Federal judges have handed a pair of setbacks to California officials in their long-running battle to regain control of health care in the state’s chronically overcrowded prison system.
In a 24-page ruling released March 24, U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson rejected Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s request that he remove the federal receiver and return control to the state. Henderson in 2006 appointed a non-profit corporation headed by a receiver to manage the prison health care system after finding that the level of medical care violated the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Attorneys for Schwarzenegger have argued that the level of health care has improved to the point where a receiver is no longer necessary.
Henderson, in rejecting the state’s arguments, wrote, “Based on the entire record in this case, the court is far from confident that (state officials) have the will, capacity, or leadership to provide constitutionally adequate medical care in the absence of a receivership.” He stated his intention was to return control to the state once he is satisfied that the level of care has improved.
The state is protesting plans by the current receiver, law Professor Clark Kelso, to spend $8 billion to build seven health care centers to treat and house up to 10,000 medically and mentally ill prisoners. Kelso has since proposed a scaled down plan which would provide half the beds at half the cost.
California officials initially cooperated with the upgrades ordered by the receiver, spending millions to improve existing facilities and services throughout the 33-prison system. When the state budget deficit last summer ballooned to $42 billion, the state Legislature refused the receiver’s demand for a $250 million down payment to finance his construction plans.
Henderson immediately announced plans to hold Schwarzenegger and state Controller John Chiang in contempt of court, and to fine the state up to $2 million for each day the state failed to provide the $250 million to the receiver. State Attorney General Jerry Brown promptly appealed and won a temporary stay from Henderson’s ruling.
Following Henderson’s ruling, a second federal judge, U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton of Sacramento, said he has also considered appointing a receiver to take over prison mental health services.
Karlton angrily berated state attorneys and gave them 60 days to present him with a plan for improving care for thousands of mentally ill inmates or face contempt proceedings.
In a second court setback for the beleaguered state, a federal appeals court reinstated contempt-of-court proceedings against Schwarzenegger and Chiang for defying Henderson’s ruling.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, of which both Henderson and Karlton are members, issued its own 15-page ruling on March 25, the day following Henderson’s ruling, regarding removal of the receiver. The appeals panel said the state’s appeal was premature, coming before Henderson had yet ruled on the issue of contempt of court.
Lisa Page, a spokeswoman for Schwarzenegger, has indicated that both decisions will be appealed.
Miseries for the state’s officials are compounded by a previous ruling in a related case. Another three-judge panel, which included both Henderson and Karlton, has concluded that prison overcrowding is the primary cause of substandard medical care, and has issued a tentative ruling ordering the early release of between 37,000 and 58,000 inmates.
Schwarzenegger has vowed to appeal any order for releases directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Following the court rulings, Kelso issued a statement expressing a desire to work closely with state officials and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Matt Cate in an effort to resolve the impasse. Kelso recently replaced three of his long-time top aides, noted for their adversarial approach in dealing with the state, and replaced them with former state government employees.
