Page:United States Reports 502 OCT. TERM 1991.pdf/535

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Cite as: 502 U. S. 367 (1992)

377

Opinion of the Court

“Nothing less than a clear showing of grievous wrong evoked by new and unforeseen conditions should lead us to change what was decreed after years of litigation with the consent of all concerned.” The court rejected the argument that Bell required modification of the decree because the decision “did not directly overrule any legal interpretation on which the 1979 consent decree was based, and in these circumstances it is inappropriate to invoke Rule 60(b)(5) to modify a consent decree.” Inmates of Suffolk County Jail v. Kearney, 734 F. Supp. 561, 564 (Mass. 1990). The court refused to order modification because of the increased pretrial detainee population, finding that the problem was “neither new nor unforeseen.” Ibid. The District Court briefly stated that, even under the flexible modification standard adopted by other Courts of Appeals,4 the sheriff would not be entitled to relief because “[a] separate cell for each detainee has always been an important element of the relief sought in this litigation—perhaps even the most important element.” Id., at 565. Finally, the court rejected the argument that the decree should be modified because the proposal complied with constitutional standards, reasoning that such a rule “would undermine and discourage settlement efforts in institutional cases.” Ibid. The District Court never decided whether the sheriff ’s proposal for double celling at the new jail would be constitutionally permissible. The new Suffolk County Jail opened shortly thereafter. The Court of Appeals affirmed, stating: “[W]e are in agreement with the well-reasoned opinion of the district court and see no reason to elaborate further.” Inmates of 4

See, e. g., New York State Assn. for Retarded Children, Inc. v. Carey, 706 F. 2d 956 (CA2) (Friendly, J.), cert. denied, 464 U. S. 915 (1983); Philadelphia Welfare Rights Organization v. Shapp, 602 F. 2d 1114 (CA3 1979), cert. denied, 444 U. S. 1026 (1980); Plyler v. Evatt, 846 F. 2d 208 (CA4), cert. denied, 488 U. S. 897 (1988); Heath v. De Courcy, 888 F. 2d 1105 (CA6 1989); Newman v. Graddick, 740 F. 2d 1513 (CA11 1984).