RUBBER ROOM : Jail Officials Say Judge’s Order ‘Reaffirms’ Their Own Policy on Using It

The floor is a little more than seven paces across, just more than a grown man stretched out. Like the walls, it is covered with a chocolate brown padding made of a foam rubber material that is about as squishy as a thick carpet.

When the door is closed, the room appears almost seamless, the smooth brown interrupted only by a stainless steel bowl about a foot wide sunk in the floor near one wall and covered with steel bars resembling those of a barbecue grill. That is the toilet. The door is heavy steel, hung on four hinges. It has a vertical glass slot about 2 feet long for viewing and a horizontal slot with a trap door at about waist level for passing in food. There is a single variable-intensity fluorescent light in the ceiling, which is much higher than anybody could reach without a step.

This is an Orange County Jail “rubber room,” which a federal judge described Wednesday as “far below the standards of human decency.”

Inmates are kept naked here, and must eat with their hands and urinate and defecate without washing materials, according to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. The stench from the toilet was sickening, the suit said.

On Friday, during a media tour of the facility led by the Sheriff’s Department, the overpowering smell in the room was of cleanser.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge William P. Gray ordered the county to provide inmates in the 12 padded cells with beds, clothing, toilet paper and washing facilities. In response to sheriff’s officials’ contention that the padded cells are intended for inmates who are suicidal or dangerous to themselves or others, the judge added that the inmates could be kept naked in the barren containers if doing so is justified in a written report by a medical authority.

Previous Actions Defended

At a press conference Friday, sheriff’s officials said things will not be much different at the Orange County Jail. They said a medical opinion is already required to place an inmate in a padded cell, which they call a “safety cell.” And if a bed or clothing can be safely provided, it is, they said.

“I think the judge reaffirmed what we are already doing,” said Assistant Sheriff John (Rocky) Hewitt. “These cells have always been clean, they’ve been properly used and their standards have been above what the state standards have been.”

Dr. Richard Dorsey, psychiatric director for the Orange County jail, said: “We have no quarrel with Judge Gray’s order. It is certainly our intent to see that our inmates get more clothing and more amenities as long as we maintain safety.”

Dorsey said the only effect of Gray’s order might be to make money available to add to the nursing staff and possibly to install television cameras to more closely monitor the inmates in the padded cells. With better supervision, Dorsey said, it would be safe to provide some inmates with some of the basic items. He added that about 30% of the inmates in the padded cells are given paper gowns.

The county is in a financial crunch, however, so getting the money might be difficult. Assistant County Administrative Officer John Sibley has not returned telephone calls about the situation for three days.

Inspections Described

Hewitt also noted that the county’s padded cells have been inspected by several government organizations, including the state Board of Corrections, and found to be in compliance. He also offered some statistics.

He said the average stay of an inmate in a padded cell is about 9 hours, although some have been kept inside for several days. He also said that fewer than 1% of the inmates at the jail are ever put in those cells.

Contrary to the ACLU’s claims, he said, the cells are not used for discipline.

The Sheriff’s Department’s depiction of the case--almost as if it was a victory--contrasts markedly with that of the ACLU’s volunteer attorney, Dick Herman, who has said that Gray’s order will mean the end of such padded cells. On Friday, however, Herman’s secretary said that he will not comment publicly on the case for the time being.

The two sides’ differences appear to be setting up a confrontation that could land the matter in court again.

Visits Permitted

Gray also ordered the sheriff to allow Herman access to the jail so that Herman could monitor compliance with his orders on the cells as well as on previous rulings on overcrowded conditions.

The hostility between Herman and county officials dates back more than 10 years, from the time Herman filed a suit about jail overcrowding that resulted in Sheriff Brad Gates’ and the Board of Supervisors’ being found in contempt of court.

Despite the access provision of Gray’s order, Hewitt on Friday repeated Gates’ earlier assertion that an ACLU representative but not Herman might be allowed into the jail.