Prison Law Office Moves to Enforce Consent Decree, Citing Years of Inadequate Medical Care in Fresno County Jail
Motion follows a decade of monitoring reports and Fresno County's own admissions of non-compliance with court-ordered health care standards.
August 17, 2026:
FRESNO, Calif. – The Prison Law Office (PLO) announced today that it has filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California to enforce a 2015 consent decree requiring Fresno County to provide constitutionally adequate medical care to people held in the Fresno County Jail. The filing comes after the County declared the agreement expired and asserted, for the first time, that it is in full compliance, despite a decade of reports concluding otherwise.
For nearly a decade, neutral, court-appointed medical experts have monitored conditions inside the jail and have never found the County in substantial compliance with the vast majority of the consent decree’s medical care requirements. Fresno County’s own self-reports, filed every 180 days, have repeatedly acknowledged the same deficiencies. In May 2026, after PLO notified the County that jail medical care remained inadequate and signaled its intent to file a motion with the Court to seek enforcement of the consent decree, the County reversed course, declaring the consent decree expired and claiming it was in full compliance.
PLO’s motion asks the court to resolve two questions: whether the consent decree remains in effect, and whether the County is meeting its obligation to provide adequate medical care to people in its custody. PLO contends that years of continued monitoring, reporting, and engagement by both parties show the agreement remained active, and that dangerous gaps in basic medical care persist — large numbers of new arrivals not receiving basic medical screenings, lack of essential treatment for for people with substance use disorders, and the use of a jail restroom for medical intake, among other serious issues.
“Fresno County has spent a decade admitting that it wasn't meeting its obligations under this agreement. Now, the moment we move to enforce it, the County claims everything is in compliance,” said Patrick Booth, Managing Attorney at the Prison Law Office. “People in the Fresno Jail have real, documented health needs that have gone unmet for years. This motion is about making sure the County follows through on its commitment to the law and the people it incarcerates.”
PLO is asking the court to require Fresno County to come into compliance with the consent decree’s medical care provisions and to continue court oversight until it does so.
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The Prison Law Office is one of the nation’s leading experts in prison conditions litigation, defending the rights of incarcerated people through class action lawsuits, prison monitoring, and education. In addition to litigation and advocacy, the Prison Law Office works directly with correctional agencies to develop practical, sustainable reforms to improve conditions of confinement for incarcerated people.