The U.S. Department of Justice shut down the Jena Correction Facility in Jena, Louisiana in 2000 after uncovering chronic abuses there. But the facility was reopened in August 2005 to house prisoners from New Orleans-area jails in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's devastation.
Keith Dillon was one of those transferees, having been held in the Jefferson Parish Jail on a DUI charge.
During his brief stay in Jena, Dillon was severely beaten by guards, suffering deafness in one ear, shooting pain in one shoulder and bicep, back and knee pain, frequent headaches, blurred vision and broken teeth.
In March 2007, Public Justice filed a lawsuit on Dillon's behalf, charging that former Jena warden T. W. Thompson and six guards "deliberately and maliciously assaulted and battered" Dillon, subjected him to inhumane conditions, and failed to provide adequate medical care for the many injuries caused by the beatings.
A federal district court in Louisiana dismised Dillon's suit because he failed to complete an administrative grievance process before filing his lawsuit. As a result, the court never addressed the substance of Dillon's beating allegations.
Public Justice argued that there was no administrative grievance process available to Dillon at Jena or at another facility, to which Dillon was transferred shortly after being beaten. In Dillon v. Rogers, Public Justice also argued that the district court improperly dismissed the suit before allowing Dillon to collect and submit evidence showing that there were no "available" administrative remedies to pursue before filing suit.
Public Justice appealed and, in February 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the district court had improperly dismissed Dillon's lawsuit and should have permitted him the opportunity to collect and present evidence concerning the availability of administrative remedies.
"The appeals court's ruling represents an important victory for access to justice and prisoners' rights," said Public Justice Managing Attorney Adele Kimmel, who argued Dillon's appeal. "Mr. Dillon was brutally beaten at Jena prison and filed a lawsuit in the hopes of getting justice. His case was thrown out because he didn't file an administrative claim first, even though no administrative process was availale to him. The appeals court held this was wrong. The court's ruling brings us one step closer to obtaining justice and holding the guards accountable."
Jena was shut down again about six weeks after Hurricane Katrina, at the behest of human rights organizations and state legislators and amid allegations of widespread, gross abuse of prisoners who charged they had been slapped, punched, beaten, stripped naked, hit with belts, and kicked by Jena guards.
Along with Kimmel, Soren Gisleson of Herman, Herman, Katz & Cotlar in New Orleans is co-counsel for Dillon. Public Justice's Goldberg Attorney Amy Radon co-wrote the appellate brief with Kimmel.