Gay Crosthwait Grunfeld

At the heart of some of the most important prison litigation in the state is one woman: Grunfeld.

The San Francisco litigator is holding the state's feet to the fire when it comes to protecting the rights of prisoners.

"How we treat persons that we incarcerate in county, state and federal prisons says a lot about who we are as a society," she said.

Grunfeld practices employment and business law, but it is her achievements in prison litigation that have garnered the most attention.

She successfully argued to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the state is responsible for ensuring that disabled parolees incarcerated in county jails have access to a grievance procedure and that jails have disability information about the inmates. The court rejected the state's argument that prison advocates needed to file individual lawsuits in 58 counties for disabilities violations. Armstrong v. Brown, 732 F.3d 935 (9th Cir. 2013).

The decision became final this year when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the state's petition for certiorari.

Grunfeld, who worked on the case for five years, said "the state at every turn has tried to resist just the most modest measures to help prisoners with disabilities."

Grunfeld spent much of last year working to improve the conditions of the Monterey County Jail.

She filed a class action last year on behalf of 1,000 inmates alleging unconstitutional overcrowding and dangerous conditions, among other violations. The lawsuit got a big boost when four neutral experts over the past year issued reports substantiating the inmates' claims. The motion for class certification is pending.

To top the year off, Grunfeld sued in July on behalf of an Elk Grove inmate alleging that an alternative custody program discriminates against incarcerated men. Sassman v. Brown, CV14-01679 (E.D. Cal. filed July 16, 2014).

The lawsuit claims the program allows women - but not men - incarcerated for low-level offense to finish sentences in the community, in violation of the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause.

"This was the kind of litigation that was done in the 70's and 80's to knock out gender based distinctions. And here is it on the books in 2013 and 2014," Grunfeld said.

She said the program contributes to stereotypes that women are better caregivers than men.

"Any kind of gender-based stereotype hurts all women."

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