Melvin P. v. Lauderdale County Complaint

Melvin P. v. Lauderdale County was a lawsuit challenging the confinement of juveniles in cells normally used for solitary confinement of adult inmates in the Lauderdale County jail. Children were being held in unsanitary conditions, were not separated from adult inmates, and were not provided with any rehabilitative or recreational activities during confinement. As a result of pressure brought by this lawsuit, the Department of Youth Services decided that after December 9, 1989, it would decertify all county jails that continue to hold juveniles, effectively ending the practice of jailing juveniles with adults in the State of Alabama.