Topete v. County of San Bernardino

In 2016, the Prison Law Office filed a class action lawsuit in federal court about conditions in the San Bernardino County Jails, challenging the County’s use of solitary confinement, use of force, denial of adequate medical and mental health care, and failure to provide disability accommodations. In December 2018, the Court approved a Consent Decree designed to improve conditions in the jails.

Resources

Major Cases

News more

Federal Judge Issues Final Injunction to Reform Arizona Prisons

April, 2023

(April 7, 2023) In a 57-page order, U.S. District Judge Roslyn O. Silver ordered substantial reform to the Arizona prison system. Judge Silver explained that the “unusual” order includes “significant detail regarding medical care, mental health care, and conditions imposed on the subclass to remedy the egregious constitutional violations” because of “the substantial dysfunction in Defendants’ operations.”

Federal Judge Issues Sweeping Remedial Order to Arizona Prison Officials

January, 2023

(January 9, 2023) In a thorough and sweeping order, U.S. District Judge Roslyn O. Silver is requiring the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry (ADCRR) to make “substantial” changes to staffing and conditions so that medical care and mental healthcare at Arizona prisons comes up to constitutional standards.

Judge Silver’s remedial order brings Jensen v. Shinn — a decade-long struggle to ensure that the nearly 30,000 adults and children in Arizona’s prisons receive the basic health care and minimally adequate conditions to which they are entitled under the Constitution and the law — closer to a resolution. Both parties have 30 days to provide Judge Silver any comments on the remedial order before it becomes final.