Judge Bans Youths, Adults in Same Cell

In the first such trial ruling of its kind in California, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was ordered Thursday to halt its practice of locking up juveniles with adult offenders in the Lennox Substation.

After an eight-day trial in which he toured the jail to see the extent of contact that youngsters have with adult inmates, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Norman Dowds ruled that the county had violated state and federal laws.

His ruling said juveniles could be kept at the facility only if a Juvenile Court judge made a determination that there was no appropriate alternative placement. However, even if such a decision were made, under no circumstances could the youths be placed in the lockup area with adults, Dowds said.

Youths may still be brought to the jail for booking and follow-up investigations, but they cannot be detained in the cells.

“This is a clear message to officials statewide that this barbaric practice must stop,” said Tim McFlynn, attorney for the Public Justice Foundation, which prepared the suit.

Fred Bennett, principal county counsel, said the judge “made a thoughtful, informed decision. . . .”

“He found no constitutional violations or anything that shocked his conscience at the station or that they were being kept under Draconian conditions like the suit alleged,” he said.

McFlynn said during the trial that most of the 1,400 minors taken into custody in Lennox last year were delinquents who were detained only until their parents were located.

“They don’t need secure confinement,” he said. “They can be placed in other areas of the Lennox Jail. There are two buildings there and many rooms where they could be housed this minute without any major construction costs on the part of the county.”

Bennett, who said the county may appeal the decision, contended that the majority of the youths were held for less than six hours, and that children under age 13 were never placed in a cell.

The suit was the fifth prepared statewide by the Public Justice Foundation of Santa Monica and the Youth Law Center in San Francisco in attempts to stop the locking up of thousands of juveniles with adults. In one of the cases, a Superior Court judge issued a preliminary injunction in January against the City of Long Beach.

Another suit was filed last week accusing deputies at the Norwallk Substation of “chaining children to the walls” and locking them up with adults.