Filed Date: 1981
Closed Date: July 12, 1983
Clearinghouse coding complete
Sometime in 1981, thirty-one prisoners at the Riverside County Jail at Indio filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of California for the County of Riverside against the County Sheriff, challenging their conditions of confinement under the state and federal constitutions. Specifically, the plaintiffs alleged that the jail was overcrowded and understaffed and that it failed to meet basic sanitation standards.
After extensive hearings, the Superior Court (Judge Warren Slaughter) issued a comprehensive remedial order. The order required, among other things, that the Sheriff (1) increase prisoners' weekly outdoor exercise time, (2) implement a sanitary clothing and linen exchange system, (3) keep the large metal security doors to the housing units open except in emergencies so that disturbances and prisoner communications could be heard, (4) staff the facility adequately, and (5) not allow any housing unit to be filled past rated capacity except in emergencies.
On appeal, the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District, Division Two (Presiding Justice Margaret Morris) affirmed. In an order dated July 12, 1983, the Court of Appeal found that the Superior Court had correctly applied the proper standard to determine constitutional deficiency. Inmates of the Riverside Cnty. Jail v. Clark, 192 Cal. Rptr. 823 (Cal. Ct. App. 1983). It amended the order only to have the Superior Court reconsider its decision regarding the metal security door in light of the Sheriff's subsequent experience and to give the Sheriff more time to find adequate staff.
No further information is available on this case as of the writing of this summary.
Summary Authors
Christopher Schad (7/18/2012)
Morris, Margaret (California)
Morris, Margaret (California)
Last updated April 8, 2024, 3:12 a.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: California
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
California Jail Population Caps
Key Dates
Filing Date: 1981
Closing Date: July 12, 1983
Case Ongoing: No reason to think so
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
prisoners at the Riverside County Jail
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: Unknown
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
County of Riverside (Riverside), County
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Habeas Corpus, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241-2253; 2254; 2255
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Issues
General:
Sanitation / living conditions
Staff (number, training, qualifications, wages)
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
Assault/abuse by staff (facilities)
Assault/abuse by non-staff (facilities)
Medical/Mental Health:
Type of Facility: