- Pro Bono work
STATE OF HAWAI`I FOUND TO HAVE ABUSED AND MISTREATED YOUTHS
In late January 2006, District Judge Michael Seabright has indicated that he is going to grant a preliminary injunction halting a pervasive pattern of abuse and mistreatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender teenagers who are confined in the Hawai`i Youth Correctional Facility.
In this pro bono case filed jointly by lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai`i, the San Francisco office of Morrison & Foerster, and Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing.
The lawsuit sought an injunction against continuing physical and mental abuse at the hands of guards and administrators at HYCF. The Plaintiffs contended–and after an evidentiary hearing the court found–that the State had consistently violated the Plaintiffs’ constitutional rights and there was a lack of supervision and good management. This situation occurred–and was continuing–despite the fact that the ACLU and Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing warned the Hawai`i Attorney General in 2003 about the pattern of mistreatment and the AG promised reforms which were never made.
Paul Alston, Stephen Tannenbaum, and Mei-Fei Kuo represented the plaintiffs.
