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| WRONGFUL DEATH CASES |
McNeil Estate v. District of Columbia
(Domestic Violence Wrongful Death / Police Failure to Protect Victim) |
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City Settles Lawsuit Brought by Family of Mother Killed by Ex-Boyfriend. CBS - W*USA 9 News. 4 September 2002. |
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“It’s not easy to sue the police for failing to protect someone. But Sparks used a legal strategy never tried here before, hinging the case on special police duties involving domestic violence cases, and won a first of its kind settlement.” |
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Catherine McNeil v. District of Columbia. DC Trial. Vol. VI, No. 2. December 2002. |
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“First successful lawsuit in Washington metropolitan area seeking damages for police failure to protect domestic violence victim from murder by ex-boyfriend who had been the subject of a civil protection order. Settlement to pay over $800,000 to surviving children.” |
Daniels Estate v. District of Columbia
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Inmate Stabbed to Death. CBS - W*USA 9 News. 8 February 1995. |
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“On the same day Sparks settled a previous stabbing case for Joseph Daniels, Daniels was stabbed to death at Lorton.” |
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Inn-Dependent, The George Washington American Inn of Court Newsletter. March 1997. |
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“Doug Sparks recently won an $850,000 verdict against the DC government. The highest verdict to date in a DC prison wrongful death case, the story was featured in the Washington Post and Channel 7 television news. The DC government is now showing a much greater interest in settling cases brought by . . . Sparks!” |
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I-Team Investigates: Prison Crisis. ABC Channel 7 News. 1 May 1997. |
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“Many stabbing cases are the result of shocking negligence . . . Sparks obtained the largest prison death award in D.C. for the family of Joseph Daniels.” |
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Award in Inmate’s Death. Washington Post. 5 March 1997. |
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“A DC Superior Court jury has ordered the city to pay $850,000 to the family of a prisoner fatally stabbed at Lorton. The family’s attorney, Douglas R. Sparks, said that only two correctional officers, rather than the three required, were on duty at the time.” |
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Daniels, et al. v. District of Columbia. Metro Verdicts Monthly. Vol. 9, No. 11. 1998. |
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$850,000 awarded by jury to the surviving children. The District’s pretrial $60,000 settlement offer had been rejected by attorney Sparks. |
Martell Estate v. Management Company
(Latin Toddler Death/ Fall From Unscreened Window)
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9 News Investigates: Drawn to the Edge. CBS - W*USA 9 News.
11 March 2003. |
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Attorney Doug Sparks represents the family in a lawsuit. He says: “The real issue is how many more children are going to die before management complies with the law? How much longer are we going to blame the victims? Why didn't they warn parents that another child fell?” |
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District Toddler Dies in Fall From Sixth-Floor Window. Washington Post. 27 August 2001. |
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Landlord had removed screens from family’s apartment windows during August. A District toddler climbed through the opening and fell six floors to his death. |
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Metro in Brief. Washington Post. 29 August 2001. |
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An employee of the apartment complex had removed a wire screen about a month ago. District law requires that outside windows be screened from March through November. |
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Seguridad Para Los Niños en Edificios de Washington, DC. La Nación USA. 12 March 2003. |
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“La madre del niño y su abogado, Douglas R. Sparks, sostienen que de haberse encontrado las pantallas de protección, se hubiera evitado la muerte del niño.” |
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Un Milagro y Una Tragedia. Parte No. 1. Univision. 11 March 2003. |
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“Douglas Sparks, el abogado de la familia, dice que alguien se tiene que despertar y hacer que los arrendadores sigan la ley que requiera pantallas de proteccion en las ventanas.” |
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Un Milagro y Una Tragedia. Parte No. 2. Univision. 12 March 2003. |
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“Douglas Sparks dice que la compania le deberia haber informado a los otros inquilinos cuando se cayo el primer nino.” |
Yelverton Estate v. Young’s Memorial Day Care, Inc.
(5 year old killed by motorcycle in housing complex) |
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Motorcycle Hits 2 Boys, Critically Injuring Them. Washington Post.
29 October 2004. |
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“Residents said that dirt bikes . . . are a problem in the apartment complex . . . riders often speed around . . . a motorcyclist had been riding in the courtyard since about noon yesterday . . . security workers apparently did nothing . . . ” |
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Victim’s Brother, 7, Witnessed Hit-And-Run. NBC4. 29 October 2004. |
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“Sources said 5-year-old Lawrence Yelverton died early Friday
morning. ‘I want justice to be served’ said the boy's mother, Althea
Yelverton. ‘'I'm not going to rest until then!’” |
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5-Year-Old Dies After Hit and Run. Washington Post. 30 October 2004. |
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Althea Yelverton, the five-year-old boy's mother, said she was angry that her son was walking through a “drug infested area.” She went to the church yesterday and asked church officials, “What the heck were they doing up there?” |
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5 Yr. Old Boy Struck by Motorcycle Dies. ABC-7 News - WJLA.
