussion (5 min.)

The policy and practice of solitary confinement in Florida’s jails and prisons (25 min.)

Harvard v. Inch – pending federal class action challenging the solitary confinement of adults in the Florida Department of Corrections
G.H. v. Marstiller – pending federal class action challenging the use of solitary confinement of juveniles within the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice
H.C. v. Bradshaw – federal class action brought in June 2018 challenging the practice of solitary confinement of direct-filed juveniles and the denial of educational services in the PBC jail

The legal theories applied to challenge the policy and practice of solitary confinement of adults and juveniles (25 min.)

42 U.S.C. 1983 – Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment
American with Disabilities Act
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
Individuals w/ Disabilities Education Act

Questions and Answer (5-10 minutes)

Time

Feb 2, 2021 01:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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Message preview	Hi there, You are invited to a Zoom webinar. When: Feb 2, 2021 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Topic: Roundtable Discussion: An Inside Look at Solitary Confinement Policies in Florida & Pending Legal Challenges Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4kn55AKwQo6TYqV5N_HC-w After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. ---------- Webinar Speakers Andrea Costello (Director @Florida Institutional Legal Services) Andrea Costello is an experienced civil rights litigator and advocate. She has litigated significant impact cases at the state and national levels in the areas of juvenile justice reform, racial profiling, reproductive justice, police misconduct, disability rights, access to healthcare, and the rights of political demonstrators. During her career, she has worked at national civil rights organizations, including the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York City and the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund in Washington, D.C. Andrea has also been an organizer for women’s rights and social justice struggles for over 25 years and has a deep commitment to creatively using the law to support communities and grassroots movements working for social change. She received a J.D. from the City University of New York Law School at Queens College in 1998 and received the school’s inaugural Distinguished Graduate Award. Kelly Knapp (Senior Staff Attorney @Southern Poverty Law Center) Kelly Knapp is a Senior Staff Attorney at Southern Poverty Law Center who litigates class actions against the Florida Departments of Corrections and Juvenile Justice. She is currently the lead Plaintiffs’ counsel in Harvard v. Inch, a statewide class action challenging the use of solitary confinement in the Florida prison system. Before SPLC, Kelly brought class actions against elder care facilities to address understaffing and other elder abuse as an associate at a boutique plaintiffs’ firm in San Francisco. She also litigated against the California prison system and county jails as a staff attorney at the Prison Law Office. Kelly was a member of the Plata v. Brown team that won an order from the U.S. Supreme Court requiring California to reduce its prison population to address constitutionally inadequate healthcare. She was inspired to attend law school while working as a case manager for homeless people with mental illness in the San Francisco County Jail. Melissa Duncan (Supervising Attorney, Education Advocacy Project @Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County) Melissa Duncan is the supervising attorney of the Education Advocacy Project at the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County. Throughout her 16 years at Legal Aid, Melissa has also worked in the Relative Caregiver Project and the Juvenile Advocacy Project. Melissa was one of the lead counsel in H.C. v. Ric Bradshaw, a class action to end the practice of solitary confinement and denial of educational services to direct-filed juveniles held at the Palm Beach County Jail. She graduated from law school at the University of Florida in 2004 and was previously a Teach for America educator in Phoenix, Arizona.

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