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Inmate civil rights lawsuit numbers start to drop in Idaho

Some of the biggest reforms to Idaho’s prison system, including court-ordered improvements to medical care, reduced overcrowding and increased staffing levels have come in response to inmate lawsuits

By Rebecca Boone
Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho — The number of federal civil rights lawsuits brought by Idaho inmates is dropping, and could stay in the double digits this year for the first time since 2006.

Some of the biggest reforms to Idaho’s prison system, including court-ordered improvements to medical care, reduced overcrowding and increased staffing levels have come in response to inmate lawsuits. University of Michigan law professor and prison litigation expert Margo Schlanger says inmate civil rights lawsuits give the public a rare window into the nation’s penal system.

According to the U.S. District Court of Idaho’s filing system, 104 of the lawsuits were filed last year, and only 81 have been filed so far this year. That compares to a 10-year high of nearly 140 cases filed in 2009.

Idaho Department of Correction spokesman Jeff Ray said the department doesn’t track the number of lawsuits filed each year, and while officials have noticed the decline they don’t know what’s behind it.

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