30 October 2004. |
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“The two boys and five other children were walking with an an adult caregiver from Stanton Elementary School to Young's Memorial Day Care Learning Center on Alabama Avenue, S.E., less than a half-mile away . . .” The caregiver was suspended from work. |
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SE Man Sought in Death of Boy, 5, Hit by Motorbike. Washington Post. 4 November 2004. |
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“D.C. police were seeking a 30-year-old man last night on charges that he struck and killed a 5-vear-old boy last week while riding a motorbike through the
courtyard of a Southeast Washington apartment complex . . . [he was] walking home with an adult caregiver from a nearby day-care center when the accident occurred . . .” |
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Jones Estate v. District of Columbia
(Man dies from sudden cardiac arrest: improper emergency care) |
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"Man Down!": How a poorly trained staff at the D.C. Jail let an inmate die. Washington City Paper. 28 June 2007. |
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In depositions taken by Douglas Sparks, attorney for the ‘man down,’ An Officer gave his definition of CPR: “If you’re laid out there, well, what I can remember is you look at the person, see if they’re breathing or not. Shake them, talk to them”. . . Another officer did not know what a defibrillator was . . .“That’s the big bulb where you assist people to breathe . . . ” To which Sparks replied: “It’s actually an electrical shocking device for cardiac resuscitation.”
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Video Commentary . Letter to the Editor (by Douglas Sparks). Washington City Paper. 5 July 2007. |
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“Institutional indifference allowed Thomas Jones to die on a cold gym floor surrounded by poorly trained correctional officers . . . So, is it a bad thing that the public has learned of conditions in the jail? Or will the city make it right? The answer should matter to all people of conscience and good will because, in the words of Jones’ mother, “the next video could be your son,” wrote Sparks. |
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FOLLOW THAT STORY. Department of Corrections Apologizes. Washington City Paper. 9 April 2008. |
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“Jennifer Durham settled her lawsuit last year for the death of her son at the D.C. Jail. A video of the incident showed that corrections officers failed to perform CPR or even the most basic life-saving measures on her son. The settlement for Jones' young daughter wasn't enough for Durhams' attorney, Douglas Sparks. He wanted Department of Corrections officials to meet directly with Durham. After they met with DOC Director Devon Brown, Durham said: “It made me feel like what [my son] went through . . . made a difference . . .” As the result of the settlement, the entire corrections workforce now is certified in everything from basic first aid to the operation of portable defibrillators.” |
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Things Are Locking Up . Letter to the Editor (by Douglas Sparks). Washington City Paper. 2 May 2008. |
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“Although Jones' death occurred well before Devon Brown became the DOC Director, he did not pass the buck. Instead, Mr. Brown apologized to Jones' mother made sure the entire correctional workforce was retrained, and assured Ms.' Durham that he would not tolerate neglect by DOC employees,” wrote Sparks. |
Pendleton Estate v. District of Columbia
(DC Jail Stabbing Death) |
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Legislation on Population Cap at DC Jail Follows Inmate Death. CBS - W*USA 9 News. 7 July 2003. |
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“Six months after the Court ordered population cap was lifted, Givon Pendleton was stabbed to death. Attorney Douglas Sparks represents his mother and is a big supporter of Council member Patterson’s bill to recap the jail population, but says the issue of violence and overcrowding has already been studied to death.” |
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“Eating Disorder”: When Guards at D.C. Jail Do Lunch, Inmates Do Whatever They Please. Washington City Paper. 4 June 2004. |
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“Attorney Douglas Sparks, a board member of the D.C. Prisoners' Legal Services Project, says: ‘It’s not a coincidence [that inmates are stabbed when guards leave the units].’ He represents the estate of Givon Pendleton, who was fatally stabbed while the third guard was [out of the cellblock]. The incident kicked off the bloodiest four-day span at the jail in memory.” |
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Crime and Justice. Washington Post. 24 June 2004. |
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Inmate pleads guilty to murder of Givon Pendleton in D.C. jail after Sparks files wrongful death lawsuit against the District on behalf of Pendleton’s estate. |
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Dangerous Brotherhood at the DC Jail? Washington Post. Colbert King -Op.Ed. 27 December 2003. |
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“Pendleton’s mother, Pearl Beale, is suing the District for millions. Through her lawyer, Douglas Sparks, a board member of the DC Prisoners’ Legal Services Project, Beale charges the city with maintaining poor jail security. [Is] it any wonder that a report of predatory inmates strong-arming detainees could escape the attention of higher-ups, or that the Muslim Brotherhood could take up residence in the jail without catching the leadership’s attention? |
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"Jailhouse Justice," Washington Window, The Newspaper of the Episcopal Diocese in Washington, Vol. 74 No. 11, November 2005. |
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“There are no excuses, "said Douglas R. Sparks, Beale's attorney. "It's a simple matter. There hasn't been one day since the law was signed that the jail has been in compliance. How can you expect anyone in the jail to have respect for the law when the jailers disregard it with impunity?” |
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Protecting DC Inmates. Letter to the Editor (by Douglas Sparks). Washington Post. 16 January 2004. |
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“I hope that The Post and others of integrity and good conscience will continue to spotlight these conditions so the public will know how these inmates live and die,” wrote Sparks.
