Orange : Juvenile Hall’s Inmates Denied Rights, Suit Says
Minors in the custody of Orange County Juvenile Hall are denied numerous rights under the state and federal constitutions and are physically abused and degraded, an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit alleged Friday.
The lawsuit, filed in Orange County Superior Court, was largely a repeat of allegations made in an earlier ACLU lawsuit filed in federal court, which was dismissed last November when the judge decided the case belonged in state court.
Children held at Juvenile Hall in Orange are disciplined by being tied to beds while naked for as much as 17 hours at a time, are denied the right to consult with some lawyers and are arbitrarily denied meetings with parents, according to the lawsuit filed by attorney Harry Lerner.
Chief Deputy Probation Officer Nancy E. Nelson denied the claims.
“We did a lot of research on the issues at the time of the federal lawsuit and felt that there was no significant substance to the allegations,” Nelson said. “We had solid documentation to support that.”
Lerner’s lawsuit seeks a court order prohibiting Juvenile Hall officials from continuing the alleged misconduct.
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