.
By Deanna Rainey
Collection Overview
Scope and Contents of the Materials
The Ruiz vs Estelle Lawsuit Materials is composed of bound manuals and reports pertaining to the Ruiz vs Estelle Lawsuit.
Collection Historical Note
This collection was donated by Joe Fernald.
In February of 1960 David Ruiz was sentenced to twelve years in the Texas Department of Corrections for robbery and automobile theft. Ruiz was a career criminal in Texas was incarcerated for all but four years of his adult life. David Ruiz died in 2005 at the Texas prison hospital in Galveston.
W.J. Estelle was the Director of the Texas Department of Corrections at the time of the Ruiz lawsuit. Estelle served as the Director form 1972 until his resignation in 1983 and currently resides in California.
In 1972, Ruiz filed a federal lawsuit over the working and living conditions in Texas Prisons. The lawsuit was combined with several other prison cases by Judge William Wayne Justice into a class action lawsuit against the Texas Department of Corrections. Titled Ruiz v. Estelle, the case was responsible for extensive changes to the Texas Department of Corrections management and custody of the prisoners under its supervision. As a result of this case, Texas was ordered to diminish overcrowding, improve recreation and rehabilitation programs, and amend prison policies and procedures to improve the welfare of Texas inmates. The Ruiz v. Estelle court case is widely considered to be one of the most influential prison reform cases in United States history.
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository:
SHSU Special Collections & University Archives
Use Restrictions:
The materials represented in this finding aid have been made available for research, teaching and private use. For these purposes, you may reproduce (print, make photocopies, or download) these items without prior permission on the condition that you provide proper attribution of the source in all copies.
Please contact the Newton Gresham Library's Special Collections and University Archives department to request permissions to reproduce materials for any other purpose, or to obtain information regarding the copyright status of a particular digital image, text, audio or video recording.
Preferred Citation:
Ruiz vs Estelle Lawsuit Materials. SHSU Special Collections, Newton Gresham Library, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Box:
[
Box 1],
[
Box 2],
[
Box 3],
[All]
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Civil Action No. H-78-987, 1980 December
- A copy of "In The United States District Court For The Southern District Of Texas Civil Action NO. H-78-987".
- Folder 2: Overview of Ruiz et AL. Civil Action H-78-987, 1984 September 20
- A copy of "Overview of Ruiz, et al. v. Procunier, et al. Civil Action No. H-78-987 (S.D. Texas)".
- Folder 3: Stipulations, Reports and Orders Volume 1, 1982 December 21
- A copy of "Stipulations, Reports and Orders Volume 1 Ruiz, et al. v. Estelle, et al. Civil Action No. H-78-987".
- Folder 4: Stipulations, Reports and Orders Volume 1A, undated
- A copy of "Stipulations, Reports and Orders Volume 1A Ruiz, et al. v. Estelle, et al. Civil Action No. H-78-987".
- Folder 5: Stipulations, Reports and Orders Volume 2, 1983
- A copy of "Stipulations, Reports and Orders Volume 2 Ruiz, et al. v. Estelle, et al. Civil Action No. H-78-987".
- Box 2
- Folder 1: Stipulations, Reports and Orders Volume 3, 1983
- A copy of "Stipulations, Reports and Orders Volume 3 Ruiz, et al. v. Estelle, et al. Civil Action No. H-78-987".
- Folder 2: Stipulations, Reports and Orders Volume 4, 1983
- A copy of "Stipulations, Reports and Orders Volume 4 Ruiz, et al. v. Estelle, et al. Civil Action No. H-78-987".
- Folder 3: Texas Department of Corrections Use of Force Plan, 1984 August 31
- A copy of "Texas Department of Corrections Use of Force Plan".
- Folder 4: Ninteenth Monitor's Report, circa 1983
- A copy of the "Nineteenth Monitor's Report of Factual Observations to the Special Master - Report on Section II, C of the Amended Decree (Use of Force)".
- Folder 5: Twenty-Ninth Monitor's Report, circa 1983
- A copy of the "Twenty-Ninth Monitor's Report of Factual Observations to the Special Master - Report on the State of Defendants' Compliance with Selected Portions of the Amended Decree, the Consent Decree, the Standards for the Use of Force and the Stipulation (Employee Disciplinary Actons for the Use of Excessive Force and Harassment of Retaliation)". Also contains extra copies of pages 75 through 81 and correspondence between Donna Brorby and Scott McCown.
- Folder 6: Sixty-Second Report, 1988
- A copy of the "Sixty-Second Report of the Office of the Special Master on the Internal Affairs Division's Investigations of Inmates' Allegations of Harassment and Retaliation for Involvement in Law-Related Activities".
- Box 3
- Folder 1: Sixty-Sixth Monitor's Report, 1989
- A copy of the "Sixty-Sixth Monitor's Report - Final Report on the Major Use of Force Reporting and Review Process and on TDCJ-ID's Assessment of Certain Staffing Needs".
- Folder 2: Seventy-Third Report, 1990
- A copy of the "Seventy-Third Report of the Office of the Special Master - Report on the State of Defendant's Compliance with Selected Portions of the Amended Decree, the Consent Decree, the Standards for the Use of Force and the Use of Force Stipulation (Employee Disciplinary Actions for the Use of Excessive Force and Harassment of Retaliation)".
- Folder 3: Eightieth Report Copy 1, 1990
- A copy of the "Eightieth Report of the Office of the Special Master - Final Report on Use of Force". This copy notes that 168 is missing.
- Folder 4: Appendices to the Eightieth Report, 1990
- A copy of the "Appendices to the Eightieth Report of the Office of the Special Master Final Report on Use of Force".
