Judge reschedules hearing in Yuba County Jail case

A federal magistrate judge has agreed to reschedule a hearing to next month on a new civil rights suit against Yuba County.

The magistrate, Edmund Brennan in Sacramento, moved the hearing date from Dec. 14 to Jan. 25 after the county’s lawyer said he needed more time to prepare.

Attorneys for county jail inmates are seeking to expand existing litigation over jail conditions to include the new complaint alleging civil rights violations, mostly involving the Americans With Disabilities Act.

In opposing the Dec. 14 hearing date, the county’s lawyer, Carl Fessenden, said the inmates “seek to add an entirely new basis for this action – an action that has been closed since 1987. Plaintiffs want to fundamentally expand the scope of the complaint and the claims made. The significance of the request, alone, justifies providing the defendant with more time to respond.”

Fessenden said the county has to review thousands of pages to prepare for the hearing, and it is “completely unrealistic to believe defendants could appropriately respond given the time limitations.”

The county also is preparing for a Feb. 1 hearing, when attorneys for the inmates will ask a judge to enforce the 1979 consent decree that stemmed from the original 1976 lawsuit.

“The records are voluminous. Defendants are also working on their opposition to the motion to enforce. There are thousands of pages to review. These are significant time limitations due to the holidays. In sum, defendants do not have a meaningful opportunity to address the merits of plaintiffs allegations,” Fessenden wrote.

In opposing the county, the inmates’ attorney, Gay Grunfeld, wrote that county officials “have had access to their own documents for a long time, and will not be required to dive deeply into those documents to oppose the motion.”

County supervisors are scheduled to discuss the case in closed session on Tuesday. Marysville office, 1530 Ellis Lake Drive Business hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Main number....................

EDITOR

Steve Miller.......................

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Andrew Cummins.............

REPORTERS

Jake Abbott....................... Kirk Barron....................... Chris Kaufman.................. Rachel Rosenbaum........... Monica Vaughan...............

COMMUNITY

Leticia Gutierrez...............

SPORTS

Jimmy Graben, Editor........ Andy Arrenquin................. Kevin Scannell................. Sports scores.....................

PHOTOS

Chris Kaufman, Editor.......

COPY DESK

Josh Kendrix..................... Harold Kruger.................... Jeff Nicholson...................

NEWSROOM FAX NEWSROOM EMAIL