Free Republic

California prison health care has already grabbed front-page headlines this week, but the issue will be front-and-center again on a separate matter before different judges. An appellate court on Thursday will hear oral arguments on how far the law allows a federal judge to go in imposing his will on the officials who run California's 33 adult prisons. For weeks, the level of rhetoric and posturing by the principals has been through the roof. State officials contend that U.S. District Judge Thelton E. Henderson of San Francisco and his appointed receiver, law professor J. Clark Kelso, have made unreasonable demands...

The prison medical czar today offered downsized versions of his plan to build long-term care beds for physically and mentally ill inmates, the least expensive of which would cost the deficit-ridden state $2.5 billion. Federal receiver Clark Kelso offered the alternatives as more budget-minded options to what had been an $8 billion plan that would have paid for 10,000 beds and fixed up existing medical facilities in California's 32 prisons. He said that he is "cognizant" of California's impending $40 billion budget deficit, but that the plan is needed to bring the state into constitutional compliance to provide health care...

Of course, California prison inmates are entitled to reasonable 21st century health care. Unfortunately for taxpayers, Clark Kelso, the federal receiver in charge of California prison health care, has, as state Attorney General Jerry Brown noted at a news conference last week, a "gold-plated wish list" for California's prison health care system. His Receivership wants to spend $8 billion to build seven hospitals, each the size of 10 Wal-Marts, which would create "a holistic environment," with "music therapy, art therapy and other recreation therapy functions," a music room, stress reduction room, game room and "therapy kitchen," with lots of natural...

The conflict between California and federal judges over operation of the 170,000-inmate prison system could evolve into one of those epic legal struggles that involve bedrock constitutional principles and wind up in an historic Supreme Court decree. Or not. While some conservative Republicans contend that the state should strenuously resist the creeping judicial takeover of the prison system, even defying a judge's orders, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and most Democrats are just pleading for more time to comply. By the same token, federal Judge Thelton Henderson scolded state officials this week for not complying with demands from receiver J. Clark Kelso...

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge seemed ready to order Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Controller John Chiang to cough up $250 million in the next few weeks for prison health care construction. But Senior U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson isn't quite ready to hold the governor and controller in contempt of court, a move that could put California on the hook for millions of dollars in fines per day until state officials do the judge's bidding. Henderson said the $8 billion price tag that his appointed receiver, J. Clark Kelso, has placed on construction required to bring the state's long-addled...