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District of Columbia Settles Case Involving Wrongful Death of Prisoner. WASHINGTON LAWYERS' COMMITTEE UPDATE. Fall 2008. |
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The Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, along with co-counsel Douglas Sparks and Covington & Burling LLP “settled a wrongful death lawsuit against the District of Columbia on behalf of the family of a prisoner of the D.C. Jail. The settlment was the largest amount ever offered by the District in a wrongful death action involving a prisoner .”
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Pearl Beale Gets Justice: City Gives Biggest Payout In Wrongful Death of Inmate. Washington City Paper. 2 December 2008. |
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Beale attorney, Douglas Sparks, wanted to talk about the case’s impact on jail reforms, and its impact on Ms. Beale: “During 5 years of litigation following the savage murder of her son, Pearl Beale never stopped telling his story despite her own grief. With eloquence and dignity, she put a human face on the rampant violence at the jail. . . . The fundamental changes made to how the jail is run today would have been unthinkable before Givon’s death. The jail is safer, less crowded, better managed, and more humane because prison reform advocates cared and District leaders acted.” |
Withers-Byrd Estate v. Nak Dong Chong
(Traffic Accident — Double Fatality) |
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Two Women Die in Crash. The Gazette. 7 January 2003. |
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Mother killed and children [Sparks’ clients] injured when SUV barrels through red light and decimates Neon occupied by victims on their way to church. |
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SEX ASSAULTS/UNSAFE PREMISES 
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G.C. v. District of Columbia
(Women Sexually Assaulted in DC Ambulances) |
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Suit Alleges Medics Assaulted SE Woman. Washington Post.
2 December 1989. |
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A civil lawsuit alleges that a city ambulance worker assigned to transport a . . . . woman to a hospital [instead] “parked the ambulance in an unknown location . . . exposed himself to the woman, fondled her, and committed other assaultive acts upon her . . . ” |
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G.C. v. District of Columbia. Legal Times. 18 December 1989. |
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“In a . . . suit claiming that the District government was negligent in its supervision of an ambulance crew that . . . sexually assaulted a female patient being taken to the hospital, a District couple is relying on . . . Douglas Sparks . . . .” |
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Questions Abound for DC Ambulance Service. CBS - W*USA News. 1991. |
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Attorney Douglas Sparks says DC’s internal documents show officials did not act properly after the first complaint, and the ambulance attendant should never have been put back on the street . . “It's hard to imagine a more outrageous set of circumstances than when you're molested in an ambulance, ” said attorney Sparks. |
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Woman Awarded $180,000 in 2nd DC Fondling Case. Washington Post. 31 March 1992. |
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“Attorney Douglas R. Sparks cited a 1987 report [that] said Joy often shouted out ambulance windows at women and flirted when he should have been working. Sparks argued that the city should have known Joy was a poor choice to be an ambulance worker.” |
P.J. v. District of Columbia
(Third Woman Sexually Molested in Ambulance) |
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Eyewitness News Investigates Sexual Assaults by Ambulance Personnel. CBS - W*USA News. 1991. |
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“Sources have said the driver of Ambulance 21 witnessed the attack in the rear view mirror and backs up P.J.’s story . . . The incident with P.J. is not the first time the D.C. Ambulance Service has had to investigate incidents of sexual misconduct by an ambulance crew member.” |
S.C. v. Keener Management
(Woman raped in Laundry Area of Dupont Circle Apartment Building) |
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Police: Woman Sexually Assaulted In Laundry Area. NBC4 News 27 December 2004. |
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“District police are investigating a sexual assault that occurred at 9:42 a.m. Friday morning at an apartment building in the Dupont Circle area of Northwest. Police said a 29-year-old female was sexually assaulted in the basement laundry room of her apartment building in the 1800 block of New Hampshire Avenue. ” |
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Police Seek Help in Sexual Assault Case. CBS - W*USA News.
28 December 2004. |
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Police want you to see the video so officers can capture their man. The man who police say sexually assaulted a 29-year old woman in the basement of her condo building just north of Dupont Circle. The man is also wanted for questioning in connection with an earlier sexual assault at another Dupont Circle apartment building. |
R.L. v. Fleetwood Management Group
(Woman raped in Laundry Room of Dupont Circle Apartment Building) |
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Man gets 20 years in Sex Assaults of 2 Women. Washington Post.
