Law360 (May 27, 2026, 3:29 PM EDT) -- A North Carolina federal judge has given an initial seal of approval to a settlement placing limitations on the state's use of solitary confinement in juvenile detention facilities, resolving a class action that claimed the practice was unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Eagles preliminarily approved a deal with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety and its top officials in an order Tuesday. The judge described the proposed settlement as "likely to be approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate," and she set a final approval hearing for September.

Under the terms of the agreement, DPS will change its policies dictating when minors can be held in solitary confinement at a juvenile detention center. DPS defines two categories of confinement: Temporary Room Confinement, or TRC, and Administrative Room Confinement, or ARC.

According to the parties' joint motion for approval filed last month, DPS can only place a juvenile in TRC if they pose an imminent threat to the safety of others and "all less restrictive measures will not adequately address the threat." Previously, DPS could place a juvenile in TRC if they posed a threat to themselves or others, to prevent the destruction of property or to otherwise maintain "orderly management," the class said. The settlement requires that DPS keep a minor confined to their room for the "minimum period of time necessary to resolve the threat."

The agency can also no longer use confinement as a means of punishment. Previously, the class alleged DPS routinely used confinement to punish them for "relatively minor rule infractions" like trading snacks. If DPS is having to routinely place an individual in confinement, the settlement provides that a behavioral management plan be put in place.

DPS will still be able to use administrative room confinement to protect a juvenile's medical safety, in the event of severe weather or when safety concerns involving more than one juvenile require restricting their movements, according to the deal.

But the agency can't use confinement to address staffing shortages, which the class said has routinely been the case. According to their motion, the Prison Rape Elimination Act requires a ratio of one staff member to eight juveniles. Detention centers allegedly justified confining minors to meet the required ratio.

In seeking approval of the deal, the class said, "Staffing is a nuanced issue that requires a nuanced solution. No settlement agreement — in fact, no court order — can create willing workers where there are none."

Still, under the terms of the deal, DPS can only use confinement as a last resort when staffing levels are "critically low." DPS must also utilize a programming schedule to rotate groups out of their cells so no one is disproportionately affected.

The settlement requires certain conditions of confinement, including allowing a juvenile to eat two meals outside their room; arranging for a mental health counselor to visit if a juvenile is kept in their room for more than eight hours; and allowing class and homework assignments to be brought to their room if they are confined for more than two hours in a school day.

An independent monitor will be tasked with keeping tabs on DPS' compliance with the agreement, which expires after five years, the class said.

The case dates to January 2024, when two juveniles — identified in court filings only as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 — filed suit claiming DPS' solitary confinement practices trampled their Eighth and 14th Amendment rights. The juveniles have since turned 18 and aged out of the system, per the motion for settlement approval.

According to the complaint, the juveniles were being held at the Cabarrus JDC facility, just north of Charlotte. They allege DPS harmed their mental health by locking them in their cells for more than 23 hours a day.

The lawsuit names as defendants the state public safety department; its secretary, Jeffrey Smythe; the deputy secretary of the agency's juvenile justice division, William L. Lassiter; and Tiea Daniels, the facility director at the Cabarrus Regional Juvenile Detention Center.

Judge Eagles granted class certification in October. After more than a year of negotiations and several in-person and virtual mediation sessions, including one that reportedly lasted for 12 hours, the parties announced in February that they had reached a deal, court records show.

Counsel for the plaintiffs and representatives from DPS and the state Department of Justice did not immediately respond Wednesday to requests for comment.

The class is represented by Robert L. Lindholm, Soren K. Young, Donna O. Tillis, Yasmeen Ebbini, Axton Crolley and Matthew G. Lindenbaum of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP and Michelle Duprey of the Law Office of Michelle Duprey PLLC.

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety is represented by Elizabeth Curran O'Brien and Terence Steed of the North Carolina Department of Justice.

The case is John Doe 1, et al. v. North Carolina Department of Public Safety, et al., case number 1:24-cv-00017 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.

--Editing by Patrick Reagan.

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