Case against sheriff’s chain gangs to proceed to trial

Thursday, April 1, 1999 | 2:58 a.m.

The decision by U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert McQuaid denies motions to dismiss the case and for a summary judgment by the defendants including Washoe County Sheriff Richard Kirkland. It also denies a motion for summary judgment by former inmate Timothy Wade, represented by attorney Terri Keyser-Cooper.

Keyser-Cooper filed a lawsuit in 1996 on behalf of the former inmate, charging that chain gangs at the county jail constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the U.S. Constitution.

According to Keyser-Cooper, the lawsuit seeks to eliminate chain gang labor at the county jail where five inmates at a time are shackled together with ankle cuffs to a 20-foot-long chain.

The lawsuit claims the manner in which the chain gang program is administered by Kirkland and the Washoe County Jail is unsafe, humiliating and painful, the Daily Sparks Tribune reported on Thursday.

Keyser-Cooper asked for the class action ruling after another judge said the case became moot when Wade was transferred to prison.

Deputy District Attorney Greg Shannon said the March 25 ruling has little significance for the county.

Although no inmate has ever been injured on the chain gangs, their use has been suspended pending the outcome of the case, which will settle the question for all inmates, he said.