Judge Visits Jail, Saves Remarks for Hearing on June 24

U.S. District Judge William P. Gray visited the men’s jail in downtown Santa Ana Wednesday and later said that although “I saw some good, I also saw some things quite to the contrary.”

Gray’s negative comment was a reference to the large number of inmates still sleeping on the floor of the jail, a violation of Gray’s 7-year-old order to improve conditions there, Deputy County Counsel Edward Duran and American Civil Liberties Union attorney Richard Herman agreed later.

Gray had few comments to offer reporters following his 45-minute tour of the jail, but he said he would have a lot to say at a hearing he has set June 24 on overcrowding at the jail.

Three months ago, Gray found the county supervisors and Sheriff Brad Gates, who runs the jail, in criminal contempt, charging that they had failed to take steps he ordered in 1978 to reduce overcrowding at the jail.

Gray fined the county $50,000, ordered a special master to monitor jail activity, and added a fine, effective May 18, of $10 a day for each inmate who slept on the floor more than one night.

Fines Reach $3,000 a Day

Gray has not said what he will do about collecting the fines, which have totaled about $3,000 a day in recent weeks, according to Gates.

The jail population at the time of Gray’s order March 18 was more than 2,000, with nearly 500 inmates sleeping on mattresses on the floor, mostly in dayrooms and in toilet areas connected to the cells.

The early morning count Wednesday was 1,727. Sheriff’s spokesman Dick Olson said he could not release figures on the number now sleeping on the floor.

Herman of the ACLU said the count is still in the hundreds, and Deputy County Counsel Duran acknowledged that there are “quite a few.” Gates himself said on Monday that 230 inmates slept on the floor that day.

Herman and Duran accompanied Gray on the tour, conducted by jail commander Capt. George King and Assistant Sheriff Thad Dwyer. Gray, who last toured the jail in 1978 before he made his ruling, also was accompanied by his clerk, Robert Lester.

Opinions Differ

Herman and Duran had different interpretations about what the entourage saw, however.

To Duran, “it looked like a jail . . . a crowded jail.” To Herman, it looked “like the hold of a slave ship --the most appalling, inhuman living conditions imaginable.”

“You wouldn’t let your dog live in there,” Herman told reporters.

Duran’s jaw dropped, then he smiled in response to Herman’s description. “The only opinion that really matters is the judge’s,” Duran said, “and we won’t know what that is until the hearing.”

Duran said Gray did note during the tour that the population is lower than it was March 18. Duran interpreted that remark as a favorable comment that the county has been making an effort to comply with his order.

Inmates Transferred

The county has taken several steps to reduce the population at the jail. Two weeks ago, Gates transferred 100 inmates from the main facility to the Theo Lacy branch jail in Orange. He has reduced the jail population by another 100 by refusing to house federal and state prisoners for more than short periods.

In addition, Gates has made plans to add 100-man inflatable tents to house about 400 more inmates at the James A. Musick Honor Farm near El Toro. Also, triple bunks will replace double bunks in most of the cells at the main jail, perhaps within a week.

County supervisors, meanwhile, have approved spending $1.6 million to build temporary trailer-like buildings that would house about 450 inmates at the Musick facility. Those buildings, which will replace the tents, are expected to be ready in about 90 days. The temporary buildings are to be used until permanent facilities are built, which, Gates said, could take three to four years.

Gray has approved use of the tents, but he said after the tour that he is “still germinating an opinion” about the use of three-tier bunks. Under the sheriff’s plan, 30 three-man bunks would replace 42 double bunks in each of the eight dormitory cells.

Herman predicted that Gray will oppose the triple bunks; Duran predicted that Gray will approve them.

Gray’s only other comment was that he is still looking into possibly replacing Special Master Lawrence Grossman, who recently underwent heart surgery. Until he resolves that matter, Gray said, he will rely on the sheriff’s statistics regarding the jail population.

Shortly before the tour, the Board of Supervisors expressed concern about the cost of complying with Gray’s order, although members said they realize they have no choice but to obey it.

Supervisor Bruce Nestande asked the county administrative office to study where the money would come from to relieve jail overcrowding and how other programs would be affected.

At the request of Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, the board delayed until Tuesday a decision on Gates’ request for authorization to hire 64 more people at the James A. Musick Honor Farm to handle the increased population expected there.

The supervisors earlier approved Gates’ request for $919,699 to hire 57 people to provide extra security at the Theo Lacy branch jail.