WTO Wins Landmark Trial Against Texas Prison System

Our trial team won a permanent injunction in Texas federal court requiring that the State of Texas provide air conditioning in its prisons statewide by the end of 2029. The injunction will remedy unconstitutional conditions of extreme heat for many tens of thousands of current and future inmates.

In its decision, the Court wrote: “It has been said that the degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons . . . . The record in this case paints a clear picture: in a state where outdoor heat indexes exceed 130 degrees, inmates in Texas prisons are suffering—and in some cases dying—in extreme heat every summer.” 

This is the first extreme heat case to go to trial against a statewide prison system and the latest impact litigation win for our pro bono program. 

Kevin Homiak, Tommy Olsen, Marissa Joers, and Hank Legan led a team of nearly two dozen lawyers from several firms representing prisoners’ rights advocacy groups.

Subscribers of The New York Times can read more here.