U.S. District Court: CROWDING CONDITIONS MEDICAL CARE.

Oladipupo v. Austin, 104 F.Supp.2d 626 (W.D.La. 2000). A detainee of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) who was awaiting removal from the United States brought a [sections] 1983 action against parish jail officials challenging the constitutionality of his conditions of confinement. The district court held that the failure of jail officials to segregate pretrial detainees who were HIV positive did not violate the due process rights of non-infected detainees. The court denied summary judgment for the officials on the issue of whether the detainee was transferred before his request to see a dentist could be processed, finding issues of material fact and noting that even a convicted inmate has a right of ready access to dental care. The court denied summary judgment for the officials on the issue of whether the jail's dormitory violated state fire and sanitation codes. The detainee alleged that the dormitory was overcrowded and had only eight sinks, commodes and showers for 72 pretrial detainees tha t were housed in the dormitory. According to the court, the detainee's allegation that he was denied a meal at the jail dining ball on one occasion because be was not wearing slices, as required by jail policy, was insufficient to state a due process violation. The court denied summary judgment to the officials on the issue of whether denial of a mattress during the initial part of his detention, which the court characterized as a "basic human need," violated the due process rights of the detainee. The court denied summary judgment to the officials on the allegation that preventing inmates from accessing sexually explicit material was an exaggerated response to the officials' concerns about reducing violence and sexual assault. (Avoyelles Parish Jail, Louisiana)