In 1990, prisoners in the Orange County jail system filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Southern Division, against the County of Orange. The plaintiffs, represented by the Prisoner Rights Union and private counsel, brought suit under 42 U.S.C § 1983, challenging the constitutionality of their conditions of confinement. They sought declaratory and injunctive relief.

In May of 1991, the District Court made the injunctions issued in the companion case Stewart v. Gates, 2:75-cv-03075 (C.D. Cal.) [JC-CA-0054] applicable in this case as well. (See the Clearinghouse entry on that case for subsequent developments related to those injunctions.)

In March of 1992, plaintiffs moved the Court to issue a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction barring the reduction of visiting time to two days a week and requiring the County to provide prisoners with easier access to plaintiffs' counsel's staff. The Court denied the motion for a temporary restraining order and held a hearing on the preliminary injunction. On April 6, 1992, the Court (Judge Gary L. Taylor) also denied that relief, finding that the reduction in visiting hours and the current access to plaintiffs' counsel's staff violated neither the Stewart orders nor the Constitution. Benson v. Cnty. of Orange, 788 F. Supp. 1123 (C.D. Cal. 1992). The case was reported closed on April 22, 1993.

Christopher Schad - 07/13/2012
Abigail DeHart - 03/17/2017


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