A Daily Journal article on March 15, 2013 reports that Plaintiffs will file a brief today in federal court opposing the State of California’s motion to dismiss Coleman v. Brown – a motion which makes the assertion that the mental health system in state prisons has been fixed.
According to RBGG’s Michael Bien, lead lawyer for the prisoner plaintiffs, as quoted in the article, “The sad truth is that the conditions for the Coleman class have not changed. Things are exactly the same.”
The article continues: “Bien said plaintiffs plan to point out that staff shortages violate court orders demanding improved staff-to-inmate ratios. The shortages are noticeable in prisons like the Central California Women’s Facility where, accouring to Bien, prison staff has been cut and a hiring freeze has been implemented. ‘Too many are still being housed and treated in dangerous and inadequate locations, see their clinicians only in cages and are experiencing long delays in accessing higher levels of care,’ he said”
The parties will argue the motion for dismissal on March 27th.