Greenberg Statement on Supreme Court Ruling in Hutto v. Finney Arkansas Prison Case

Press Release
June 23, 1979

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Press Releases, Volume 6. Greenberg Statement on Supreme Court Ruling in Hutto v. Finney Arkansas Prison Case, 1979. 5b84a76f-bb92-ee11-be37-00224827e97b. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/27104f44-3a0c-4534-add2-374b420f53d4/greenberg-statement-on-supreme-court-ruling-in-hutto-v-finney-arkansas-prison-case. Accessed December 07, 2025.

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NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC 

egal efense and — 10 Columbus Circle, New York, N.Y. 10019 « (212) 586-8397 

From: NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. 

Ten Columbus Circle 
New York, New York 10019 

(212) 586-8397 

Contact: Jack Greenberg 
James M. Nabrit, III 

To: City Desk and Legal Editors 

New York, New York, June 23 - The following is a statement by 

Jack Greenberg, Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and 

Educational Fund on today's Supreme Court ruling in the case 

Hutto v. Finney which affects the Arkansas prison system. 

"The Supreme Court's ruling will insure that prisoners are 

accorded humane living conditions and that they will be free from 

arbitrary, prolonged solitary confinement. This is a signal victory 

for humane treatment in correctional institutions." 

In an opinion delivered by Justice John P. Stevens the Supreme 

Court upheld the District Court's ruling that prisoners cannot be held 

in solitary confinement for an indefinite period of time. In addition, 

the state was ordered to pay attorneys' fees to the prisoners' counsel. 

This case was filed in 1969 in an effort to correct the barbarous 

conditions that existed in the Arkansas prison system. Over the years, 

those prisons were the subject of numerous articles exposing practices 

- more - 

Contributions are deductible for U.S. income tax purposes 

The NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUCATIONAL FUND is not part of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People although it 

nak founded by it and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF has had for over 20 years a separate Board, program, staff, office and budget. 

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Page 2. 

that were virtually medieval in nature. Men were confined to solitary 

for indefinite periods in unsanitary, overcrowded and inadequately 

guarded cells. Brutality by guards and other prisoners was commonplace. 

Prisoners' court-appointed counsel were unpaid, often resulting in 

inadequate representation. 

The local Arkansas lawyers were Jack Holt, Jr., Philip E. McMath 

and Philip Kaplan who argued the case before the Supreme Court. The 

Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) assisted them in 

preparing the appeal. The lawyers worked on the case without compensation 

since 1969 when it was filed, but were awarded $20,000 in attorneys' fees 

under the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act of 1976 which provides 

that fees may be awarded when the civil rights of a plaintiff have 

been violated. 

NOTE TO EDITORS: The NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC. (LDF) 
is not a part of the National Association for the Advancement of 
Colored People (NAACP) though it was founded by that organization and 
shares its commitment to equal rights. For 20 years LDF has had its 
own Board of Directors, budget, staff, office and program. 

HHAHHHR EERE EERE

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Greenberg Statement on Supreme Court Ruling in Hutto v. Finney Arkansas Prison Case

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