Revive Spirit of Compromise on Jail

A recent state Supreme Court ruling backing the county makes it official: Irvine and Lake Forest must find a way to make peace with the Hall of Administration on the James A. Musick Branch Jail expansion.

The continuing prospect that the number of beds will be expanded substantially has sent a chill wind northward from South County. Irvine and Lake Forest sought to throw up a roadblock by arguing that the county had failed to properly consider the impact of such a big expansion on nearby homes and businesses. Now the state’s highest court has rejected the cities’ appeal of a lower-court ruling last year that said the county already had done a satisfactory job of analyzing how the project would affect local neighborhoods.

In letting stand the appeals court ruling, the high court gave the cities little choice but to work for compromise to lessen the size of the facility and its impact. Irvine City Atty. Joel Kuperberg has said the South County cities could pursue other legal options, but the tide appears to be running heavily on the side of the county. Those not holding the cards need to try for something they can live with.

Irvine and other cities in the county with a direct interest in jails do have a committee looking at ways of addressing the overcrowding issue. A recognition of political reality has taken hold, and it may be possible for this group to use its leverage to extract a compromise that would provide for a less onerous Musick expansion. The committee is expected to make some specific recommendations soon.

It appeared late last year that an earlier attempt at compromise was on track. Irvine and Lake Forest had worked one out that would have capped the number of beds at 4,400. Sheriff Mike Carona provided some of the political cover for this effort, having been elected on a platform of compromise and saying he did not want maximum-security prisoners at Musick.

Although the compromise collapsed when Irvine rejected it last December, the city since has been presented with few alternatives. The latest court decision came after the Board of Supervisors took a firm position in favor of Musick expansion. But the underlying spirit of compromise that prevailed before can and should be revived.

The county has been under a federal court order since 1978 to ease the shortage of jail beds. After more than two decades of wrangling, the county now calls the tune. But it would be wise to work with the affected cities, to provide new capacity in a way that addresses a need without making enemies of the hosts.