Sonnenschein Attorneys Win Federal Court Judgment for Pro Bono Client

On March 31, a jury in federal court in Urbana, Illinois awarded a Sonnenschein pro bono client $125,000 in compensatory and punitive damages for being sexually assaulted by a prison guard while incarcerated in an all-female prison.  The guard responsible for the assault had been the subject of numerous misconduct reports that were ignored.  Even though reports of sexual assaults were verified, he remained a guard.

Unfortunately, such assaults are not new to Dwight.  In 1996, the public interest group Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report revealing a serious problem with sexual misconduct in the Illinois correctional facilities.  The HRW report specifically states that "…certain corrections employees were involved in the sexual abuse of women incarcerated at Dwight."

Given the history at Dwight, the suit sought to hold the warden and assistant warden responsible.  Both were employed at Dwight for more than 15 years and should have been aware of the history of sexual abuse of inmates by male guards at the facility.  The jury found the two officials to be "deliberately indifferent" to the problem and consequently liable for the injury to our client’s health and safety.

Sonnenschein attorneys Harold Hirshman, Camille Bennett, and Anne Mitchell found the win especially rewarding.  "We were able to redress, for a resourceless person, a wrong perpetrated by an indifferent prison system," said Harold Hirshman.  Additionally, Anne Mitchell speaks of working on pro bono cases like this one as an opportunity "to look beyond the legal aspects and reach out on a personal level to clients."