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In 1989, ACLU of Washington (ACLU-WA) and Evergreen Legal Services — which is now Columbia Legal Services — brought a class action lawsuit against the King County Correctional Facility on behalf of people who were incarcerated and the King County Corrections Guild. The lawsuit sought to improve medical care, safety from assaults, and other improvements in jail conditions.
The lawsuit was settled in 1998 and an agreement, known as the Hammer Settlement Agreement, was established. King County agreed to remedy overcrowding, poor medical care, and inadequate staffing at its jail — the first of several successful ACLU lawsuits over conditions at county jails.
In 2023, the ACLU-WA filed a lawsuit against King County in Pierce County Superior Court alleging violations of the Settlement Agreement that governs conditions, including access to medical care and court, for individuals incarcerated in the jail.
The lawsuit was settled in 1998 and an agreement, known as the Hammer Settlement Agreement, was established. King County agreed to remedy overcrowding, poor medical care, and inadequate staffing at its jail — the first of several successful ACLU lawsuits over conditions at county jails.
In 2023, the ACLU-WA filed a lawsuit against King County in Pierce County Superior Court alleging violations of the Settlement Agreement that governs conditions, including access to medical care and court, for individuals incarcerated in the jail.
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