On June 11, 2026, five people held in Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) solitary confinement units filed a class action lawsuit in Marion County Circuit Court, arguing that ODOC's solitary confinement practices violate the Oregon Constitution and disability rights law. The suit was filed by Prison Law Office, Oregon Justice Resource Center, the MacArthur Justice Center, and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.
The lawsuit arrives a decade after ODOC invited the Vera Institute of Justice to study its restrictive housing practices in 2016. The Vera study found people in ODOC's Disciplinary Segregation Units, Intensive Management Unit, and Administrative Segregation units averaged 23 hours per day in conditions "marked by isolation, idleness, and sensory deprivation." The Vera Institute issued recommendations -- including increased out-of-cell time, visitation, programming, and mental health services. According to the June 2026 lawsuit, those recommendations remain "largely unimplemented a decade later."
Oregon has developed step-down programming and implemented some mental health service reforms. But the core conditions in its most restrictive units remain the subject of active litigation.
What Solitary Confinement Is Called in Oregon
ODOC uses several terms for isolated housing. The primary categories:
Disciplinary Segregation Units (DSUs): Located in most ODOC facilities. Used to house people in response to specific rule violations, following a disciplinary process. Standard disciplinary solitary confinement in Oregon.
Intensive Management Unit (IMU): Located at Snake River Correctional Institution (SRCI) in Ontario. Oregon's most restrictive, longest-term solitary confinement unit, governed by ODOC administrative rule 291-055-0005. The IMU is designated for people under investigation for or charged with in-custody murder or assault of another inmate or staff, requiring "the maximum level of inmate security, control, and supervision." People placed in IMU status cells at other facilities are also governed by this rule.
Administrative Segregation: Non-punitive separation for safety, security, or investigative reasons.
Behavioral Health Unit (BHU): Located at Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP). A specialized unit for people with serious mental illness who require a higher level of mental health support. The BHU is distinct from DSU and IMU but still involves significant isolation from general population.
Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP) in Salem and Snake River Correctional Institution (SRCI) in Ontario are the two main facilities with long-term solitary confinement units.
Conditions in Oregon Solitary
The 2016 Vera Institute study found ODOC solitary conditions "marked by isolation, idleness, and sensory deprivation" with people spending an average of 23 hours per day in their cells. The June 2026 class action lawsuit describes:
- Cells described as "stark, windowless boxes smaller than a parking space."
- People generally forbidden from any time outside.
- Rarely seeing sunlight.
- Confinement conditions lasting weeks, months, and years.
- Causing new mental health crises and exacerbating existing ones.
From research on ORT (Outdoor Resource Team) participants -- people with serious mental illness in ODOC's most severe solitary settings:
- Average 9.7 admissions to solitary confinement units per participant.
- Cumulative mean of 625.5 days in solitary (range: 8 to 4,786 days).
- Nearly half (47.2%) had spent more time in solitary confinement units than in general prison population.
- All ORT participants had a diagnosis of at least one serious mental illness.
- Nearly one-quarter (22.7%) had engaged in at least one act of self-injury serious enough to require medical attention.
Plaintiff Linsey Duvall struggles to sleep due to the screams of other people experiencing acute mental health crises. Her ADD, ADHD, and OCD symptoms have become overwhelming. She reports feeling like she is losing her mind.
Plaintiff Rolando Martinez-Farias has spent three and a half years in solitary confinement across ODOC. During his current stay at OSP, he has seen mental health staff once.
Plaintiff Orlando Pouncey has a severe vision disability. He is denied reading and writing accommodations in solitary and sees mental health staff outside his cell for only ten to thirty minutes every few months.
The June 2026 Class Action Lawsuit
Jenkins-Millage et al. v. Oregon Department of Corrections, filed June 11, 2026 in Marion County Circuit Court.
Plaintiffs: Dominique Jenkins-Millage, Linsey Duvall, Orlando Pouncey, Rolando Martinez-Farias, and Martin Kirk-Varela.
Attorneys: Prison Law Office, Oregon Justice Resource Center, the Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center, and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.
Claims:
- ODOC's solitary confinement practices violate Article I, Section 13 of the Oregon Constitution, which provides that "No person arrested, or confined in jail, shall be treated with unnecessary rigor."
- ODOC has denied reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities in solitary confinement, violating disability rights law.
- Hundreds of people in Oregon prisons are subject to unconstitutional solitary confinement conditions.
