Finnigan v. Mendrick

We represent Christine Finnigan, a woman diagnosed with opioid use disorder (OUD) who is at risk of painful and life-threatening consequences if she is denied medically necessary, physician-prescribed methadone during an upcoming incarceration at DuPage County Jail. We are joined by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Legal Action Center, and the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center in filing a lawsuit against the DuPage County Sheriff and Chief of the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Bureau to ensure she is provided with her prescribed medication for addiction treatment (also known as MAT) while she serving time on a February 2016 DUI.

DuPage County is alleged to have an unwritten policy that forces detainees to go through withdrawal, specifically refusing to confirm a plan for Ms. Finnigan and others facing imminent incarceration to be medically treated with methadone or another MAT medication known as buprenorphine. Other corrections facilities – including the nearby Cook County Jail – provide these medications. The DuPage County Jail’s refusal to provide this medication to Ms. Finnegan violates the Eighth Amendment and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Ms. Finnigan is asking a federal judge to issue an emergency order requiring the DuPage County Sheriff and other jail officials to ensure she has access to her medication.