Plaintiffs Win Class Certification in Angola “Farm Line” Litigation

Paul, Weiss, alongside the Promise of Justice Initiative and Rights Behind Bars, achieved a significant victory when Judge Brian A. Jackson of the Middle District of Louisiana granted in full our clients’ motion for class certification in a civil rights litigation challenging the “Farm Line,” a punitive compulsory agricultural labor program at Louisiana State Penitentiary, commonly known as Angola.

The plaintiffs in the action are seven men incarcerated at Angola and Voice of the Experienced (VOTE), a membership organization that advocates for the rights of incarcerated people. On behalf of themselves and other men incarcerated at Angola, the plaintiffs allege that the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections, its secretary, and Angola’s warden, operate the Farm Line in violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. In particular, they allege that the defendants subject men on the Farm Line to degrading and dehumanizing conditions evoking chattel slavery in contravention of the Eighth Amendment’s guarantee of fundamental human decency; expose them to a substantial risk of serious psychological harm by forcing them to labor under those conditions; and are deliberately indifferent to the risks associated with high heat conditions on the Farm Line. The plaintiffs further allege that the Farm Line violates Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, because the defendants fail to reasonably accommodate people with disabilities who are assigned to the Farm Line, and administer the Farm Line in a manner that discriminates on the basis of disability.

In their motion for class certification, the plaintiffs sought to certify a general class consisting of all people incarcerated at Angola who currently are, or may in the future be, assigned to the Farm Line; and a subclass of people with disabilities who are, or may in the future be, assigned to the Farm Line. The plaintiffs sought to certify both classes under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(2), which permits certification of classes seeking injunctive and declaratory relief. Following extensive briefing, oral argument and a three-day evidentiary hearing in April, the court granted the plaintiffs’ motion in full, paving the way for a class action trial to begin on February 3, 2026.

The Paul, Weiss team, supervised by litigation partner Josh Hill and senior pro bono counsel Jeremy Benjamin, includes litigation counsel Michael McGregor and associates Christopher Bilicic, Elana Egri-Thomas, Kimberly Grambo, Tobin Kassa, Janet Lee, Kirk McLeod, Arielle McTootle, Erica Paul, Ricardo Sabater, Anna Stapleton, Leah Weiser and Chizoba Wilkerson.