U.S. Attorney Files Suit to Obtain Wider Access to County Jail Files

The U.S. attorney filed suit in federal court Wednesday to gain better access to county jail records for an investigation of conditions at the jails.

U.S. Atty. William Braniff said the county’s denial of access to inmates and documents last February “unlawfully obstructs a federal investigation” and prevents the attorney general from determining whether jail inmates are being deprived of their rights.

But Rick Pinckard, legal adviser for the Sheriff’s Department, countered that the issue is whether state or federal law should dictate access to records that would otherwise be kept confidential. The county had cooperated fully with the investigators, Pinckard said.

“You have a situation where the state law is bumping heads with federal law--the issue is who prevails?” Pinckard said. “They have asked for information that the state deems confidential, and they did not appreciate our rebuff. . . . As far as the county of San Diego obstructing the investigation--that is just not true.”

Some county supervisors expressed surprise at the lawsuit, saying they believed the county had cooperated with investigators.

“We were informed that everything was being done to give all the information they needed to do the investigation. I was not aware that any of the information had been withheld,” Supervisor John MacDonald said.

Supervisor Susan Golding said she, too, thought the county officials had helped.

“I was under the impression that we were doing everything possible to cooperate,” Golding said. “I think we ought to cooperate but we can’t break the law. . . . It’s a matter of how do we bend one law without breaking another?”

The U.S. Department of Justice launched its investigation to determine whether inmates at the county’s six jails are subjected to “egregious or flagrant conditions” that might harm or deprive them of their federal constitutional rights.

On Feb. 1, Department of Justice officials notified the county by letter that they wanted to tour three jails later in the month. In the letter, officials said they also wanted to review certain jail records, according to the lawsuit.

But, during the jail tours Feb. 12 to 16, county officials cited confidentiality restrictions and refused to let investigators see the requested materials, according to the lawsuit.

To no avail, the investigators explained they would respect confidentiality requirements and omit mention of specific inmates by name in their final report, according to the lawsuit.

“We requested certain documents and access to individuals on a confidential basis, and we haven’t had complete compliance,” Braniff said. “It’s not an adequate situation to conduct an investigation.”

In the lawsuit, Braniff requested that the court order the county to widen access to the jails, inmates, records and staff. Investigators are interested in seeing inmates’ medical records, death reports and status reports, the lawsuit states.