A pro bono team of lawyers who went to trial seeking air conditioning in Texas prisons notched a major win Tuesday when U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman ruled that the state’s un-air-conditioned prisons violate the Eighth Amendment and ordered Texas to install air conditioning throughout its prison system by the end of 2029.
Judge Pitman was critical in his 150-page order of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and Executive Director Bobby Lumpkin, saying they “have not responded reasonably to address extreme heat in Texas’ un-air-conditioned prisons.”
“They have failed to meaningfully investigate and document prison temperatures and their effects, underrepresenting the scope of the problem; they have continued to rely on insufficient mitigation methods; and they have failed to act with reasonable urgency or commitment to install air conditioning,” Judge Pitman wrote.
“The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution prohibits the infliction of ‘cruel and unusual punishments,’” Judge Pitman continued. “Here, the Eighth Amendment requires more of Defendant, the agency he represents and the State of Texas.”
The court order comes as the agency budget plans for the 2028-2029 biennium ahead of the 2027 legislative session.
The judge noted that TDCJ’s 2028-2029 biennium legislative appropriations request, published Aug. 28, asks for $290.02 million for air conditioning – “significantly less than half of the $774.3 million that TDCJ estimated it could obligate in the 2028-2029 biennium,” Judge Pitman wrote.
More than 30 lawyers from six firms, including the Texas offices of corporate law firms O’Melveny & Myers and Winston Taylor, represented prisoners’ rights advocacy groups in the case, contributing over 5,000 pro bono hours valued at more than $5 million, plaintiffs’ attorneys have said.
The team also included civil rights lawyer Jeffrey S. Edwards, who has brought individual cases against the state over prison heat, and his Austin firm, as well as solo practitioner Jodi Callaway Cole, known for representing Bernie Tiede, whose murder case inspired the film Bernie starring Jack Black. Denver firms Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell and Holland, Holland Edwards & Grossman also participated.
“Today, human dignity wins,” Winston Taylor said in a firm-issued statement.
“At Winston Taylor, we are humbled and grateful to have played a part in this extraordinary team effort – a dignity-driven, tireless endeavor propelled by the fortitude of our clients and their commitment to make real and lasting change,” the statement reads.
Brandon Duke, a Houston-based litigator who focuses on energy matters and previously served as board chair of Disability Rights Texas, entered the case in March 2024 while at Winston. By July, he had moved to O’Melveny, which expanded the team and committed additional resources. Winston remained involved, and lawyers from both firms took active roles in examining witnesses at trial.
The Lawbook profiled Duke’s work in the case in an article at the conclusion of the trial.
Duke called the judge’s ruling a “resounding victory” for the nearly 9,000 people incarcerated in Texas without air conditioning.
“The relief ordered by the Court undoubtedly will save lives, enable incarcerated individuals to serve their sentences without enduring needless suffering, and provide relief for everyone who lives and works in these conditions in Texas prisons,” Duke said.
TDCJ was represented by the state attorney general’s office.