Standards.

44.  Standards

U.S. District Court   Armstrong v. Metropolitan Government of
                      Nashville, 196 F.Supp.2d 673 (M.D.Tenn. 2002).
  PROFESSIONAL        Inmates and pretrial detainees brought a class
  STANDARDS           action against a metropolitan government in 1987,
                      alleging that overcrowding in jails was
  ACCREDITATION       unsanitary and unsafe. The district court issued
                      an injunction and set population caps. The
                      district court granted the government's motion to
                      lift the injunction in 2002, finding that
                      conditions in new jails met the requirements of
                      the Eighth Amendment. The court found that the
                      new jails' environment, sanitation and fire
                      safety complied with the Eighth Amendment,
                      providing adequate levels of personal security
                      for inmates and staff. The court held that food
                      service was adequate and acceptable and that
                      there was adequate physical space available for
                      recreation. The court noted that two of the four
                      jails had achieved accreditation by the American
                      Correctional Association and the other two had
                      applied, and would also probably receive
                      accreditation. The court called the jail
                      administration at the time of the 1987 suit "a
                      brutal and corrupt regime" The court praised the
                      government's correctional experts who assisted
                      the county, and the plaintiffs' counsel "for the
                      enormous service she has performed for the class
                      of plaintiffs and the community." The court
                      complimented the Special Master for his "wise
                      guidance in overseeing the rehabilitation of the
                      Metropolitan Government's jail system."
                      (Metropolitan Government of Nashville, Tennessee)