By Matthew Spina
Buffalo News
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The U.S. Justice Department, after a rare inspection of the Erie County Holding Center, says it found that the jail violates the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, and it might expand its case against the county over jail conditions.
A Justice Department lawyer, Laura L. Coon, said in court papers that she saw inmates in wheelchairs who were housed in units without accessible showers, toilets, sinks or beds.
“The shower in the housing unit has a significant step creating a barrier to entry, and beds, sinks and toilets were not properly outfitted,” she wrote. “I observed additional problems throughout the facility, including plumbing fixtures that could not be used by prisoners with mobility limitations or other disabilities.”
She filed her papers Wednesday, the court-imposed deadline for the Justice Department to amend its complaint that forms the foundation for “United States v. Erie County.”
She and the Justice Department team asked the court to extend the deadline to Jan. 2, so they can decide whether to expand the case to enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Erie County Attorney’s Office, controlled by County Executive Chris Collins, opposes the extension. Collins has generally resisted Justice Department intrusions into the county jails.
“Erie County is acting in good faith to bring the Department of Justice lawsuit to a responsible conclusion, highlighted by the landmark suicide-prevention settlement we reached with the federal government earlier this year,” Collins spokesman Grant Loomis said.
“However, the county does not believe it is appropriate for the DOJ to have another bite at the apple by amending its complaint in an attempt to hold the Erie County Holding Center to a specialized standard related to the ADA,” he said. “The Holding Center meets ADA requirements for a facility of its age, and it should not be held to a standard different from its peer facilities all across the nation.”
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires public facilities to be accessible to people with disabilities. The U.S. Supreme Court held in 1998 that the act covers prisoners in state and local jails. Under the act, inmates with disabilities are entitled to the same rights of access as those without disabilities.
The Holding Center is a 1930s-era jail that was expanded in the 1980s. The State Commission of Correction, which polices New York’s local jails, does not expect older facilities to be fully retrofitted to comply with the ADA because “in some cases, it is cost-prohibitive; in others, it is simply impossible,” commission spokesman John M. Caher said.
He said that with older jails, the commission usually insists on remedies that can be accomplished through new policies or procedures, alternative living arrangements or new equipment.
The Justice Department’s initial lawsuit seeks jail improvements in the areas of environmental safety, medical care, mental health care, protection from harm and suicide prevention.
On suicide prevention, Collins and the Justice Department negotiated a settlement calling for improvements that include better screening to identify suicidal inmates and altering jail fixtures so they are less able to support a noose.
While both sides have promised to negotiate the other areas of the lawsuit, they are also preparing for a trial that would begin in March 2012. As part of that groundwork, Justice Department lawyers were allowed inside the facilities the week of Nov. 29 for their first inspection unrelated to suicide prevention.
“While in [the Holding Center],” the Justice Department said, “the United States learned for the first time of serious conditions that appear to violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
The Justice Department says the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allow changes to a “scheduling order” with good cause. The Justice Department also can begin a separate investigation if its request is denied.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy, who is monitoring pretrial progress in the case, has told Erie County’s lawyers to give him their written arguments against the Justice Department’s request by Thursday. He gave the Justice Department lawyers a chance to respond days later if they see the need.
McCarthy, in a court document, indicated he would rule on the basis of written arguments, unless one of the parties asks for a chance to argue the matter in court.
Justice Department lawyers had asked U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny to let them accompany a court-appointed officer on Nov. 15-16 as he toured the jail to monitor Erie County’s compliance with the suicide-prevention settlement. Skretny said that Justice Department request was not allowed under the agreement signed by the county and federal government.
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