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| Judge: Calif. County Violated Inmates' Rights |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 03/20/2006 |
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A California county violated thousands of jail inmates' rights by requiring them to sleep on mattresses on concrete floors, a federal judge has tentatively ruled. Stephen Yagman, the attorney who filed the class-action lawsuit on behalf of about 24,000 inmates, said the county could face damages of $100 million if Monday's ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Dean D. Pregerson becomes final and if more plaintiffs join the case. Yagman had argued that floor-sleeping deprived inmates of their dignity and violated their due process rights under the 14th Amendment. Pregerson said the practice indicated an "endemic problem" in "dysfunctional," overcrowded facilities. "There is something inherently wrong with what is happening at the institution when it reaches a level where so many sleep on the floor," Pregerson said in court. David D. Lawrence, a private attorney representing the county, argued that requiring inmates to sleep on floors would be illegal only if it resulted in poor health or unsafe conditions. "It's not an issue of numbers; this is the largest jail in the country," Lawrence said. "It doesn't follow that because there's a lot of them, there's a single constitutional violation." Pregerson gave attorneys for both sides time to make additional arguments before he issues a final ruling. The sheriff's department, which runs the county jail system, stopped having inmates sleep on floors last September by opening additional facilities and granting early release to some prisoners convicted of misdemeanors, said Marc Klugman, chief of the Correctional Services Division. County jails have been hit recently by racial violence that resulted in two inmate deaths and more than 150 injuries. Sheriff Lee Baca said that he's seeking $300 million from the county to ease overcrowding and improve jail security. |
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