Relief sought: The lawsuit seeks to end the unconstitutional conditions in ODOC's solitary confinement units.
The 2015 Disability Rights Oregon MOU
In 2015, before the Vera study, Disability Rights Oregon (DRO) investigated ODOC conditions and found people being kept in "small, stifling cells" up to 23 hours a day with few psychiatric services. ODOC signed a memorandum of understanding with DRO committing to remedies, including increasing out-of-cell time in its high acuity mental health unit.
The Step Up Program and ORT
Oregon has developed administrative reforms including:
Step Up Program (SUP): A step-down reentry program from restrictive housing. Documented in peer-reviewed research (Health & Justice, 2021), the SUP provides more time out of cell and rehabilitative programming designed to help people transition from restrictive housing to general population. Developed through internal administrative reform.
Outdoor Resource Team (ORT): A clinical intervention for people with serious mental illness in the most restrictive solitary settings. Peer-reviewed research (PLOS One, 2023) documented ORT as a case study in reform for this high-need population.
These programs are administrative initiatives, not statutory protections. Oregon has no statute limiting the duration of solitary confinement or prohibiting its use for vulnerable populations in adult state prisons.
What Families Can Do
If your person is in a DSU, IMU, administrative segregation, or BHU at an Oregon state prison:
Find where your person is housed. ODOC provides an offender search at oregon.gov/doc. This confirms current facility and housing status.
Contact the facility. Contact the facility superintendent's office to confirm your person's current housing status (DSU, IMU, administrative segregation, or BHU), the reason for placement, the start date, and the step-down pathway.
Know the IMU criteria. If your person is in the IMU at Snake River, they are in Oregon's most restrictive long-term solitary unit. IMU placement under ODOC rule 291-055-0005 is for people charged with or under investigation for in-custody murder or assault. Ask for documentation of the specific basis for IMU placement.
Know about the BHU. If your person has a serious mental illness, ask whether BHU placement at OSP has been considered. The BHU is a specialized mental health unit distinct from DSU and IMU.
Know about the Step Up Program. Ask whether your person is being considered for Step Up Program enrollment as a step-down pathway out of restrictive housing.
Know about the June 2026 lawsuit. Jenkins-Millage et al. v. ODOC (Marion County Circuit Court, filed June 11, 2026) challenges the constitutional adequacy of ODOC's solitary confinement conditions. Monitor this case for injunctive relief that may affect your person's placement or conditions.
Document conditions. Ask your person to document daily out-of-cell time, sunlight access, programming access, mental health staff contacts, and any mental health changes. The Vera study documented 23 hours per day as the average; any significant deviation from that should be documented.
File a grievance. ODOC has an administrative grievance process. Help your person file formal grievances for denial of mental health services, disability accommodation failures (especially for people with vision, hearing, or mobility disabilities), and conditions below ODOC policy standards.
Contact Oregon Justice Resource Center. OJRC (ojrc.info) is a co-counsel in the June 2026 lawsuit and monitors ODOC solitary confinement conditions.
Contact Disability Rights Oregon. DRO (droregon.org) signed the 2015 MOU with ODOC and monitors conditions for people with disabilities in ODOC facilities.
Contact the ACLU of Oregon. The ACLU of Oregon (aclu-or.org) has called for further restrictions on isolation for people with serious mental illness in ODOC.
Seek legal help. If your person has a disability and is being denied reasonable accommodations in solitary confinement, if mental health services have not been provided, or if they are in extended isolation with no step-down pathway, consult a prisoner rights attorney familiar with Oregon courts.
Frequently asked questions
What is solitary confinement called in Oregon prisons?
ODOC uses several terms. Disciplinary Segregation Units (DSUs) are in most facilities for post-disciplinary isolation. The Intensive Management Unit (IMU) at Snake River Correctional Institution is Oregon's most restrictive long-term solitary unit, governed by ODOC rule 291-055-0005, for people under investigation for or charged with in-custody murder or assault. Administrative Segregation is non-punitive. The Behavioral Health Unit (BHU) at Oregon State Penitentiary is a specialized mental health unit.
What is the IMU at Snake River Correctional Institution?
