Inmates Ask Court to Block Reduction in Jail Visiting : Litigation: New judge in long-running suit over conditions is called upon for his first significant ruling in the case.

A group of Orange County jail inmates, saying their “basic human rights” have been violated, went to federal court Thursday seeking to block the county from substantially cutting jail visiting hours.

In addition to a host of constitutional arguments, civil liberties lawyers presented sworn statements from five inmates who predicted that the new policy will hurt morale and raise tensions.

At issue is a plan by the Sheriff’s Department to cut total visiting hours by more than half at the five facilities it runs. At four of them, visiting would be cut from four days per week to two. Jail officials say the cuts, to be implemented by the end of the month, are needed to save money.

The inmate’s motion, the latest in a running legal battle over jail conditions that dates from the mid-1970s, is seen as a litmus test for U.S. District Judge Gary Taylor, who has yet to make a major ruling on a jail issue. Taylor took over the jail litigation last year after the retirement of Judge William P. Gray, who died six weeks ago.

A Lyndon B. Johnson appointee, Gray was known as a protector of inmates’ rights, often finding for them and against county officials in the often bitter debate about jail conditions.

The views and positions of Taylor are far less certain, and lawyers on both sides of the case say they will be watching this latest motion closely to glean insights into how he will handle the jail issue.

“Everybody’s going to be looking at that,” said Charles E. McClung Jr. of Laguna Hills, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Foundation of Southern California, which is one of the plaintiffs in the case.

“It’s not so much what the ultimate ruling is, but more the reasons (Taylor cites as he) reaches it,” McClung said. “This is the first opportunity that Judge Taylor will have to rule on an issue of substance” in the jail litigation.

Sheriff Brad Gates said in an interview that he is confident the cutback will be upheld in court.

Noting that state law requires that each inmate get two half-hour visits a week, Gates said the new rules “still meet and probably exceed the minimum standards set down by the state . . . so I’d be surprised if the court gives us any problem in that area.”

He added: “I’m not aware of any morale problems internally in the jail. (Opposing lawyers) can always find inmates to say whatever they want them to say.”

Commenting on the change in judges, Gates said he is “not sure where Judge Taylor will fall on the (political) spectrum, but I don’t see him as anywhere left of Judge Gray, and . . . he may be a little more on our side.”

Deputy County Counsel James L. Turner, who represents the county in jail matters, said he would file papers with Taylor’s clerk today to oppose the inmates’ motion.

The inmates are seeking a temporary restraining order that would halt the new policy until a full hearing can be held.

Thursday’s motion--filed by a coalition of inmates’ advocates who include the ACLU and the Legal Aid Society of Orange County--comes as part of a 1990 lawsuit known as Benson et al vs. County of Orange, charging poor conditions at the jail. It is a class-action suit filed on behalf of all county inmates, now totaling about 4,600.

In the motion, attorneys argued that “the drastic reduction in the visitation schedule effectively means denial of visitation to some prisoners.”

Such a practice would violate orders handed down previously by the federal court, the lawyers argued, and would mark “a violation of basic human rights.”

In sworn statements filed with the motion, five inmates told the court that they fear the new policy will mean longer lines and shorter visits at the jail.

“I believe the change in policy may cause fights both in and out of the jail,” inmate Albert Mousa wrote. “The new visits will be too short.”