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 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 -- 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. For an overview, see our information letter (updated 9/11/2007); 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. In addition, two lawsuits have been filed against probation departments that have failed to to provide humane living conditions in juvenile halls. A Complaint concerning conditions in the San Joaquin county juvenile hall (filed on April 25, 2006) and a Complaint concerning conditions in the Sacramento county juvenile hall (filed on August 28, 2006 and amended on June 12, 2007).
2006 HANDBOOK SUPPLEMENT NOW AVAILABLE January 20, 2006 -- The 2006 Supplement to The California State Prisoners Handbook, Third Edition (2001) is available! The 320-page Supplement includes material updated through September 2005. The purchase price of the Handbook plus Supplement is $40 for prisoners and $182 for non-prisoners. The price to purchase the Supplement alone is $15 for prisoners and $50 for non-prisoners. More information and order form. 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 previousOrder 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.
SPECIAL MASTER ISSUES FINAL REPORT ON GUARD MISCONDUCT INVESTIGATIONS June 24, 2004 -- The Special Master, John Hagar, appointed by the federal court to oversee reforms at Pelican Bay State Prison issued a stinging summary of corruption among high level prison officials, who thwarted investigations into prison guard misconduct. Read the Special Master's Report.
FIRST AMENDMENT INTERNET RIGHTS VICTORY April 2004 -- In a First Amendment victory for prisoners and their correspondents, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a court order striking down a policy that prohibited many California prisoners from receiving mail containing printed material from the internet. Read the Ninth Circuit opinion here. You can also read the order issued by the federal District Court.
SETTLEMENT TO IMPROVE PAROLE VIOLATION PROCEEDINGS November 18, 2003 --The California Department of Corrections and Board of Prison Terms have agreed to a stipulated permanent injunction to improve the timeliness of parole revocation proceedings. The Remedial Plan adopted under the injunction includes provisions for using alternative sanctions for minor parole violations, a probable cause hearing no more than 10 business days after a parolee is notified of charges, and a revocation hearing no later than 35 days after a parole hold is placed. The injunction is the result of a federal court finding that that delays in the parole revocation process violated due process protections. (Valdivia v. Davis (E.D. 2002) 206 F.Supp.2d 1068.) You will need Acrobat Reader to view some of these documents. |
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