DISCUSSION
In June 2020, the American Civil Liberties Union, on behalf of Orange County inmates, filed a lawsuit alleging that inmates should be released because they are medically vulnerable and at imminent risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19. After considering the arguments on December 11, 2020, the judge in the case ordered Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes to reduce the Orange County jail inmate population by fifty percent. Under the Court Order, Sheriff Barnes has until December 30, 2020 to provide a list of names of inmates he intends to release.
If forced to comply with the Court Order, Sheriff Barnes will need to release approximately 1,800 inmates, which the Sheriff and Orange County District Attorney have stated unequivocally poses a significant risk to public safety. According to the City of Newport Beach’s staff report on the item, Sheriff Barnes identified that of the 700 inmates considered medically vulnerable under the Center of Disease Control and Prevention’s Guidelines, 59 inmates are incarcerated for murder, 39 inmates for attempted murder and 90 for child molestation.
This Court Order is especially concerning given that there have already been significant impacts on public safety related to the release of prisoners by the County of Orange and State of California related to COVID-19. For instance, since the pandemic began, the County of Orange has released thousands of inmates and the State of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has released over 22,000 inmates.
The release of so many prisoners in such a short timeframe is straining state and local law enforcement who are not only addressing traditional law enforcement issues but responding to law enforcement issues associated with COVID-19. Furthermore, the Court Order does not sufficiently contemplate the risk to the health, safety and welfare of Orange County residents created by the wholesale release of inmates, and the Court Order does not account for the approval of the COVID-19 vaccine.
On December 18, 2020, the City of Newport Beach authorized their City Attorney to file an amicus brief in support of the Sheriff. Since that time, other Orange County cities have joined, or scheduled Special Meetings to consider joining the effort.