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ACLU Sues California as Incompetent Defendants Wait in Jail for Mental Health Treatment
The ACLU filed a lawsuit last year on behalf of defendants declared incompetent to stand trial who languish in county jails across California while they await transfers to state mental health facilities.
When the suit was filed jointly by ACLU chapters in both northern and southern California in …
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More from this issue:
- When Prison is Not Enough: The Rise (and Perhaps the Fall) of the Supermax Prison
- Local Jails Increasingly Refuse to Comply with ICE Detainers, by Joe Watson
- Maryland DOC Suspends Volunteer, Drops Literature Program
- Oregon “Incorrigible Masturbator’s” Life Sentence Unconstitutionally Disproportionate, by Mark Wilson
- Ohio Federal Court Dismisses Suit Against Doctor Over Prisoner’s Suicide
- Maryland Prisoner’s Death Occurs Under Unusual Circumstances
- Rare Corporate Prosecution: West Virginia’s “King of Coal” Sentenced for Conspiracy in Mine Deaths
- Alabama Prisoner Exonerated after Serving 30 Years on Death Row
- Former Pennsylvania Prison Doctor Sentenced for Fraud; Accomplices Convicted
- Mold-infested Prisons Sicken Guards and Prisoners
- Nevada Attorney General Investigates Shooting of Two Handcuffed Prisoners, by Derek Gilna
- Company Offers Educational Tablets to Prisoners, with Mixed Results, by Matthew Clarke
- United Kingdom: Prison Book Ban Overturned, by Derek Gilna
- Full Senate Report on CIA Torture Remains Classified, Largely Unread, by Matthew Clarke
- Corrections Corporation of America, Rocked by Setbacks, Changes its Name, by Derek Gilna
- CDCR Drug-sniffing Dog Trainer Resigns Over Switch to “Passive” Dogs, by Joe Watson
- Colorado’s “Make My Day” Law No Longer Applies to Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Canadian Solitary Confinement Deaths Result in Rare Lawsuits, Eventual Reforms, by Mark Wilson
- Pennsylvania: Former Cop Indefinitely Jailed for Failure to Supply Passwords
- Justice Policy Institute Report Challenges Reformers to Focus on Violent Crimes, by Derek Gilna
- Arkansas Secretary of State Issues Faulty Felon Data, Thousands Purged from Electoral Rolls
- Federal Judge Sanctions Idaho DOC for Misleading Special Master in Balla Case, by Matthew Clarke
- Illinois Jail Detainee’s Inadequate Food and Contaminated Water Claims Survive Initial Dismissal
- Preliminary Injunction Granted in Class-action Suit Challenging Private Probation Services in Tennessee, by David Reutter
- Eleventh Circuit Reverses Finding that Seizure of Prisoner’s Legal Mail Stated Claim
- Wisconsin: Prison Hunger Strike Reaches Crisis Point
- Settlement Comprehensively Overhauls Solitary Confinement in New York Prisons, by Matthew Clarke
- Inquisitorial Telephonic Hearing to Screen Civil Rights Case Deemed Unlawful
- The Rape Victims Silenced by Their Prison Cells
- Arkansas Court of Appeals Upholds Civil Forfeiture Ruling
- Southern Health Partners to Face Liability in Kentucky Pre-trial Detainee’s MRSA Death
- Challenge to Ohio Private Prison Confinement Not Cognizable in Habeas Corpus, by Mark Wilson
- Fifth Circuit Holds Four Decades in Solitary Confinement Implicates Liberty Interest; Last Angola 3 Member Finally Released, by Matthew Clarke
- Book Review: Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy
- Federal Prisoner Tells President “No Thanks” to Offer of Clemency with RDAP Condition, by Derek Gilna
- Tenth Circuit: No Summary Judgment on Official Capacity Claims, by Mark Wilson
- Allocation of Fault Required in Verdict Regarding Alaska Detainee’s Suicide; Case Settles for $900,000
- Federal Court Upholds New York Prison System’s Denial of Motorized Wheelchairs; Second Circuit Reverses, by Matthew Clarke
- Oregon Parole Board Incorrectly Prohibited Legal Assistant from Speaking at Parole Hearing, by Mark Wilson
- ACLU Sues California as Incompetent Defendants Wait in Jail for Mental Health Treatment, by Joe Watson
- Collecting Unpaid Booking Fees in Colorado may be Illegal, Experts Say, by Joe Watson