10 June 2006. |
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A man who admitted sexually assaulting a woman in the laundry room of a Northwest Washington apartment building and raping another woman five days later in a basement several blocks away was sentenced yesterday to 20 years in prison . . . [The first victim said of her attacker]: “He deserves to reap the consequences of his actions . . .[he] is a man without regard for humanity -- who sees a woman crying, begging before him, and doesn't stop, even for a moment, to recognize her as a soul herself.” |
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“Rent Out of Shape:” Dupont tenants wonder why won't landlord cash our monthly checks? Washington City Paper. 20 June 2007. |
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A lawsuit filed in March against the building’s owners and managers alleges that they are trying to convert the building against the tenants’ will. “Ownership and management are aggressively pursuing their attempts at coercing the August’s tenants into accepting condo conversion,” attorney Douglas Sparks wrote in the complaint. |
L.C. v. Chevy Chase Motel Associates
(N.Y. Woman Raped in Hotel Room) |
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Hotels Safe Despite Recent Crime Incidents. The Gazette. 9 November 2005. |
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Intoxicated intruder breaches lax security at the Holiday Inn in Bethesda and rapes female guest in her room during early morning hours. |
B.S. v. District of Columbia
(Sexual Abuse at DC Public School) |
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Accused Coach Has Record of Sex Abuse. Washington Post.
5 February 2003. |
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School hired coach for girls’ sports despite history of sex crimes.
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Allegations of Sexual Abuse at DC School. Fox 5 News.
13 February 2003. |
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Teenage girls on school basketball team report coach’s sex abuse at the public school.
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Ex-Coach Gets 3 Years in Fondling. Washington Post.
27 September 2003. |
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Coach convicted of molesting teenage girls at public school. Civil lawsuits follow criminal convictions. |
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MOTOR VEHICLE / PEDESTRIAN INJURIES |
Carter Estate v. District of Columbia, et al.
(Woman Killed Crossing Darkened Street) |
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Hit & Run Victim Dies. Washington Post. 10 November 2003. |
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A woman was killed in Northeast Washington yesterday in a hit-and-run incident, police said. They said the woman apparently was struck by a car about 5:45 p.m. in the southbound lanes of the 1200 block of Kenilworth Avenue. |
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Hit & Run in the District. ABC 7 News. 10, 11 November 2003. |
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A witness who heard the victim being hit and hurled across the street, said that neighbors had complained about people speeding along Kenilworth Avenue. They had a meeting with the Mayor and the Chief of Police at a local Baptist Church. |
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Woman Killed by Hit & Run Driver. Fox 5 News. 10 November 2003. |
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A witness who lived across the street from the scene of the incident said she had complained for months to the Mayor, the Department of Public Works, and her councilperson that four lights in a row were out in the 1200 block of Kenilworth Avenue. There was a similar problem with the lights three years prior. |
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Hit & Run Driver Surrenders. Washington Post. 11 November 2003. |
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“Earl A. Johnson, 32, was driving with a suspended license when he struck . . . Carter, 46, about 5:45 p.m. . . Johnson surrendered at the 6th District Police station about 3:20 p.m. yesterday. Carter was in a crosswalk when she was hit.” |
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District Letters to the Editor. Washington Post. 20 November 2003. |
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“Perhaps if there had been lights in the 1200 block of Kenilworth Avenue on Nov. 9, a life might have been spared. Meanwhile, the people walk and wait in darkness.” |
Cecilia Aymacana v. Allison Beth Donohue
(Major Intersection Collision - No Independent Witnesses) |
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Aymacana v. Donohue. Metro Verdicts Monthly. Vol. 12, No. 12. 2000. |
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Policy limit verdict for plaintiff [Sparks’ client] after jury deliberation of only 20 minutes, despite the fact that police officer issued traffic citation to plaintiff and plaintiff’s insurance company had offered her policy limits to settle defendant’s claim against plaintiff. Jury found plaintiff Aymacana not liable to defendant on counterclaim, and plaintiff’s insurer avoided making any payment to defendant. |
Lem Lem Merri v. Adam Messersmith
(Rear End Collision on Icy Roadway) |
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Lemlem Merri v. Adam Messersmith. Metro Verdicts Monthly. Vol. 17, No. 4. 2005. |
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Quick verdict for immigrant hot dog vendor [Sparks’ client]. USAA, defendant’s insurer, had refused to settle, claiming that icy roads caused the accident. |
Corrie Johnson v. Gennise Carter
(Postal Delivery Truck Rollover) |
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Corrie Johnson v. Gennise Carter. DC Trial. Vol. VI, No. 3. June 2003. |
