Local News in Brief : Countywide : ACLU Seeks Action for Treatment of Inmates

The American Civil Liberties Union Tuesday asked a federal judge to find Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates in contempt for violating a court order by forcing inmates at County Jail to sit on the floor while awaiting court appearances.

The ACLU lawyers included a statement signed by 51 inmates that they had been ordered to sit on the floor by deputies at the Santa Ana jail, even when seats at times were available.

“This clearly violates the order issued by (U.S. Dist.) Judge (William P.) Gray that inmates be provided a place to sit when they have to wait to make their court appearances,” said Dick Herman, the ACLU attorney who filed the action.

Herman cited Gray’s order that “prisoners awaiting processing of any kind should be given a place to sit in a manner consistent with human dignity.”

Gates’ chief spokesman, Lt. Richard J. Olson, said the sheriff and his jail staff would have no comment.

Herman said inmates are sometimes required to sit on the floor for up to an hour a day while going back and forth to court.

The inmates who are going to court each day are gathered in holding areas, including a dining room at the main men’s jail. According to Herman, inmates are sometimes forced to sit on the floor in the dining room and in hallways even though there are available chairs in the dining room.