RBGG represents plaintiffs in a federal class action challenging the County of San Diego, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, and San Diego County Probation Department for their collective failure to provide adequate, accessible and safe living conditions, and medical and mental health care for people incarcerated in county jails.  It also seeks to address the rights of individuals to pursue claims without attorney representation and to address over-incarceration in county jails of people of color.  More information about the case, including court documents, is available here.

On February 23, 2024 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied San Diego County’s petition for a writ of mandamus that would have allowed the Sheriff Department to keep secret internal reports related to jail deaths and other critical incidents.  RBGG’s Gay Grunfeld is quoted in an article in the San Diego Union Tribune on March 8, 2024, San Diego County loses another round in its long-running effort to keep sheriff’s records private.

According to Grunfeld: “The 9th Circuit order and the previous ones are an important step in the right direction.  The federal court will have important evidence by which to consider the legal claims we have brought on behalf of all people incarcerated at the jail.”

Later in the article she concludes:  “We look forward to the day when San Diego provides a safe and secure jail environment that provides constitutional medical, mental health and dental care and prevents needless deaths.”