Legal News

Schwarzenegger requests delay in inmate-release order

By Richard Binder

Yesterday the Schwarzenegger administration asked the federal courts to delay an order requiring California to reduce its inmate population over the next two years. In the filing, the administration said a court-ordered inmate release could boost California's crime rate by more than 6 percent. They also said the judges are ignoring current prison conditions, which they say have improved in recent years.

Last month, a special three-judge panel gave California 45 days to decide how it will cut the number of inmates in its 33 adult prisons by more than 40,000, bringing the population to about 110,000. They found that reducing the number of inmates in California's 33 adult prisons was the only way to improve medical and mental health care, which the courts previously ruled was so poor it violated inmates' civil rights.

The administration maintains that the courts cannot order the state to release prisoners and plans to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday.

UC Irvine School of Law's dean also weighs in.  Click here for the full story.

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on September 02, 2009 (boomark / email).