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“Following a one-day trial and a jury verdict in [Sparks’ client’s] favor, the Court entered judgment for plaintiff in the amount of the policy limit, which Allstate paid in addition to plaintiff’s expenses.” |
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Corrie Johnson v. Gennise Carter. Metro Verdicts Monthly. Vol. 15, No. 3. 2002. |
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Policy limit verdict for postal worker [Sparks’ client] follows jury deliberation of just 20 minutes. Plaintiff had offered to settle, pre-suit, but defendant’s insurer, Allstate, refused to make any offer to settle. |
Orellana v. WMATA
(Rider Injured Trying to Board Bus) |
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Orellana v. WMATA . Metro Verdicts Monthly. October 2006. |
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Latino man injured when bus door closed on his leg. Plaintiff offered to settle pretrial. WMATA made no offer. Jury verdict after 30 minutes for Sparks' client. Jurors sent note during deliberation asking Court to make WMATA pay plaintiff's attorney fees. |
Barksdale v. WMATA
(Fall Down Icy Escalator in Metro Station) |
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Barksdale v. WMATA . Metro Verdicts Monthly. October 2006. |
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Security Guard broke her leg on icy escalator steps at Anacostia Metro Station while commuting to her job at the IRS. WMATA made no offer to settle. Quick verdict for plaintiff. |
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POLICE SHOOTINGS/ PRISON ASSAULTS |
Brian Butler v. District of Columbia
(DC Police Shooting) |
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District Police Lead Nation in Shootings; Lack of Training, Supervision Implicated as Key Factors. Washington Post. 15 November 1998. |
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“Lawsuits that often follow off-duty police shootings have been costly to District taxpayers . . . In 1995, the District paid [Sparks’ client] to settle a lawsuit over the shooting.” |
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Questionable Cases Costly. Washington Post. 17 November 1998. |
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“Police officials could not explain why the shooting of [Sparks’ client] was never examined by the weapon review board. The District settled the Superior Court lawsuit.” |
Estate of David Kersetter v. District of Columbia
(Mentally ill man killed in home) |
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Parents Sue After D.C. Police Shot, Killed Mentally Ill Son. ABC 7 News. 12 May 2009. |
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Attorney Douglas Sparks is suing on behalf of the parents the Gulf War veteran. “No mother calls a neighbor to check on her son and expects the next call to be he's dead because police entered his home and shot him,” noted Sparks. He says police should have left him alone until they had mental health counselors on the scene. Sources say the police department has launched a program to work with mental health specialists in the future.
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Parents sue D.C. Police after gay son killed: Man shot in bedroom of Logan Circle townhouse in 2008. Washington Blade. 12 May 2009. |
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Douglas Sparks, an attorney representing the family, released a four-page letter Tuesday that he sent May 1 to D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty. “At least eight rounds were fired, and five pierced David’s body . . . the trajectory of the rounds that hit David . . .establishes that theofficers fired downward,” Sparks said in the letter. |
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Family's Questions over Son's Shooting. Fox 5 News. 12 May 2009 |
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Attorney Douglas Sparks says, “The evidence shows . . . most if not all of the shots were fired while he was on the ground and incapacitated,” said Sparks. "They did everything exactly the opposite of what they're supposed to do. They didn't call for back up and they didn't call for a mental health specialist. These are salt of the earth, hard working, good people who don't understand why their son is dead. Mother calls neighbor to check on son and next call she gets is he's dead because police killed him in his own home,”said Sparks.
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Prison Assaults/Jail Crisis |
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Mayor Seeks Answers to DC Jail Shootings. CBS - W*USA 9 News. 21 December 2003. |
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“Doug Sparks is a DC lawyer suing the city on behalf of the family of Givon Pendleton, a 24-year-old inmate who was stabbed to death . . . last December . . . Sparks says, he [is] not surprised by Saturday’s shooting.” |
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Questions About Gunfire at the DC Jail. Fox 5 News.
22 December 2003. |
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“One year later, tears still flow for Givon Pendleton’s mother. Her lawyer, Douglas Sparks, describes the conditions at DC Jail as a disgrace.” |
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Jailhouse Gunfire. Fox 5 News.
22 December 2003. |
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“One year ago, a folding knife was smuggled into the jail and used to stab Givon Pendleton. Sparks says that the DC Government has yet to explain how the knife entered the jail, but that he intends to get some answers through the wrongful death lawsuit he filed less than two weeks ago.” |
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DC Jail Itemizes Smuggled Weapons. Washington Post.
