Judge Cites County Jail on Cold Meals, Pay Phones

Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates violated a federal court order by failing to provide pay phones for jail inmates, and will be ordered to pay damages to four prisoners who did not receive hot food when they missed their regular meal times, U.S. District Judge William P. Gray said Thursday.

Gray’s comments came at the end of a three-day hearing on whether Gates should be held in contempt of court for violating a 1978 order that inmates should be provided with various rights and privileges.

Last year, Gray held Gates and the Orange County Board of Supervisors in contempt of court for failing to ease overcrowding at the men’s jail. Gray fined the county $50,000 but ordered the money spent on the salary of a court-appointed official named to supervise jail conditions.

Cold Food

The class-action lawsuit that led to this week’s hearing originally was filed against the county by Phil Senteno, a convicted killer who claims that Orange County violated his civil rights when he was a jail inmate four years ago.

Senteno testified that on several occasions he returned from court appearances to find cold food in his cell or food dropped on the floor.

“A man has the constitutional right to be fed if he’s in jail and a constitutional right not to eat gravy that has been sitting for 2 1/2 hours,” said Gray, after hearing testimony from current and former Orange County Jail commanders.

Gray said he was “about to impose damages” against the county regarding the food service but did not elaborate. He did not rule on the contempt of court charge.

Violations Continue

Attorneys representing former, current and future Orange County Jail inmates in the suit contend that Gates and his staff continue to violate Gray’s orders.

Stephen Buckley, who represents inmates, said he has presented a “legal barrage” against conditions at the Orange County Jail.

Last May, Gray reaffirmed his order requiring that inmates have access to pay phones, be allowed to spend four hours a week using the jail’s rooftop recreation area and receive books and magazines under certain conditions. The judge also ordered the sheriff to post copies of his order so inmates would be aware of their rights.

Gray said the county’s decision to install collect-call phones instead of regular pay phones violated his order. But, he added, “I’m convinced the violation of the order was in good faith.”

Deputy County Counsel Edward Duran said the county won a few “minor victories” at Thursday’s hearing.

“It is the county’s position as far as the contempt goes that we have complied with all of his orders,” Duran said.

He said pay phones still pose a “real problem” because inmates are forbidden to carry any money. He said jail officials have enough problems with inmates stealing books, magazines and toothpaste from each other, and “we don’t want money to be another problem.”

Not Told About Books

Gray also criticized the county for failing to tell inmates when they received books or magazines from unapproved sources. Gray repeatedly asked the jail commanders appearing as witnesses if his wife could send him Reader’s Digest from home if he were an inmate in the Orange County Jail.

The answer is no because inmates can only receive newspapers or magazines by subscription or books sent directly by the publisher, jail commander Wyatt Hart said. However, he said there are exceptions that he can personally deal with.

Hart said he does not have the staff required to search every book and magazine for contraband. He said deputies have found drugs, including LSD and marijuana, in the pages of books, as well as hacksaw blades.

He said books coming into a correctional facility without restriction pose a “horrendous security problem.”