Ramos v. Lamm

Ramos v. Lamm

My decision was appealed by defendants to the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. The court of appeals affirmed my conclusion that the plaintiffs’ Eighth Amendment rights had been violated “in the areas of shelter, sanitation, food, safety, and medical care,” and that plaintiffs’ constitutional rights of access to the courts had been violated as well. Ramos v. Lamm, 639 *1062 F.2d 559, 586 (10th Cir. 1980). In addition, the court of appeals sustained the ruling holding invalid certain restrictions on inmate correspondence, but overturned my holding that certain visitation regulations were unconstitutional. Id. The court of appeals vacated “the provisions of the district court’s remedial order on motility, classification and idleness.” Id. Specifically, the court of appeals concluded that “the present record and the findings on the subjects do not warrant the court’s broad remedial orders” and did not establish an independent violation of the Eighth Amendment. Id. at 567.