Mays v. County of Sacramento
Case Summary
On July 31, 2018, the Prison Law Office and Disability Rights California filed a federal class action lawsuit on behalf of incarcerated people in Sacramento County’s jails, claiming that conditions at the jail do not meet minimum standards under the U.S. Constitution as well as federal and state disability law. The lawsuit alleges that the County fails to provide basic mental health and medical care, imposes harsh and extreme solitary confinement conditions, and discriminates against people with disabilities. The lawsuit seeks significant reforms to improve jail conditions and to end the violation of the rights of people in the Sacramento County Jail, including those with mental health needs and other disabilities.
Timeline
| October 2015 | DRC issues report on conditions in Sacramento County Jails. |
| July 2018 | Plaintiffs file class action complaint against Sacramento County. |
| December 2018 | Plaintiffs win class certification. |
| February 2019 | Plaintiffs file Motion for Summary Judgment/Preliminary Injunction regarding use of solitary confinement for people with serious mental illness. |
| January 2020 | Court approves Mays consent decree. |
| May 2020 | Plaintiffs issue Notice of Dispute regarding face coverings for staff as precaution against transmission of COVID-19. |
| October 2021 | Plaintiffs issue Notice of Dispute regarding mental health care and suicide prevention measures. |
| May 2022 | County consultant issues report on recommended jail population reduction measures. |
| June 2022 | Parties enter into Memorandum of Agreement regarding mental health care and suicide prevention. |
| December 2022 | Board of Supervisors approves measures to reduce jail population. |
| August 2023 | Plaintiffs call on Sheriff Jones to screen custody staff for contraband. |
| May 2024 | Plaintiffs issue Notice of Dispute regarding lack of privacy in intake process. |
| February 2025 | Plaintiffs issue Notice of Dispute regarding inadequate mental health care. |
Documents & Resources
Important Litigation Documents
Disability Rights California Investigation Report (July 31, 2018)
Order Granting Final Approval of Class Action Settlement (January 13, 2020)
Joint Status Report for March 20, 2025 Status Conference (March 13, 2025)
Informational Resources
Medical Care
Letter to Sheriff Cooper re Booking Loop Death (August 19, 2024)
Medical Experts Letter re Recent Jail Deaths (August 14, 2024)
Notice of Dispute re Ongoing Failure to Provide Intake Privacy (May 2, 2024)
Class Counsel Letter re Failure to Provide Confidentiality in Jail Intake Process (October 17, 2023)
Sheriff's Refusal to Implement Custody Staff Screening Measures (August 14, 2023)
Class Counsel Letter re Failure to Screen Custody Staff for Contraband (August 7, 2023)
Joint Status Report on Court Expert Findings as to COVID-19 Practices (October 27, 2020)
Expert Reports as to COVID-19 Practices at Sacramento County Jail (October 27, 2020)
Mental Health Care
Notice of Dispute re Inadequate Mental Health Care (February 12, 2025)
County Response to Mental Health Expert re Unmet Mental Health Needs (December 6, 2024)
Mental Health Expert Letter re Unmet Mental Health Needs (October 17, 2024)
County Commitment to Establish Offsite Acute Mental Health Beds (September 22, 2023)
Fourth Suicide Prevention Expert Report (September 14, 2023)
Class Counsel Demand re Offsite Acute Mental Health Care (August 25, 2023)
Third Mental Health Care Court Expert Report (April 25, 2023)
Second Suicide Prevention Court Expert Report (October 4, 2021)
Second Mental Health Care Court Expert Report (October 4, 2021)
First Suicide Prevention Court Expert Report (January 20, 2021)
First Mental Health Care Court Expert Report (January 20, 2021)
Expert Report on Suicide Prevention Practices at Sacramento County Jail (July 31, 2018)
Expert Report on Mental Health Services at Sacramento County Jail (July 31, 2018)
Restrictive Housing
