Eastern District of California Blog

Court Dismisses Federal Suit Seeking Overhaul of Sacramento Juvenile Court

According to the Sacramento Bee today,

A federal judge has ruled that he does not have the authority nor the resources to dictate how Sacramento juvenile dependency courts should be financed and run.

U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. threw out a lawsuit filed in July and suggested to attorneys for four juveniles that they go to state court with their challenge to alleged chaotic conditions in the dependency courts.

The attorneys claim those courts in Sacramento are so underfinanced that there are not enough judges and court-appointed lawyers to assure juveniles the kind of well- prepared cases and adequate hearings required by federal and state law.

Juvenile Center Deal Reached

In the face of looming budget cuts and staff layoffs, Sacramento probation officials signed off on a consent decree Monday that proposes to fix the county's maligned youth detention program at a cost likely to reach $1.8 million.

The figure includes $700,000 the Probation Department will pay to the inmate-rights attorneys who instituted the 2006 lawsuit that resulted in the agreement filed Monday in Sacramento Superior Court. It also includes expected funding for two outside experts who will review use-of-force policies and mental health programs under the terms of the deal.

The $1.8 million also will fund new staff training and youth advocacy programs as well as video surveillance cameras to be mounted in the common areas of the department's main Youth Detention Facility.

Sacramento Bee, 12/15/09

    As an aside, the NYT had this recent piece on the crisis in the NY juvenile prison system.  NYT, 12/14/09