The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a federal, class-action lawsuit Friday against the Monroe County Council, the Monroe County Commissioners and the Monroe County Sheriff over the jail’s living conditions.
Filed on behalf of two people currently incarcerated in the jail, as well as current and future inmates, the lawsuit alleges that decades of overcrowding, deteriorating infrastructure and otherwise bad living conditions violate detainees’ 14th Amendment rights while awaiting trial, as well as their Eighth Amendment rights after a criminal conviction.
In 2008, the ACLU filed a similar lawsuit against the county alleging unconstitutional overcrowding at the jail, leading to a 2009 settlement capping the jail population. The county has been looking for a new location to relocate the current Charlotte Zietlow Justice Center in downtown Bloomington that houses the jail.
After the County Council rejected the “North Park” site proposal in October 2025 and in May 2026, the ACLU filed to dismiss the prior case, opening the door for a new lawsuit. According to the new complaint, the 2009 settlement was supposed to expire in 2011, but was extended with the expectation that the county would address issues with the facility.
“Monroe County officials have known for years that the jail is overcrowded, unsafe, and falling apart,” said Ken Falk, Legal Director at the ACLU of Indiana, in a Monday press release. “They have had nearly two decades to find a lasting solution, yet people are still being held in unconstitutional conditions that threaten their health and safety.”
Monday’s press release states that between June and July, the jail held 260 people, 31 over its 229-person capacity. The ACLU claims that such overcrowding has led to violence and that infrastructure issues, like broken plumbing and mold, have created an unsafe environment.
Due to the lack of available beds, the lawsuit alleges that some inmates, including the two named plaintiffs Tayler Grubb and Joseph Merrero, are at times forced to sleep on mattresses on the ground located next to their cells’ communal toilets, causing them to be splashed often with toilet water.
Additionally, the lawsuit claims that the jail has failed to safely separate people based on medical and security needs. It says that the only cell in the jail that meets accessibility standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act is in a male-only block.
The lawsuit comes a month after the city and county formed a new subcommittee June 11, called the Collaborative Justice Project Working Subcommittee, with the goal of recommending a new jail site. The group had five scheduled meetings, with the last occurring Monday afternoon.
The subcommittee voted three to two to recommend that the county renovate the current jail as well as the county-owned Curry Building located southwest of the jail. In a joint meeting that has not been scheduled yet, the subcommittee will formally recommend a renovation of the current jail to the county and city.
The lawsuit requests that the court classifies the case as class-action and grants a permanent injunction requiring the county to make jail conditions compliant with constitutional requirements.
