California’s prison system has been under scrutiny and the issue of California’s prison overcrowding has finally been addressed by SCOTUS. On appeal from the United States District Court, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a judicial order that would result in the release of up to 46,000 California prisoners.

The case stems from two previous federal class actions, namely Coleman v. Brown (1990) and Plata v. Brown (2001). In both cases, the cases involved plaintiffs who were ill: in Coleman, the plaintiffs were a class of mentally ill California prisoners and in Plata, the prisoners had serious medical conditions.

The cases, while adjudicating in the favor of the plaintiffs, still didn’t resolve the issue of overcrowding in California prisons. Subsequently, the plaintiffs each requested that a three-judge panel of the District Court issue an order to reduce the prison population. Following fourteen days of testimony, the panel released an opinion in February of 2009. The opinion ordered California to reduce its prison population to 137.5 percent capacity within two years.

As expected, however, Scalia dissented, calling the proceedings “a judicial travesty,” writes Courthouse News.

Related Resources:

  • Brown v. Plata: Supreme Court(FindLaw Cases)
  • Supreme Court to Review California Prison Plan (FindLaw’s Blotter)
  • Supreme Court upholds order that may release thousands of California inmates (The Washington Post)

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