Mary Ann Fiandaca v. Michael Cunningham, Etc., Appeal of New Hampshire Association for Retarded Citizens Mary Ann Fiandaca v. Michael Cunningham, Etc.

COFFIN, Circuit Judge.

This opinion discusses two consolidated appeals related to a class action brought by twenty-three female prison inmates sentenced to the custody of the warden of the New Hampshire State Prison. The suit challenges the state of New Hampshire’s failure to establish a facility for the incarceration of female inmates with programs and services equivalent to those provided to male inmates at the state prison. After a bench trial on the merits, the district court held that the state had violated plaintiffs’ right to equal protection of the laws and ordered the construction of…