Case: Prison Legal News v. Los Angeles County

BS119336 | California state trial court

Filed Date: March 3, 2009

Closed Date: Sept. 10, 2009

Clearinghouse coding complete

Case Summary

On March 3rd, 2009, Prison Legal News (PLN), a project of the non-profit Human Rights Defense Center that reports on criminal justice issues and prison and jail-related civil litigation with an emphasis on prisoners' rights, filed this lawsuit in the Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles. The plaintiff sued Los Angeles County, the Office of County Counsel, and the Sheriff’s Department under the California Public Records Act (California Government Code § 6253(a)). The plaintiff sought bot…

On March 3rd, 2009, Prison Legal News (PLN), a project of the non-profit Human Rights Defense Center that reports on criminal justice issues and prison and jail-related civil litigation with an emphasis on prisoners' rights, filed this lawsuit in the Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles. The plaintiff sued Los Angeles County, the Office of County Counsel, and the Sheriff’s Department under the California Public Records Act (California Government Code § 6253(a)). The plaintiff sought both declaratory and injunctive relief requiring county officials to comply with the Act. Specifically, the plaintiff alleged that, in 2007, Los Angeles County had stopped regularly releasing records related to settlements and verdicts from tort, over-detention, and civil rights claims involving both jail detainees and employees.

In response, the defendants argued first that some of the requested records may be exempt from disclosure and also that it would not be "reasonably possible" to conduct a search for the relevant requested documents. However, though the plaintiff claimed it had expressed willingness to work with the county to produce these records in a reasonable manner, the county still did not release any of the requested information to the public, thus resulting in this lawsuit. Additional background information about the case is available here and here.

The defendant filed a motion to dismiss on September 3rd, 2009, which was granted by the court (Judge Susan Bryant-Deason) on September 10th, 2009. However, because we cannot locate the associated order or opinion, we do not know the grounds for dismissal. The case is now closed.

Summary Authors

Sarah Du (1/18/2018)

People


Attorney for Plaintiff

Khoury, Najeeb N. (California)

Lehman, Jennifer (California)

Rosen, Sanford Jay (California)

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Documents in the Clearinghouse

Document

BS119336

Docket [Westlaw]

Sept. 10, 2009

Sept. 10, 2009

Docket

BS119336

Verified Petition for Injunctive Relief and Declaratory Relief

Jan. 1, 2009

Jan. 1, 2009

Complaint

Resources

Docket

Last updated Aug. 30, 2023, 1:34 p.m.

Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.

Case Details

State / Territory: California

Case Type(s):

Jail Conditions

Special Collection(s):

Prison Legal News

Key Dates

Filing Date: March 3, 2009

Closing Date: Sept. 10, 2009

Case Ongoing: No

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

Prison Legal News (PLN), a project of the non-profit Human Rights Defense Center that reports on criminal justice issues and prison and jail-related civil litigation with an emphasis on prisoners' rights

Plaintiff Type(s):

Non-profit NON-religious organization

Attorney Organizations:

Rosen, Bien, Galvan & Grunfeld

Public Interest Lawyer: Yes

Filed Pro Se: No

Class Action Sought: No

Class Action Outcome: Not sought

Defendants

Los Angeles County (Los Angeles, Los Angeles), County

Defendant Type(s):

Corrections

Case Details

Causes of Action:

State law

Available Documents:

Trial Court Docket

Complaint (any)

Outcome

Prevailing Party: Defendant

Nature of Relief:

None

Source of Relief:

None

Issues

General:

Records Disclosure

Type of Facility:

Government-run