The IMU is Oregon's most restrictive long-term solitary confinement unit, located at Snake River Correctional Institution (SRCI) in Ontario. ODOC rule 291-055-0005 designates it for people under investigation for or charged with in-custody murder or assault of another inmate or staff, requiring "the maximum level of inmate security, control, and supervision." Research on ORT participants found some had spent up to 4,786 total days in ODOC solitary confinement units, with more than a quarter having been housed in the IMU.
What are conditions like in Oregon solitary confinement?
The 2016 Vera Institute study -- conducted at ODOC's invitation -- found an average of 23 hours per day in cells "marked by isolation, idleness, and sensory deprivation." The June 2026 class action lawsuit describes cells as "stark, windowless boxes smaller than a parking space," people rarely seeing sunlight, and conditions causing new mental health crises and exacerbating existing ones. Plaintiff Martinez-Farias has seen mental health staff once during his current stay; Plaintiff Pouncey sees mental health staff for 10-30 minutes every few months despite a severe vision disability.
How long can someone stay in solitary in Oregon?
Oregon has no statute limiting the duration of solitary confinement. Research on ORT participants documented a cumulative mean of 625.5 days in ODOC solitary units, with a range of 8 to 4,786 days. Nearly half of research participants had spent more time in solitary than in general population. Vera Institute recommendations to limit duration, issued in 2016, remain largely unimplemented according to the June 2026 class action complaint.
What is the June 2026 Oregon solitary confinement lawsuit?
Jenkins-Millage et al. v. Oregon Department of Corrections, filed June 11, 2026 in Marion County Circuit Court. The class action, brought by Prison Law Office, Oregon Justice Resource Center, MacArthur Justice Center, and Akin Gump, argues that ODOC's solitary confinement practices violate Article I, Section 13 of the Oregon Constitution (prohibition on treating confined people with "unnecessary rigor") and disability rights law. The lawsuit seeks to end unconstitutional conditions affecting hundreds of people in ODOC solitary confinement units.
Who are the plaintiffs in the Oregon solitary lawsuit?
Five named plaintiffs: Dominique Jenkins-Millage; Linsey Duvall (ADD, ADHD, OCD exacerbated; night terrors; reports feeling like she's losing her mind); Orlando Pouncey (severe vision disability; denied reading/writing accommodations; mental health staff every few months for 10-30 minutes); Rolando Martinez-Farias (3.5 years total in ODOC solitary; anxiety and depression; seen mental health staff once during current stay); and Martin Kirk-Varela. The lawsuit was filed as a class action on behalf of hundreds of people in ODOC solitary confinement.
Are mentally ill prisoners protected from solitary in OR?
Not by statute. Oregon has a Behavioral Health Unit at OSP for people with serious mental illness, and developed administrative programs (ORT, Step Up Program) to serve this population. ODOC signed a 2015 MOU with Disability Rights Oregon committing to improve conditions for people with mental illness after DRO found people in "small, stifling cells" up to 23 hours a day with few psychiatric services. The June 2026 lawsuit alleges these commitments have not been meaningfully fulfilled.
What is the Step Up Program in Oregon prisons?
The Step Up Program (SUP) is a step-down reentry program from restrictive housing developed through internal administrative reform at ODOC. Documented in peer-reviewed research (Health & Justice, 2021), the SUP provides more time out of cell and rehabilitative programming designed to help people transition from restrictive housing to general population. It is an administrative program, not a statutory right. Families can ask whether their person is being considered for SUP enrollment.
Can families visit someone in Oregon solitary confinement?
Visiting is typically significantly restricted during DSU, IMU, and administrative segregation placements. The June 2026 lawsuit notes that solitary confinement conditions keep people cut off from loved ones outside of prison. Contact the specific ODOC facility directly to confirm current visiting rules before traveling. ODOC facility contact information is at oregon.gov/doc. Written mail generally retains stronger protections than phone or in-person visits during solitary.
What can families do if someone is in Oregon solitary?
Use ODOC's offender search at oregon.gov/doc to find your person. Contact the facility to confirm housing category (DSU, IMU, admin seg, or BHU), reason, start date, and step-down pathway. Know the June 2026 class action (Jenkins-Millage et al. v. ODOC) -- monitor for injunctive relief. Ask about Step Up Program eligibility. Document daily conditions including out-of-cell time, sunlight, programming, and mental health contacts. File grievances for mental health service and disability accommodation failures. Contact Oregon Justice Resource Center (ojrc.info), Disability Rights Oregon (droregon.org), or ACLU of Oregon (aclu-or.org) for advocacy support. ---