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PRISON LAW OFFICE ATTORNEYS SEEK INFORMATION ON CONDITIONS IN SACRAMENTO COUNTY JUVENILE HALL August 11, 2008 -- Prison Law Office attorneys are seeking information about the Sacramento County juvenile hall as part of a taxpayer lawsuit challenging inhumane conditions in that facility. If you can provide information, please go to www.myspace.com/prisonlawoffice. The suit was initiated in a Complaint filed on August 28, 2006. A Third Amended Complaint was filed in the case on September 1, 2007. The suit is part of a large-scale effort to improve conditions in California's juvenile halls, NEW EDITION OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE PRISONERS HANDBOOK AVAILABLE NOW! July 18, 2008 -- A new version of The California State Prisoners Handbook (4th ed. 2008) is ready for distribution. This 1,100-page volume discusses in plain language the case law, statutes and regulations governing a wide variety of legal topics of interest to California prisoners and their advocates. It also includes numerous sample forms, model pleadings and resources lists. In the Fourth Edition, the text has been fully updated and many parts of the book have been expanded or revised. Here is the order form that you can use to purchase the book. SAN JOAQUIN JUVENILE HALL AGREES TO REFORMS June 19, 2008 -- Officials responsible for San Joaquin County's juvenile hall have agreed to make numerous improvements in conditions to ensure the safety and humane treatment of wards housed in that facility. The agreement is set forth in a Consent Decree filed in a taxpayer lawsuit brought as part of a statewide effort to address serious problems in the juvenile halls. Learn more about the case from this Press Release. You can also read the original Complaint in the lawsuit, which was filed on April 25, 2006. SPECIAL MASTER RELEASES REPORTS ON REFORMING CALIFORNIA'S JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
April 2008 -- The Special Master in the Farrell v. Hickman case has released a Seventh Quarterly Report. The Farrell case is a class-action lawsuit brought to remedy abysmal conditions in the California Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), the state's lock-up units for young offenders. For more information on the case, or to review prior expert and special master reports, please visit the Major Cases page. FEDERAL JUDGES ORDER THREE-JUDGE COURT TO CONSIDER PLACING LIMITS ON CALIFORNIA'S PRISON POPULATION July 23, 2007 (updated June 23, 2008) -- Two federal judges who oversee California's prison medical and mental health care systems ordered that a three-judge court be convened to consider placing limits on California's prison population. View the Plata v. Schwarzenegger Order and the Coleman v. Schwarzenegger Order. The orders were issued after the judges concluded that California prisons are unable to provide constitutionally-adequate medical care (Plata) and mental health care (Coleman) due in part to severe overcrowding. In June 2008, the judges set a trial date on the matter for November 2008. For an overview, see our information letter (updated 6/23/2008); for more detailed background information on the Plata and Coleman cases, visit our Major Cases page.
STATE PRISONS ORDERED TO IMPROVE DENTAL TREATMENT September 8, 2006 -- An Amended Stipulation and Order filed in the class action lawsuit Perez v. Tilton on August 21, 2006 requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide adequate dental care for state prisoners. Pursuant to this federal court order, the CDCR must implement new procedures and policies to ensure that prisoners receive competent and timely dental treatment. Compliance will be monitored by the prisoners' attorneys and their consultants, as well as independent court-appointed experts. NEW LAWSUITS FILED TO END INHUMANE AND ILLEGAL CONDITIONS IN COUNTY JUVENILE HALLS September 5, 2006 -- A statewide drive to end illegal and inhumane conditions in California county juvenile halls started with the filing of a Complaint in San Francisco County Superior Court on April 19, 2006. The lawsuit seeks court orders requiring the state authority responsible for being a watchdog over juvenile halls -- the Corrections Standards Authority (CSA) -- to fulfill its duties and take action to correct intolerable conditions. Such conditions include severe overcrowding, lack of access to school programs, endemic violence, excessive use of force by staff, and virtually non-existent mental health care.
CALIFORNIA'S PRISON MEDICAL CARE SYSTEM TO BE PLACED UNDER CONTROL OF COURT-APPOINTED RECEIVER October 3, 2005 -- In the class action lawsuit Plata v. Schwarzenegger, a federal judge has issued Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, ordering that California's prison medical care system be placed under the control of a court-appointed receiver. The court found that the system is "broken beyond repair," causing an "unconscionable degree of suffering and death." Among the shocking findings are that, on average, an inmate in one of California's prisons needlessly dies every six to seven days due to grossly deficient medical care. In a previous Order to Show Cause, issued in May 2005, the court described medical treatment in the prisons as "horrifying" and "shocking," and discussed expert reports revealing widespread medical malpractice and neglect, resulting in the deaths of significant numbers of prisoners. For more information , you can read the Complaint and Settlement Agreement filed in the Plata case. For additional background information on the Plata case, visit the Major Cases page. Regularly-updated information is available on the Receiver's website. You will need Acrobat Reader to view some of these documents. |
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