Wayne County Jail Inmates v. Wayne County Chief Executive Officer

This class action was filed by the Wayne County Jail inmates in 1971. It sought equitable relief from "depraved, inhuman and barbaric” conditions at the jail. A three-judge panel issued its opinion on May 18, 1971. The panel members were then-Wayne Circuit Judges Victor J. Baum, Richard M. Maher and John D. O’Hair. They found conditions in the jail deplorable and in violation of the inmates’ rights as claimed. Violations included:

—serious overcrowding;

—violations of plumbing, ventilation, heating, electrical, fire and sanitation laws;

— ... "[a]n investigated assault rate of almost 100 in…