Winston Secures Settlement for Client Who Was Placed in Solitary Confinement for Filing a Complaint About Prison Staff Misconduct

Winston attorneys negotiated a sizeable settlement for an inmate of the California prison system who filed a lawsuit alleging prison officials violated his First Amendment rights by retaliating against him for submitting a complaint about prison staff misconduct.

In 2018, our client’s wife faxed two anonymous letters, written by our client, to the California Office of the Inspector General. The letters alleged that prison officials engaged in ongoing and severe misconduct. Shortly after, prison officials began a campaign of threats and harassment against our client and his wife, which included twice placing him in solitary confinement and transferring him to a different prison—hundreds of miles from his family.

In August 2019, our client filed a pro se lawsuit against six staff members at California State Prison, Los Angeles County. Four years later, while the case was in the midst of fact discovery, Winston began representing him as part of the firm’s Racial Justice & Equity CEASE Initiative.

The Winston team was successful in excluding nearly all of the defendants’ experts’ testimony while preserving the right to present our experts’ testimony about prison staff using the transfer of inmates as a form of retaliation. The team also obtained a court order to allow our client to testify in person, rather than remotely from prison.

On the eve of trial, after extensive discovery, securing and preparing two expert witnesses, and taking nine depositions, Winston negotiated a sizeable settlement for our client.

The Winston team included Megan Arian, Daniel Aronsohn, Mike Franco, Miriam Gilbert, Tristan Kirk, Jolie Lowe, Lara Markarian, Paul Salvaty, Peyton Sherwood, Katelyn Taira, and Whitney Williams.

Learn more about Winston’s commitment to excellence in serving the public interest.