Third Monitoring Report re Restrictive Housing, Discipline, and Classification (December 22, 2023)
Class Counsel Letter to County Deputy CEO Eric Jones on Restrictive Housing Report (July 29, 2022)
Second Monitoring Report re Restrictive Housing, Discipline, and Classification (July 19, 2022)
First Monitoring Report re Restrictive Housing, Discipline, and Classification (February 25, 2021)
Expert Report on Inmate Classification and “Total Separation” Segregation (July 31, 2018)
Disability Issues
Jail Population Reduction
DA and PD Response to Letter re Jail Population and Superior Court Review Process (June 14, 2024)
Class Counsel Letter re Jail Population and the Superior Court Review Process (May 15, 2024)
Sacramento County Review of Main Jail Capacity Report & Jail Population Study (August 2022)
Sacramento County Jail Study on Jail Population Reduction Measures (May 2022)
Main Jail Capacity to Meet the Consent Decree Report (March 31, 2022)
Sanitation and Conditions
Sheriff's Reversal on Issuance of Weather-Appropriate Clothing (March 10, 2023)
Sheriff's Initial Response to Demand for Weather-Appropriate Clothing (February 24, 2023)
Class Counsel Letter re Provision of Clothing to Incarcerated People (February 6, 2023)
Environment of Care in Sacramento County Jail Facilities Expert Report (August 17, 2022)
News
Sacramento deputy captured on video shoving woman outside jail (KQED, February 28, 2025)
‘He’s just old and homeless’: California jail death leads to accusations of neglect (New York Times, February 7, 2025)
How Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office evacuated inmates ‘on-the-fly’ from jail near Elk Grove (Sacramento Bee, October 22, 2024)
Attorneys sound alarm after 5 deaths in Sacramento County jails (ABC10, August 27, 2024)
California debates solitary confinement in local jails — and whether it’s really possible to end it (Los Angeles Times, August 31, 2023)
Six Sacramento jail inmates have died this year. They won’t be independently investigated. (Sacramento Bee, August 29, 2023)
A Sacramento jail inmate died in May. The Sheriff’s Office never told the public. (Sacramento Bee, August 29, 2023)
Sacramento County inmates will receive winter-appropriate clothing (KCRA, March 2, 2023)
Sacramento sheriff reverses stance, agrees to provide warm clothing to jail inmates (Sacramento Bee, March 1, 2023)
As cold weather sweeps Sacramento, inmates complain about ‘frigid conditions’ in jail (Sacramento Bee, February 27, 2023)
Epic all-day meeting as Sacramento County debates expanding its jail (Davis Vanguard, December 8, 2022)
Sacramento jail failing in health care for inmates, with report citing ‘filthy’ areas (Sacramento Bee, October 26, 2022)
Latest jail outbreak prompts emergency releases (The Observer, January 25, 2022)
Sacramento County must stop torturing mentally ill jail inmates with solitary confinement (Sacramento Bee, April 29, 2021)
Sacramento County to vaccinate inmates ahead of schedule (FOX40, February 24, 2021)
‘No way of stopping it.’ How COVID-19 invaded Sacramento jail, triggering major outbreak (Sacramento Bee, February 11, 2021)
COVID at ‘crisis levels’ in Sacramento jails. Lawyers want more inmates vaccinated (Sacramento Bee, January 30, 2021)
Sacramento supervisors delay vote on expanding troubled Main Jail downtown (Sacramento Bee, January 27, 2021)
Sacramento County Jails stipulate to requiring masks for guards (Davis Vangaurd, June 25, 2020)
Coronavirus in jails and prisons (The Appeal, June 10, 2020)
California jail population plummets during pandemic. Could this lead to long-term change? (Sacramento Bee, May 27, 2020)
Photos
RCCC medical dorm isolation housing
![Empty Holding Cell [Intake]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/658e00fdc5430956416678f7/406fac77-ab74-4db7-8e44-a4c62d851471/Empty-Holding-Cell-%5BIntake%5D-%282022%29.jpg)
Empty Holding Cell [Intake]
RCCC Women’s Disciplinary Unit
Main Jail Cell
Main Jell Medical Cell
Main Jail Dayroom