Seeking justice for others

Elizabeth Wright ’19 may be new to the field of law, but her endeavors have led her to high-profile class-action work with national and international news coverage.

Wright graduated from Syracuse University Law School in 2022 and went to work with New, Taylor and Associates in Beckley, W.Va., where she became involved in a class action lawsuit against the Southern Regional Jail in West Virginia.

The case involves imprisoned people in a regional West Virginia jail where those incarcerated alleged civil rights violations after 13 imprisoned individuals died at the facility in 2022 alone.

“It’s been exciting to do the work I have been doing,” she said. “I helped write a [friendof-the-court] brief to the U.S. Supreme Court. They didn’t grant certiorari, but I like to think they read what we wrote.” Certiorari is when The Court decides it will hear the case, which is rare in most cases.

A friend of the court, in legal parlance, is a person or group with an interest and perspective on an outcome.

“It’s been an honor to work on this case,” Wright said. “It is an area I wanted to work in. … I am fortunate to have this experience and work on this team.”

Under the U.S. code, anyone violating the Constitutional rights of people can be found liable.

A March 19 article in The Guardian quotes Stephen New of the firm describing conditions akin to a Russian gulag. Overcrowding and abuse claimed by the firm to be

rampant in the facility in its briefs.

“These are people that are in jail. They did do something wrong that they are paying for, but the conditions are much more severe (than they should be),” said Wright. “I am proud of the work I have done for people who otherwise wouldn’t have a voice.”

Wright said the class actions evolved from clients describing conditions.

Increased complaints were becoming common, and it started to become obvious that something was very wrong.

“There are now 2,0003,000 clients who suffered harm in the facility,” she said. “I think it’s so important that we do this work. That we expose what these people have suffered, that we spur change.”

Wright is proud of the civil rights work she has been involved with in the firm of New, Taylor, & Associates in West Virginia. She cites the time at Pitt-Bradford as having helped build her experiences.

“I had excellent professors and really good work experience that have served me well,” she said. “Professor (Tony) Gaskew in particular has been a wonderful teacher and mentor that has guided my way.”

“I became interested in helping those who can’t help themselves when I attended Pitt-Bradford,” said Wright. “I worked for the area YWCA and did work at [the Federal Correctional Institution, McKean.] There were domestic abuse victims that I assisted. I felt it was so important to help people who couldn’t help themselves.”

– Cory Angell ’97