McClendon V. City of Albuquerque, Et Al. (MDC)
McClendon v. City of Albuquerque, et al., No. 95-civ-0024 SMD/SCY is a federal class action lawsuit about the conditions for people incarcerated at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC). It also requires the City of Albuquerque to do certain things, like citing people for most non-violent misdemeanors, rather than arresting them and sending them to jail.
Everyone incarcerated at MDC is a class member. People with mental illness or mental disability are part of the subclass. The attorneys at this law office specifically represent the subclass. You may have met them when they visited MDC. The attorneys most often at the facility are Kelly Waterfall, Katherine Loewe, Jacqueline Hoswell, and our investigator Elise Kaplan.
McClendon covers things like the adequacy of medical and mental health care, use of force, internal investigations, assaults by other residents, PREA, and much more. There are three court appointed experts who monitor settlement agreements about medical care, mental health care, and jail operations.
Expert Reports:
The Court’s experts visit the facility at least twice a year and issue reports.
Medical Reports can be found here.
Mental Health Reports can be found here.
Operations Reports can be found here.
Earlier reports can be found on the Pacer docket or you can contact us for a copy.
The most recent report from the medical expert found that medical care at MDC was unconstitutional. The report confirmed what so many of our clients already know – that the sick call system is not reliable, that there are delays in getting the right care, and much more.
Corrective Actions:
Medical Care:
Since 2022, we have been alerting the Court that MDC is violating people’s rights when it came to medical care. In 2023, the Court entered an order implementing a detailed Corrective Action Plan (CAP) to try to get medical care on the right path. You can see that detailed CAP here. Within a few months, we filed a motion to enforce that order, which resulted in an additional agreement. These agreements required MDC to treat people in withdrawal with suboxone, to timely continue prescribed medications, to make sure people withdrawing at the facility are under constant observation, to make sure the medical record has necessary information in it to treat people, and much more.
After that CAP was adopted, UNMH took over medical care at the jail. Care continued to be unconstitutional, our clients continued to report suffering, and people continued to die in MDC custody at unprecedented rates. In 2025, we negotiated for a new, simpler corrective action plan designed by the Court’s medical expert with input from Plaintiffs, MDC, and UNMH. This CAP is designed “to a establish a strong foundation for the medical program, ensuring timely and reliable access to care in a safe environment.” You can see the Court Order and CAP here.
Unfortunately, MDC has not fully implemented the new corrective action plan either. In November 2025, we filed a Motion for Order to Show Cause in an effort to make MDC and its medical provider UNMH comply with the orders of the Court and protect the health and safety of people incarcerated at MDC. That motion is currently pending. You can see the briefing here.
Mental Health Care:
There are a number of current court-ordered CAPS for mental health care at MDC. Many of these are aimed not only at providing the right care in the facility, but also at reducing the number of people with mental illness in the jail. You can view orders here.
Active Litigation:
There are currently several parts of McClendon in active litigation. This includes the Motion for Order to Show Cause about medical care, the City’s Motion to Dismiss, and the County’s Motion to disengage from Domain 3 of the operations provisions. These pleadings can be found on the Pacer docket or class members can contact our office with questions.
Deaths:
Since 2019, the number of people who die in custody each year has increased. In 2019, two people died. In 2020 – 7 people died. In 2023 – 10 people died. As of May 1 – 7 people have died in MDC custody in 2026. Here is a list of people who have died since January 1, 2019.
Each of these people are our community members, they are family members, and they are our clients. They all had a constitutional right to be safe and to have access to adequate medical and mental health care. For each of these people and all others incarcerated we strive to improve the medical, mental health, and operational systems of care at MDC.
Injunctive Relief vs. Money Damages:
This is a case about protecting the federal rights of incarcerated people. It is an injunctive relief case. That means it is a case about improving conditions through court orders. This is not a damages case – that means there is no money for class members in this case.
McClendon lawyers will not file individual lawsuits for money on behalf of class members. If you believe you have an individual case and want to bring that case, you must contact a different attorney to assist you. That attorney can advise you about exhausting the grievance process, filing tort claims or civil rights act notices, and the statute of limitations. Because time is of the essence, and failure to take certain steps can forever bar you from court, if you want to do an individual case of any kind you should contact another attorney immediately.
Other resources:
- Informacíon en español: Conozca sus derechos legales en la cárcel, haga clic aquí.
- Dashboard: The Bernalillo County MDC Population Dashboard shows information about the number of people in jail, who arrested them, the types of charges, the average length of stay, and more. It shows breakdowns like how many people are transient versus not. For months, more than half the jail has been identified as transient!
- Custody and Release List can be searched here.
- Detention Facility Advisory Board: Bernalillo County has an advisory board with the stated purpose of “create[ing] a system of oversight to ensure that county adult detention facilities operate in accordance with the United States Constitution and limit the adult detention facilities to the capacity they are designed for.” This Board meets the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 4:30 PM. If you want to make public comment about your or your loved one’s experience at MDC, listen to the presentations, or otherwise participate you can attend in person or remotely. You can also submit written comment. To submit written comment email [email protected] with “DFAB public comment” in the subject line.
Free Legal Call from Jail:
If you or a loved one is incarcerated and have a question about the case, you can call the McClendon attorneys for free. It is an unrecorded legal call.
Attorneys for the Subclass: 505-256-7690
Attorneys for the Class: 505-295-3279