Four decades of federal oversight

How did Broward County jails come under federal watch?

Three inmates filed a handwritten lawsuit in federal court on Feb. 27, 1976. The case, focused on crowding and other mistreatment, was taken up by attorneys and became a class-action suit including all future inmates. In 1979, U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler concluded the jail was too crowded and medical facilities, sanitation and plumbing were inadequate. He set population caps and ordered the sheriff and county officials to make fixes. The county’s jails have been under federal monitoring ever since, one of the oldest ongoing cases of its kind in the United States, according to a review of jail monitoring cases at the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse. How are the jails monitored?

A settlement approved in 1995, called a consent decree, required continued monitoring of population levels, use of force, medical and mental health services, and other matters. Paid experts and court-appointed officers have since periodically toured the jails to evaluate progress. U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks took over the case in 2014 after Judge Hoeveler retired. A new agreement to continue monitoring was approved Thursday. Can inmates report a problem?

Inmates have free access to a telephone to report complaints, which can be forwarded to the Sheriff ’s Office for review. That can be problematic for inmates who have severe medical and mental health symptoms, or need more urgent help. The Sheriff ’s Office argues that the telephone reporting system is unnecessary, as inmates use it instead of filing a grievance with the department. Are the jails still crowded?

In the early days of monitoring, the jail population regularly exceeded court-ordered caps despite $1,000-per-day fines. Inmates were freed early and then-Sheriff Nick Navarro put others in a tent at the North Broward jail in Pompano Beach. The county spent nearly $104 million to build three jails, increasing capacity by 40 percent, according to court records. The inmate population was about 4,200 for the first half of 2016, about 1,000 below capacity of 5,144 available beds. In October, Middlebrooks ruled that the jail’s inmate population was no longer at unconstitutional levels. How much has monitoring cost taxpayers?

It’s difficult to determine the total cost because the case has continued for so long and the county’s records systems have changed over the years. Since 2004, according to county records, the county and Sheriff ’s Office have paid more than $1.45 million to Chris Cloney, who was appointed to represent inmates. The county also paid more than $100,000 for jail experts and a court-appointed officer during that time. Cloney and the American Civil Liberties Union, which also represents inmates, are asking for more than $700,000. What are the arguments for continuing or stopping monitoring?

Washington, D.C., attorney Eric Balaban of the ACLU and Cloney, of Cocoa Beach, argued in an August 2015 court filing that unwarranted violent force is used on inmates, mentally ill people have suffered with little or no treatment, and the jail has inadequate suicide policies. The Sheriff ’s Office argues that conditions are no longer unconstitutional and monitoring is not needed. What’s next?

As part of the agreement approved Thursday, experts in mental health and jail conditions will inspect the jails, be able to review medical records and interview staff members and inmates. If violations are found, the experts will propose plans to improve conditions. If no violations are found, the case could be dismissed.