The Los Angeles County Superior Court is dumping cold water on the county’s $2.8 billion plan to reduce its jail population by enough to close decrepit Men’s Central Jail without a replacement in the next five years.
David Slayton, the court’s executive officer, warned county officials that the courts cannot implement significant portions of the proposal — developed without the court’s input — at the “scale or pace assumed” unless the state gives it more money and judges.
“While we acknowledge the effort that has gone into developing these recommendations, we have significant concerns regarding the assumptions and expectations placed on the Court across all of the Plan’s ‘Required Actions for Closure,’ ” Slayton wrote in a letter to county officials Monday, June 29.
“Each action relies heavily on increased Court capacity, additional courtroom availability, expanded judicial officer staffing, new physical space, and enhanced operational infrastructure — none of which the Court can currently accommodate.”
The Superior Court, which is primarily funded by the state, already receives about $234 million less than is needed, he wrote. The court only gets about 77% of the funding it needs.
“This, coupled with rising inflationary and labor costs, present significant budgetary constraints that place substantial strain on day-to-day operations and leaves limited to no capacity to absorb new responsibilities of the magnitude contemplated in the Plan,” Slayton wrote.
Seven ‘required actions’
The county’s Jail Closure Implementation Team, or JCIT, presented the initial framework for the plan at the Board of Supervisors’ meeting Tuesday, June 30. The plan’s seven “required actions” call for roughly $1.5 billion in additional funding over the next five years, on top of the $1.4 billion already earmarked for the work.
While Slayton’s letter to Wilford Pinkney, the executive director of JCIT, praises the county’s “continued commitment to addressing the complex challenges regarding Men’s Central Jail,” it also states the court’s budget constraints will affect every part of the plan.
Three of JCIT’s recommendations, in particular, could have significant fiscal impacts.
One proposes expanding the Rapid Diversion Program, operated by the Justice, Care and Opportunities Department (JCOD), from eight to 18 courthouses. The pre-plea diversion program provides housing resources, mental health or substance abuse disorder treatment, and case management for eligible defendants. Cases are dismissed for those who successfully complete it.
The other two required action items would significantly increase access to the Office of Diversion and Re-Entry’s housing program, which provides court-ordered treatment and housing as an alternative to custody. Cases involving ODR placements, which are frequently challenged by the district attorney, are “the most resource intensive in terms of judicial officer time, hearing volume and coordination with counsel and clinicians,” Slayton said.
More courtrooms, judges needed
The problem is that the Superior Court does not have enough judges, physical space, or courtroom availability to be able to meet that demand, and the five-year timeline does not “accurately reflect the time the Court needs to expand capacity,” Slayton wrote.
It would cost $727,021 annually to staff an additional courtroom for JCOD and $834,000 annually for an additional ODR courtroom, according to the letter. Likewise, expanding the Rapid Diversion Program would require $5.2 million annually just to cover the staffing without factoring in any one-time costs.
JCIT acknowledged the court’s concerns at the Board of Supervisors’ meeting and is expected to address the feedback at a second presentation July 21.
Mental health issues
Nearly half of the people inside Los Angeles County jails suffer from mental health issues and that percentage is expected to grow in the future. Officials, including county Sheriff Robert Luna, regularly refer to Men’s Central Jail as the largest mental health institution in the nation. The facility, opened in 1963, is in a state of near constant disrepair and inspectors have repeatedly called out horrific conditions, including mold, rats and instances of neglect.
As of June 24, 22 people have died in L.A. County’s custody so far this year. Nine of those were housed in Men’s Central Jail, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
About 300 people have died in total since the Board of Supervisors began debating closure of the jail six years ago.
The county’s total jail population needs to drop from about 12,500 today to roughly 7,000 to 8,000 to safely shutter Men’s Central.
But those reductions also are at the mercy of external forces. The passage of Proposition 36 in 2024, which placed stricter punishment on repeat drug and theft offenses, created a surge in arrests last year and bumped the population up to about 13,500, roughly a thousand more than the jails are rated to hold.
Diversion, release and other alternatives to incarceration are ultimately up to a judge’s discretion, meaning there’s no guarantee that those inmate population goals will be met, even if the programs are expanded, Slayton reminded the county in his letter.
“Judicial officers exercise independent constitutional and statutory authority. Neither the Court nor the County can predetermine or guarantee that particular individuals will be diverted, released, or otherwise handled in a manner that advances specific population reduction targets,” he wrote.
Advocates keep pressure on
Marcella Rosen, communications and policy manager at Dignity and Power Now, one of the advocacy groups pushing for the closure of Men’s Central Jail for years now, said that while she questions the timing of Slayton’s letter, she believes the feedback is important for identifying and resolving the barriers to implementing JCIT’s plan.
Each county department and agency involved should similarly “write up what they need to get this done” and the Board of Supervisors should ensure those needs are met promptly, she said. If the Superior Court needs more funding from the state to fulfill its role, the supervisors should be calling on the Legislature and the governor to provide it.
The JusticeLA Coalition, along with Dignity and Power, put up billboards last month accusing Supervisor Janice Hahn of delaying funding for JCIT by pushing both parts of the presentation to July 21. At Tuesday’s meeting, Hahn said her intent was to combine the two presentations to provide a fuller picture.
“Everyone in the county knows that we have too many people with mental health needs that are incarcerated and that the population is growing every day and that it needs to be addressed,” Rosen said. “We don’t want to continue to hear excuses as to why six years later there hasn’t been any progress on this.”