Professor Oakley Comments for Associated Press on Prison Healthcare Battle
Professor John Oakley commented for the Associated Press on the issue of whether federal judges can take control of California's inmate population and order the state to pay for improvements to the prison healthcare system. The quality of care afforded in the state's prisons was challenged in court by prisoners' rights groups and found to be unconstitutional by a federal judge in 2005, yet California legislators have been slow to implement reforms. The article assesses the prospect of a Supreme Court battle over the issue of whether the federal government can force the state to make costly changes in the system.
"How far can you go to require officials to expend money to avoid violations? It's an extremely complex situation. You've got these touchy issues of state sovereignty," Professor Oakley states in the article, which has run in numerous newspapers through Associated Press syndication.
Professor Oakley, a member of the King Hall faculty since 1975, is an expert on civil procedure, constitutional law, and federal jurisdiction.