ACLU Civil Liberties Union of Delaware
Defending Individual Rights and Personal Freedom
Prisoners’ Rights
ACLU v. Danberg: Challenging a FOIA Denial of Prison Health Documents
On August 8, 2006, we filed suit against the Delaware Department of Correction (DOC) to challenge the denial of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Two months earlier, we had requested a copy of the Department’s treatment protocols for various illnesses and conditions, such as HIV/AIDS; hepatitis; diabetes; heart disease; and cancer; and the Department’s operating procedures with respect to wellness visits, including routine gynecological care. On June 27, 2006, the DOC responded that those records were exempt from the definition of public record because they are “trade secrets and commercial or financial information” belonging to Correctional Medical Services (CMS), the Department’s contracted medical provider, and because the ACLU is a “potential litigant” against the State, and therefore, not permitted to use FOIA to request public documents.
On March 15, 2007, Judge Slights (Superior Court for New Castle County), held that the “potential litigation” exemption to FOIA is to be construed narrowly. The resolution of this issue has important implications for the rights of the public, and of watchdog groups like the ACLU, to obtain public records in the future.
The ACLU and CMS disagree as to whether the documents requested by the ACLU are trade secrets or confidential commercial information exempt from disclosure under the Delaware FOIA. However, on July 19, 2007, CMS and the ACLU settled the lawsuit in a manner that achieved each party’s objective. ACLU will be allowed to review the CMS documents subject to a non-disclosure agreement that assures that the CMS documents will remain confidential.
Michael Kirkpatrick and Jennifer Soble, of Public Citizen Litigation Group in Washington, D.C., were the Cooperating Attorneys.
- ACLU Complaint
- ACLU Motion for Protective Order
- Superior Court Opinion on the Protective Order and Scope of the Potential Litigation Exemption to FOIA
- ACLU Answer Brief
Meyer v. Ryan, et al.: Retaliation Against Prisoner for Asserting Her Rights
The ACLU of Delaware entered a prisoners’ rights case on behalf of a formerly pro se plaintiff named Terri Meyer, an inmate at Baylor Women's Correctional Institution in New Castle. Ms. Meyer, who has been a model inmate during her period of incarceration, was retaliated against by prison officials for invoking her First Amendment and due process right of access to the courts.
For more than four years, Ms. Meyer served as the inmate paralegal in the prison law library. In that capacity, she was able to help many other women research their criminal cases and advocate for their civil rights. In late 2005, Ms. Meyer was preparing a lawsuit to challenge numerous unconstitutional prison conditions at Baylor, including, among other things, inmates housed in multi-purpose closets who were not let out frequently enough to go to the bathroom, as well as inadequate medical treatment. When the Warden discovered her draft complaint in late 2005-early 2006, her legal work was confiscated; she was moved from the honor pod to a higher security Mental Health Unit; she was fired from her position as the inmate paralegal; and she was told she was no longer welcome in the law library.
The lawsuit is pending before Judge Robinson in the District Court for Delaware. Liam Braber and Chris McCabe, of the Philadelphia law firm Jacoby Donner P.C., are serving as Cooperating Attorneys.