NJ Law School Students Help Women File Claims After Prison Scandal

NEWARK, NJ — Money can help to bring injustices to light. But in the end, even the best legal settlement can’t completely “right a wrong,” Chelsea Fadio says.

Fadio, a third-year student at Rutgers Law School, is among 15 future attorneys at her alma mater and Seton Hall Law School who recently took on a unique challenge. The mission? Track down hundreds of current and former inmates at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women who are eligible for a payment from a class action lawsuit against the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC).

Rutgers Law School administrators offered some background information about the settlement and issues at the embattled prison, which is located in Hunterdon County:

“Rutgers Law School students played a crucial role in a $20.8 million settlement providing compensation to women who recently served time at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women, where a systemic culture of abuse has been well-documented. Rampant sexual misconduct, assault and abuse by corrections officers and staff over decades have yielded civil lawsuits and criminal convictions alike. The facility was also the subject of a scathing federal report published in 2020, which found the sexual abuse of inmates to be an ‘open secret’ among staff, current and incarcerees. Those who reported such abuse were removed from their cells and placed in isolation as a matter of policy – seen as punishment for speaking out. In the wake of this pattern of harassment and abuse, the NJDOC settled a class action lawsuit, allowing any woman imprisoned for one or more days since January 1, 2014, to file for financial compensation between $1,000 and $250,000 (provided they never filed a previous claim related to sexual misconduct or a hostile environment at the facility).”

While the settlement was a step forward, it also created a significant problem, according to Rutgers Law School administrators: someone had to find, interview and file claims for the hundreds of current and former inmates potentially eligible for compensation.

Rutgers’ involvement began when the plaintiffs’ counsel, Oliver Barry, a 2013 law school graduate, approached associate dean of Pro Bono and Public Interest Jill Friedman to see if students could assist claimants in completing the affidavits they’d need to complete to receive the money they were entitled to.

“As soon as Oliver and I agreed to do the project, we immediately brought in Seton Hall Law School to make this a statewide effort,” Friedman said. “We were incredibly proud to collaborate with them. They jumped on board immediately and enthusiastically and handled almost all the administration of the project. And their students were fantastic.”

Ultimately, 15 students from each of the law schools were enlisted pro bono to take on the immense task at hand, gathering information about each inmate’s case, putting in the paperwork, and offering support as needed to their clients. It proved to be hard work, both mentally and emotionally – and not just for the students.

“It was extraordinarily traumatic for the women to relive their experiences in the prison, as well as the underlying assaults many of them had experienced throughout their lives,” Fadio said.

But it was worth it, Fadio added.

“Being able to advocate for these women and make sure their stories were heard was really the most important aspect for me,” the aspiring attorney said. “This was about more than just enhancing my law school experience. This was about enabling women who have been overlooked and disenfranchised to have their voices and stories heard.”

In the end, students participated in about 100 hearings. And their compassion and empathy didn’t go unnoticed, said Kim Brewer, who worked with Rutgers Law students to file a claim.

“I can’t rate the students high enough,” Brewer said. “They walked me through everything and helped me feel comfortable even when discussing things that are very uncomfortable to speak about.”

According to Rutgers, the experience gave students a window into what it is like to work with clients.

“I learned what social change through litigation looks like,” said Crystal Mor Henwood, a third-year law student in Newark.

And it’s not just about money, Henwood said.

“It took real bravery by the women to share their stories after years of being silenced,” Henwood said, adding that for some of them, telling their story – and having it affirmed by the court – was a measure of healing on its own.

But the fact that the prison remains open is “deeply disturbing,” Henwood said. It’s a point that other students involved in the effort have seconded.

According to Rutgers Law School:

“While the hearings might be over, the work is far from done. The facility remains open with no proposed date after Gov. Phil Murphy ordered it to close. In addition, many claimants require additional resources, from mental and physical health services to financial training, housing and substance use treatment.”

“The settlement money alone does not fix the issue,” Fadio said. “It has brought the injustices to light, but it doesn’t right the wrongs that have been done.”

• See related article: 14 Ex-Officers Indicted In NJ Women's Prison Inmate Beating, Coverup
• See related article: NJ Women's Prison Plagued By Sex Abuse Of Inmates To Be Reformed

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