Fourth Circuit weighs reinstating lawsuit over conditions in South Carolina juvenile detention centers

Civil-rights organizations, led by the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina, petitioned the Fourth Circuit to reverse a panel decision that dismissed their lawsuit over substandard conditions in the state’s juvenile detention facilities. The suit, filed in April 2022 on behalf of Disability Rights South Carolina, Justice 360 and the South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, claims the Department of Juvenile Justice fails to provide adequate care and rehabilitation.

A magistrate had previously recognized limited standing for Justice 360 and Disability Rights South Carolina, but the lower court rejected both claims, prompting a 2-1 appellate affirmation. At the rehearing, Jenner & Block attorney Jake Alderdice cited the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act as the basis for associational standing, while Judges Harvie Wilkinson, Allison Rushing, James Andrew Wynn Jr., and Roger Gregory debated the applicability of the Hunt test and congressional authority to empower such organizations. The court’s decision could determine whether advocacy groups may sue on behalf of detained youths.