RALEIGH -- A  federal judge has rejected efforts by the state to dismiss a lawsuit filed on behalf of eight inmates at North Carolina's Central Prison who say they were severely beaten by guards while handcuffed and shackled.

U.S. District Court Judge Terrence W. Boyle ordered that the case move ahead, granting lawyers for North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services authority to access state records and conduct interviews with prison staff.

The case involves Unit One, a special section of the maximum security Raleigh prison known as "The Hole" where inmates who violate prison rules are held in solitary confinement. The lawsuit alleges officers systematically carried out beatings in a secluded area not covered by surveillance cameras.

The inmates' abuse claims are supported by medical records documenting blunt-force injuries that occurred while the prisoners were segregated from other inmates. They include broken bones, concussions and a shattered hip that left one prisoner in a wheelchair.