Sauder Schelkopf is investigating allegations of abuse at Louisiana juvenile detention facilities.
On Oct. 30, 2022, The New York Times reported in part:
The Times/Berkeley investigation — based on more than 100 interviews with people previously held at Ware and current and former staff members, thousands of pages of records and court documents, and hours of security footage — reveals how a place meant to offer children care and rehabilitation instead descended into chaos and cruelty. Guards beat and choked their wards. Several forced children to endure sexual abuse as the price for phone privileges. They frequently maintained control by bribing children with food to assault other children.
On March 10, 2022, NBC News reported in part:
Teens at the Acadiana Center for Youth at St. Martinville were held in solitary confinement around the clock, shackled with leg irons and deprived of an education. . . . .
At least 24 states and the federal government have placed strict limits on the use of solitary confinement for young people. The U.S. Department of Justice has intervened in at least a dozen cases involving state and local juvenile justice agencies in the last decade to make clear that overuse of solitary confinement for juveniles is unconstitutional.
Related News
Abuse, Chaos and Cruelty in Louisiana Juvenile Detention
Louisiana Governor Calls for Inquiry Into Abuses at Juvenile Detention Center
‘No light. No nothing.’ Inside Louisiana’s harshest juvenile lockup
Findings of Investigation of Secure Correctional Facilities for Juveniles in Louisiana (Aug. 6, 2015)
Experience Matters
Sauder Schelkopf has a nationally recognized sexual misconduct practice. The firm currently serves as court-appointed lead counsel in courts across the country. The attorneys at Sauder Schelkopf have recovered over $500 million on behalf of their clients and class members. Our attorneys have been recognized by LawDragon in its list of the “500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers” for 2022. This list notes: “From the opioid epidemic to toxic substances and defective products, truck accidents to wildfires and sexual abuse, these are the lawyers who stand on the front line in individual lawsuits and class actions seeking justice.” Mr. Schelkopf was named to Pennsylvania’s Best Lawyers® 2022 for Class Actions/Mass Tort Litigation. The American Lawyer named Mr. Sauder to its 2021 Northeast Trailblazers. The honor recognizes 60 lawyers who are “truly agents of change.” It “recognizes professionals in the Northeast who have moved the needle in the legal industry.” The Legal Intelligencer named Mr. Sauder and Mr. Schelkopf in its 2020 Pennsylvania Trailblazers list recognizing 31 lawyers who “have taken extra measures to contribute to positive outcomes . . . and who are truly agents of change.” The Legal highlighted Mr. Sauder’s innovative work on advocacy as class counsel in large institutional sex abuse cover-ups, women’s, and children’s rights. Our attorneys have also consistently been recognized by our peers being named to Pennsylvania SuperLawyer, a distinction held by the top 5% of attorneys in Pennsylvania. Our attorneys have also been selected by the National Trial Lawyers Association as the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Pennsylvania
Juvenile Justice:
- We currently represent numerous individuals whose rights were violated while they were detained in a juvenile detention facility. Sauder Schelkopf and co-counsel filed a lawsuit on behalf of former students of The Glen Mills Schools who allege that they were physically and mentally abused while attending the School.
Civil Rights
- In Allison, et al. v. The GEO Group, Mr. Sauder served as co-lead counsel and achieved a $2.9 million settlement on behalf of pretrial detainees whose civil rights were violated at the Delaware County prison.
- In Kurian v. County of Lancaster, Mr. Sauder served as co-lead counsel and achieved a $2.5 million settlement in this civil rights class action lawsuit on behalf of pretrial detainees.
Sexual Abuse
- Sauder Schelkopf, and co-counsel, recently reached a $215 million settlement on behalf of female patients of Dr. George Tyndall, a gynecologist at the University of Southern California accused of sexual misconduct since the 1990s.
- We have represented survivors of clergy sexual abuse in dioceses throughout the country.
- We have a lawsuit pending on behalf of males who were victims of sexual misconduct by Dr. Richard Strauss, the Ohio State team doctor, while they were students and student-athletes at Ohio State University.
- We recently announced a landmark class action settlement in which the University of Michigan agreed to “major institutional reforms.” It was alleged that UofM longtime employment of a predatory former sports doctor evidenced a toxic environment where students face an increased risk of sexual violence in violation of Title IX. The settlement comes after widespread allegations by over 1000 survivors of sexual misconduct by Dr. Robert E. Anderson, former director of University Health Service, and a former athletic team physician, who worked at the University of Michigan from 1968 until his retirement in 2003.
We Want to Hear from You
If you are a survivor of physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse, you can confidentially contact the lawyers at Sauder Schelkopf by filling out the form on this page or calling 888.711.9975