In April of 2001 a class action suit was filed in Federal court in California, charging that the state failed to provide adequate medical services for the prison population in violation of the 8th amendment. Specifically the suit alleged that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) failed to adequately screen new inmates, did not provide timely access to medical care or sufficient access to specialists, did not retain sufficient medical personnel, failed to keep organized or complete medical records, lacked protocols for dealing with certain chronic diseases, and numerous other substantive failures. In 2002 the CDCR negotiated a court approved stipulation with the plaintiffs and an injunction was issued charging the CDCR with providing the minimum level of care required by the 8
th amendment. Three years later, the court conducted an evidentiary hearing in which it determined that the level of health care provided was still well below that required by the Constitution. The court placed the CDCR's medical services into receivership and eventually an order was issued requiring California to reduce its prison population to 137.5% of its capacity.
We'll set aside for the moment the absurdity of a prison system so overpopulated that an order would be issued to reduce it to below 137.5% of capacity. The Supreme Court will hear the appeal from the state next term. The Court will look at three issues. First, the Court will ask if the lower court properly determined that overcrowding was the primary cause of the 8th amendment violation. Second, the Court will consider whether the release order, which will cause approximately 46,000 inmates to be released early, is narrowly drawn , extends no further than necessary to correct the violation and is the least intrusive method to remedy the complaint. Finally, the Court will consider the impact on public safety in California and whether the lower court gave enough weight to the interests of public health and safety.
It would be interesting to speculate on how the Court might react if they find that the principal cause was not overcrowding. Releasing inmates early will cure the 8th amendment violation with regards to the prisoners who are released but if reducing the population fails to remedy the situation for those who remain, how will the Court proceed? The state has already been ordered to improve medical services and has failed to do so. Would further judicial notice of the violation be sufficient to compel California, already verging on financial collapse, to bring the medical system in its prisons up to standard? If further Court orders are insufficient, what remedy remains for prisoners in California cells?
