A federal judge has held top California prison officials in civil contempt for failing to hire enough mental health professionals to treat tens of thousands of inmates with serious mental disorders.
Chief U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller ordered the state on June 25 to pay $112 million in fines amid efforts to close a multibillion-dollar budget deficit. The fines have been accumulating since April 2023, following Mueller’s frustration with the state prison system’s persistent understaffing despite years of court orders demanding improvement.
“The sanctions imposed here are necessary to sharpen that focus and magnify defendants’ sense of urgency to finally achieve a lasting remedy for chronic mental health understaffing in the state’s prison system,” Mueller stated in her order related to the long-running class-action lawsuit.
The ongoing harm “caused by these high vacancy rates is as clear today as it was thirty years ago and the harm persists despite multiple court orders requiring defendants to reduce those rates,” she added.
Mueller directed the state to pay the fines within 30 days, specifying that they “will be used exclusively for steps necessary to come into compliance with the court’s staffing orders.” She also mandated California to continue paying additional fines for each month the state remains in violation of court orders.
The ruling poses a significant challenge for Governor Gavin Newsom, who is grappling with a budget deficit that necessitates cuts to numerous state programs.
The contempt finding “is deeply flawed, and it does not reflect reality,” said Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a Newsom spokesperson. “Amid a nationwide shortage of mental health therapists, the administration has led massive and unprecedented efforts to expand care and recruit and retain mental health care professionals.”
Terri Hardy, spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, announced that the state would appeal Mueller’s order. Prisoners “often have greater access to mental health care in custody than what presently exists for people outside,” due to the state’s “extraordinary steps to expand access to mental health care,” Hardy stated.
Mueller’s contempt finding comes as Newsom, a Democrat, prioritizes improving mental health treatment statewide, partly to address California’s homelessness crisis. His administration argues that Mueller is setting unattainable standards for improving treatment for approximately 34,000 imprisoned individuals with serious mental illnesses — over a third of California’s prison population.
Attorneys representing prisoners with mental illness strongly disagree with the state’s position.
