Plaintiffs sought injunctive relief on behalf of the class of individuals incarcerated at Santa Rita Jail and the subclass of individuals that have mental health diagnoses and/or psychiatric disabilities. Plaintiffs accused defendants for cruel and unusual use of isolation, failure to provide due process to prisoners, failure to provide mental health care to prisoners, and failure to provide reasonable accommodations to prisoners with disabilities. The court found that plaintiffs met the requirements of due process and Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 23 and thus approved the Consent Decree, which included orders for defendants to improve jail conditions.
Other, Pretrial Detention [jail], Mental health diagnoses, psychiatric disabilities
Compassionate Release Case
No
Case Tracking Number
18-cv-07677-NC
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
N.D. Cal.
Decision
Motion Granted
Place of Incarceration
Local / County Jail
Name of Facility
Santa Rita Jail
Legal Authority
Other, Section 1983, Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 23(b)(2), Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 23(e)
Case Status
Decision Made
Date of Legal Filing
02/07/2022
Improved Conditions Ordered
For the class of individuals incarcerated at the Santa Rita Jail, the judge ordered an implementation of a new classification system to determine custody levels, adoption of policies to maximize outdoor time and out-of-cell time, establishment of a new program for inmates to raise concerns, and requirement for Defendants to maintain sufficient mental health staff and comply with COVID-19 measures. For the subclass of incarcerated individuals with mental health diagnoses and/or other psychiatric disabilities, the judge ordered for requirements that defendants ensure that they receive adequate mental health care and establishments of Therapeutic Housing Units for people with serious mental illness.
Class Action Medically Vulnerable People
Class Members are individuals incarcerated at the Santa Rita Jail.
Subclass Members are incarcerated individuals with mental health diagnoses and/or other psychiatric disabilities.
COVID-19 Positive or Symptomatic
Not Discussed
COVID-19 in Jail Prison or Detention Center
Not Discussed
Litigation Database
Crowdsourced legal documents from around the country related to COVID-19 and incarceration, organized, collected, and summarized for public defenders, litigators, and other advocates. Created and managed by Bronx Defenders, Columbia Law School’s Center for Institutional and Social Change, UCLA Law COVID-19 Behind Bars Data Project, and Zealous. Mostly federal court opinions, but now expanding to states and legal filings, declarations, and exhibits.
This resource is designed to help lawyers, advocates, researchers, journalists, and others interested in challenging, remedying, or drawing attention to the grave risk that Covid-19 poses to individuals who are detained.