Fresno County says jail consent decree is complete after $300 million spent

Fresno County has told the Prison Law Office that it believes the 2015 jail consent decree is complete, after spending more than $300 million since the agreement took effect. If the county is right, the long federal case over Fresno County Jail conditions could finally close. If not, the dispute over medical care, mental-health treatment, disability access and inmate safety will continue.

The county’s May 27 letter marked a major step in Hall v. County of Fresno, the class-action lawsuit filed in December 2011 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. The case was brought on behalf of people incarcerated in the Fresno County Jail and challenged conditions the plaintiffs said were dangerous and unconstitutional. The claims included inadequate medical care, inadequate mental-health care, unsafe jail conditions and disability discrimination, including allegations that prisoners with disabilities were denied reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A remedial plan was approved in November 2015 after a fairness hearing on September 28, 2015. That plan covered health care, personal safety and disability discrimination, and the court appointed three experts to advise on implementation. The settlement was designed to force changes inside a jail that had become one of Fresno County’s most closely watched institutions.

For county officials, the spending figure is the clearest argument that the job is done. More than $300 million has gone into complying with the decree since it began, a sum that could make Fresno County one of the state’s most expensive examples of jail reform under federal supervision. The county is now signaling that it has met or exceeded the requirements that were imposed nearly a decade ago.

The harder question is whether spending alone proves lasting compliance. The Prison Law Office and Disability Rights California continue to represent the plaintiffs in the case, and any disagreement over the county’s claim could keep the courthouse involved in jail oversight. For detainees, families, jail staff and taxpayers across Fresno County, the outcome will determine whether the next chapter is local control or continued federal scrutiny of how the county runs its jail.