23 December 2003 |
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“Doug Sparks, an attorney for the family of an inmate who was stabbed to death at the jail last December, said the weapon in that case [may have been] smuggled by a corrections officer.” |
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Inmate Violence Ends In Death . Buffalo Current. November 2005. |
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“Douglas Sparks, an attorney in Washington, D.C. said: ‘Guys are getting murdered, stabbed, maimed or blinded down here in the jails . . . if they don’t have statistics on prisoner abuse . . . they don’t do it because it makes them look bad . . .’” |
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District Paid $12 Million in Settlements. Legal Times. 1 July 2002. |
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“DC lawyer Douglas Sparks, who has represented inmates in thousands of personal injury cases over the past 15 years, says stabbing cases became an easy win because the District did nothing to keep inmates from injuring one another. ” |
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Business From Behind Bars. Legal Times. 8 July 2002. |
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“The District settled quickly . . . because DC government lawyers noted that lawyer Douglas Sparks was prepared to show prospective jurors a photo of the 12-inch knife jutting from his client’s back . . . . Sparks is one of a handful of local lawyers that represent prisoners . . . . His firm was the most prolific in 2001. |
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Clueless at the Department of Corrections. Washington Post. Colbert King Op-Ed. 3 January 2004. |
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“Want to know why it’s hard to take city officials seriously? . . . [T]wo weeks after a small-caliber handgun was smuggled into the prison and fired in broad daylight, [Director] Washington and [Union Spokesperson] Chase are clueless about how the gun got there and who used it.” |
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D.C. Jail: Who’s Right? Editorial. Washington Post. 13 January 2004. |
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Editorial supports position of D.C. Prisoners’ Legal Services Project over District’s claims that jail is safe. Douglas Sparks served on its Board of Directors and chaired its Legal Affairs Committee. |
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Jail in Crisis: Questions Surround DC Jail Management. CBS - W*USA 9 News. 27 February 2004. |
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“But now there is evidence that correction officials are breaking their own rules, says one DC attorney, Doug Sparks. ‘For at least one and a half hours a day, including today . . . posts on the cell block are abandoned.’ Sparks says . . . he is ‘sick and tired of everyone talking about it, studying it, [and grieving families having to sue] about it. It’s cruel, it’s unconstitutional, it’s inhumane, and it’s a disgrace for this city.’” |
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Consultant Urges Cut in D.C. Jail Population. Washington Post.
3 June 2004. |
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“But Douglas R. Sparks, an attorney for the family of one of the inmates killed in December 2002, said Director Washington’s position on the report conflicts with the legislation that mandated the study. ‘The bill requires that the mayor now impose the number that the consultants arrived at as the maximum inmate population at the jail,’ Sparks said.” |
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D.C. Jail Conditions Unchanged Despite Law. Washington Post.
24 April 2005. |
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“. . . Douglas R. Sparks, an attorney for the family of one of the murdered inmates, said he is considering filing a lawsuit against the District if it continues to fail to operate the jail in compliance with the statute.” |
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Weapons Found in City Jail. Washington Post. 29 January 2004. |
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“Douglas R. Sparks, a Washington lawyer who has represented inmates assaulted and killed in the jail, said [the jail] is extraordinarily dangerous . . .‘These numbers illustrate that the DC Jail is a facility full of armed inmates . . . When inmates fear for their lives, they arm themselves for protection. It is cruel that inmates at the District’s jail, most of whom are awaiting trial, are forced to live in these violent conditions.’”
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DC Corrections Chief Resigns. Washington Post. 18 February 2005. |
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“Douglas R. Sparks, an attorney for the family of one of the inmates killed in December 2002, said Washington is “personally” named as a defendant in a $20 million lawsuit against the city. “It’s probably a good thing for the city,” Sparks said of Washington’s departure. “Pretrial detainees haven’t been convicted of anything. They’ve been forced to live in an inhumane jail, and the director is violating their civil rights.” |
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Can the New Security Cameras Save Lives? News Channel 8 - WJLA.
18 February 2005. |
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“Jail officials say cameras make the place safer, although critics such as Sparks say it still doesn’t solve the problem of understaffing . . . in a jail that holds on average 700 more inmates than it held just five years ago.” |
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New Security Cameras in DC Jail. ABC-7 News - WJLA.
19 February 2005. |
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“Security cameras are a good start, but they help deter violence only if a guard is watching the monitor,” said Sparks. |
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The City as Lawbreaker. Editorial. Washington Post. 26 April 2005. |
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“Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3) told the Post: ‘[T]he Williams administration disagrees with the policy that is now the law. In effect they have said that they know better than the law.’ Conditions and operations at the Jail just must be improved, but not because that would be a nice thing to do. The law and human decency require no less.’” |
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On the Lookout for the New Jails Chief . Washington Post .
29 December 2005 |
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“Douglas R. Sparks, an attorney who has represented many prisoners, said he would be ‘extraordinarily alarmed’ if Brown turned down the District job. ” |
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Looking to Make Changes Behind Bars. Washington Post.
2 February 2006. |
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“Director Brown is one of the rare kind of corrections professionals who is not threatened by listening to the views of other people and giving them fair consideration. The biggest thing this guy brings is hope, says lawyer Douglas R. Sparks. ” |
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| CIVIL RIGHTS CASES |
Joseph Harris v. District of Columbia, et al.