- Alaska Prisons and Jails Filled with Mentally Ill Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Upholds Death Penalty Moratorium, by David Reutter
- Indiana Federal Court Certifies Habeas Corpus Class of Prisoners Disciplined for Refusing to Admit Guilt in Sex Offender Program, by Matthew Clarke
- Hunger Strikes by Immigrant Detainees Expose Abuses by ICE, Private Detention Centers, by Joe Watson
- Federal Judge Orders Texas Department of Criminal Justice to Provide Safe Water to Prisoners, by Derek Gilna
- Oregon Prison Parenting Program Dramatically Reduces Recidivism, by Mark Wilson
- Class-action Certified in Challenge to Treatment of Mentally Ill Mississippi Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Supervised Release Term Does Not Limit Prison Sentence Upon Violation
- Wayward Prosecutors Go Unpunished as Prison Time for Victims Piles Up
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- News in Brief
More from Joe Watson:
- 3 Murders in 10 Months at Oklahoma Prison Run by CCA, Jan. 3, 2018
- Missouri’s Release of Pot Dealer Doing LWOP Gives Hope to Nonviolent Drug Offenders Incarcerated Nationwide, Nov. 28, 2017
- Former Sheriff Arpaio Guilty of Criminal Contempt, Receives Presidential Pardon, Nov. 6, 2017
- IRS Audit Prompts New Mexico County to Convert Bonds Used for ICE Facility, Oct. 10, 2017
- TN Prison Counselor Suspended for Posting Insults on Facebook, Aug. 30, 2017
- Wiccan Prisoner Settles with NV DOC Over Denial of Hardbound Religious Books, Aug. 7, 2017
- Settlement for IN Man Deprived of Critical Meds While Incarcerated in County Jail, Aug. 7, 2017
- NV Prisoner with Hand Injury Settles for Used TV, Medical Evaluation and $40.70 in Copying Fees, Aug. 7, 2017
- IN Woman Settles Wrongful Arrest Lawsuit, Aug. 7, 2017
- $7,500,000 Class-Action Settlement for Illegal Strip-Searches in Camden, NJ , Aug. 7, 2017
More from these topics:
- Eighth Circuit Rules Iowa Prisoner’s Adverse Summary Judgment Is Not a “Strike”, March 1, 2026. Filing Fees (PLRA), Frivolous Litigation (PLRA), Summary Judgment, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Access To Courts.
- New York City Mayor Appoints Ex-Rikers Prisoner as Corrections Commissioner, March 1, 2026. Prison Reform, Staffing, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Guard Unions, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Eighth Circuit Revives Case Against Guards Who Failed to Intervene As Chaplain Sexually Assaulted Arkansas Prisoner, March 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Prison Rape Elimination Act, Qualified Immunity, Failure to Train/Supervise.
- Missouri Judge Heavily Sanctions DOC for “Deliberate Disregard for the Authority of This Court” in Suit Over Prisoner’s Suicide, March 1, 2026. Discovery, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Confinement in Segregated Housing.
- Georgia Grand Jury Scolds Augusta Jail for Overcrowding Days Before Violent Detainee Assault, March 1, 2026. Private Contractors, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding, Staffing, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Maryland Prisons Reel from Growing Number of Prisoner Deaths, March 1, 2026. Prison/Jail Murders, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Deliberate Indifference.
- Colorado Lawmakers Approve Prison Bed Funding, Despite DOC Understaffing, March 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Staffing, Parole, Overdetention, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Southern Poverty Law Center Report Shows Culture of Abuse at Florida Prison, March 1, 2026. Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding, Staffing, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Utah Pushes for Additional $130 Million to Expand Prison that Cost $1 Billion, March 1, 2026. Cost of Prison Systems, Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), State Legislation, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Overcrowded State Mental Hospitals Lead to Longer Jail Time and Lack of Treatment, March 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Overcrowding, Staffing, Jail Specific, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).

