Supreme Court Dismisses California Governor's Prison Case Appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to listen to California Gov. Jerry Brown's states' rights appeal of an order requiring that state officials to monitor all disabled prisoners who are serving time in county jails.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the justices turned down Brown's complaint after arguing that the order "violates fundamental federalism principles" as states are held liable for the actions of local officials.
State officials couldn't provide the proper healthcare for inmates with mental or medical problems three years ago so the courts began to reduce the amount of people it sent to prison.
State officials claimed last year that there were about 26,000 parolees held in 200 jails throughout the state while 1,889 of them had a disability, according to The Times.
Gov. Brown helped to come up with a "realignment" solution, which moved thousands of low-level offenders and parole violators to county jails. The state Legislature told county officials in 2012 that they were legally in charge of the inmates.
However, under the Americans with Disabilities Act and in conjunction with an order from U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that it's the state's legal obligation to provide the disabled prisoners with "reasonable accommodations," whether or not they are held in a county jail.
"These accommodations include the basic necessities of life for disabled prisoners and parolees, such as wheelchairs, sign-language interpreters, accessible beds and toilets and tapping canes for the blind," said Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the 9th Circuit. "The state is not absolved of all of its responsibility for ADA obligations as to the parolees."
Wilken's 43-page order stated that state officials are required to work with all parole violators who have a disability, The Times reported.
In March, the governor, along with Attorney General Kamala Harris, appealed the 9th Circuit's decision to the Supreme Court because they said it "sets a dangerous and sweeping precedent that effectively nullifies the states' 10th Amendment right to delegate powers to local governments." They added that the state would be "liable for alleged ADA violations in the county jails."
However, the lawyers of the prisoners who have sued the state argued that Brown and Harris' complaint is an exaggeration of what officials are required to do.
"At its core, the injunction merely requires the state to provide disability notifications, collect disability data and issue reports to the counties," the attorney's told the court.
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