(Prisoner disfigured when attacked by inmate with pot of boiling grease) |
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Fox 5 News Investigates Prison Problems. Fox 5 News.
7 May 2003. |
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“After being horribly burned, Harris was shackled to his bed for weeks on end in an Arizona prison. Attorney Sparks says the treatment of Harris was cruel and that it is hard to overstate the deprivation suffered by Harris.” |
E.F. v. District of Columbia
(Middle school student suspended for walking on public sidewalk) |
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Street Closed. CBS - W*USA 9 News. 31 March 2004. |
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“How’d you like it if a principal punished your child for something he or she did off school property? That’s exactly what happened in Northwest, where more than a dozen students were dealt a harsh penalty, just for walking home the wrong way. [Douglas Sparks, the attorney for one of the suspended students, is challenging the school’s disciplinary action.]” |
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Students Suspended Over Route Home. Washington Post. 1 April 2004. |
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“At least a dozen Francis Junior High School students were suspended for three days this week for taking a prohibited route home, an action being protested by an attorney representing one of the pupils. “There’s no way this can be lawful, no way,” said Douglas R. Sparks, who wants Ernest reinstated immediately.” |
Mothers United to Stop Torture v. District of Columbia
(Mothers protest physical abuse by jail guards) |
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D.C. Inmates ‘Tortured,’ Mothers Say. Washington Post.
25 October 2005. |
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“The inmates [were] repeatedly maced in the face and genitals while huddled in their cells,’ Wynn said . . . and were ‘dragged to areas outside the view of video cameras to be beaten further.’ This year, the corrections department installed 175 surveillance cameras throughout the jail . . . to serve as a deterrent to violence. The mothers, and their attorney, Douglas R. Sparks, said [the jail has not produced the videotapes]. |
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D.C. Jail Inmates “Tortured:” Is this D.C.’s Abu Ghraib? CBS - W*USA News, The Derek McGinty Show. 24 October 2005. |
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“Mothers are worried human rights stop at the jail gates. What is this country willing to accept?” |
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Inmate Abuse? ABC-7 News - WJLA. 7 October 2005. |
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Attorney Sparks says: “The strip searches were improper and overly aggressive.” |
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"Mace in the Hole." Washington City Paper. 22 June 2006. |
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“The probability that an odd virus . . . infected the recording capabilities of the . . . South 1 surveillance video cameras precisely during all these macings . . . with the handheld video cameras breaking at the same time is about as likely as two comets colliding, ” said Sparks. |
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Inmates Awarded $248,000 for Abuse. Washington Post. 2 March 2006. |
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“The U.S. attorney's office has launched an investigation in conjunction with the civil rights division of the U.S. Justice Department, and a new group of inmates represented by Douglas R. Sparks, is preparing to file suit. ” |
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| AWARDS & HONORS/ TESTIMONY |
Honors & Awards |
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Best of D.C. 2008: BEST LEGAL WATCHDOGS. Washington City Paper. 18 April 2008. |
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“What follows is more than 25,000 words that reflect a search for excellence in every corner of this classic and growing region . . . Few segments of the District government go without a thorough third-party vetting these days . . . D.C. Jail officials have to worry about D.C. Prisoners' Project and dogged attorney Douglas Sparks . . . ” |
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WASHINGTON SUPERLAWYERS (2007): The Top Attorneys in Washington (Personal Injury, Civil Rights, Governmental Liability) |
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Super Lawyers magazine honors top attorneys who receive the highest point totals from their peers and through the independent research of Law & Politics. Super Lawyers magazine is published nationally and reaches more than 13 million readers. The publication says about it's selection process that: “The comprehensive data search on each candidate, the protocols used to evaluate nominees, the expert panel system, and the meticulous checks and balances built into the process … leave little to chance or idiosyncratic influence.” |
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The Gettysburg Battlefield: Election Day 2004. DC Trial. Vol. VIII, No.4. March 2005. |
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Commentary from Douglas R. Sparks about the characters and situations he encountered while monitoring the vote in small town Pennsylvania. Sparks began: “George W. Bush recently was inaugurated, but I avoided all media coverage . . . I preferred to reflect upon November’s election day battle, when I fought alongside a group of trial lawyer volunteers in Adams County, Pennsylvania. Scenes from our defense of Gettysburg remain etched in my mind.” |
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BAND OF BROTHERS, Part 2. DC Trial. Vol. XIII, No.4. Fall 2008. |
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“Despite the rain, the Band of Brothers (Mike Feldman, Victor Long, George Shadoan and Doug Sparks) were at the polls in Richmond by 5:30 a.m., monitoring this historic election, and ensuring that no citizens' rights were violated during the vote . . . This intrepid group exemplifies trial lawyers who want to make a difference.” |
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CITY DESK: ELECTION 2008 COVERAGE. November 2008. |
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Pre-Election Dispatch from Richmond, Nov 3, 2008 at 5:46pm |
Doug Sparks, a tough-as-nails D.C. lawyer, is in Richmond as part of a huge crew of attorneys that will be monitoring precincts tomorrow . . . Sparks is pumped. “I want to be part of history. This is going to be a moment when everybody remembers where they were and what they were doing. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” |
Richmond Dispatch: Huge Lines, Rain, Nov 4, 2008 at 12:02pm |
Doug Sparks reports in from Richmond. This morning, Sparks says, there was a three-hour wait to vote at his precinct . . .Of the turnout so far, Sparks says: “There’s no line right now. The line was still two -and a half hours long until about 10:30. This precinct I’m in, there were probably 1400 votes.” He thinks it's 95 percent for Obama. |
Dispatch from Richmond:Huge Turnout , Nov 4, 2008 at 5:30pm |
| Doug Sparks, a D.C. lawyer stationed in Richmond to monitor voting, has just stumbled into the Holiday Inn. He’s heading to the bar. It is 5:12 p.m. Sparks has been working at one precinct since 5:30 a.m. He says the turnout was huge. “I think our precinct is in the running for highest voter turnout in the state. I wouldn’t be surprised if it exceeded 90 percent.” Sparks says. |
Sparks Presents Public Service Award
to D.C. Council Member Kathy Patterson |
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Council’s Patterson is Honored. Washington Post. 24 June 2004. |
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“In presenting the Public Service award, Douglas R. Sparks, lawyer and board member at the legal services project . . . told the gathering ‘Kathy took swift action . . . to remedy a number of the most urgent and dangerous conditions at the jail.’ Patterson, who chairs the council’s Committee of the Judiciary, said in an interview that she was ‘very flattered and honored, because these are important issues and the prisoners’ project is a first-rate human rights organization.” |
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Public Service Award Presented to Honorable Kathy Patterson. 17 June 2004 |
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(Full text of remarks by Douglas R. Sparks, Board of Directors, D.C. Prisoners’ Legal Services Project). |
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Council Member Patterson’s Remarks Accepting the D.C. Prisoners’ Legal Services Project Public Services Award. 17 June 2004. |
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“During a hearing on March 18, 2003, Doug Sparks recounted, in very graphic detail, the horrific stabbing death of Givon Pendleton at the D.C. Jail. That night . . . I made a promise . . . that I would fight for humane, decent conditions at the D.C. Jail . . . Thank you for helping me keep that promise. This honor and recognition touches me to the bottom of my heart.” |
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Patterson Receives Public Service Award. Council Member Kathy Patterson’s E-Newsletter #30. 2 July 2004. |
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In the News. DC Trial. Volume VIII, No. 2. September 2004. |
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“Board member Douglas Sparks, who presented the award at a ceremony in June, praised Patterson for her commitment to public service.” |
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Sparks Presents Public Service Award
to Washington Post Columnist Colby King |
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Post Columnist Colby King Accepts Public Service Award at Defending Human Rights in the District of Columbia Awards Reception
17 June 2005. |
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Deputy Editorial Page Editor for the Washington Post and Pulitzer Prize winner Colby King was presented the Public Service Award of D.C. Prisoners’ Legal Services Project by Douglas R. Sparks. |
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Legislative Testimony |
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Testimony of Douglas Sparks, Attorney for Family of Givon Pendleton. District of Columbia City Council Hearing on the District of Columbia’s Inmate Jail Cap Amendment Act of 2003. Committee on the Judiciary. DC Cable Channel. 18 March 2003. |
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Live testimony by attorney Sparks describing litany of grossly deficient security measures at DC Jail, and supporting legislation to cap inmate population. Testimony broadcast on DC Cable. |
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District of Columbia City Council’s Report On The Inmate Jail Improvement Act of 2003. District of Columbia City Council. Committee on the Judiciary. 22 May 2003. |
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“To fail to pass legislation in this arena would constitute a failure to recognize and act on what is potentially a dangerous situation for inmates, staff, and residents of the District of Columbia. In the words of one attorney [Douglas Sparks] who testified at a recent Judiciary Committee hearing, “I support wholeheartedly what you are doing. It will be a tremendous injustice if [this bill is not passed].” |
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Testimony of Douglas Sparks. District of Columbia City Council Oversight Hearing on the District of Columbia’s Department of Corrections. Committee on the Judiciary. DC Cable Channel.
1 March 2004. |
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“What do we know today that the public did not know last year? In every major [jail] stabbing and shooting receiving publicity since December 2002, no correctional officer saw or heard it. And each of these incidents occurred when a prison guard had abandoned his or her post in the housing unit, after superiors sent no relief guard to replace them.” |
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