9th Circuit said civil defendant in sexual assault case unlawfully treated in jail

In a reversal, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that a plaintiff who was designated as a "sexually violent predator" was subject to unlawful treatment during his more than six years among the regular population at the Los Angeles County jail.

William King, a civil detainee for almost eight years who previously served sentences for two rape convictions, was awaiting trial to see if he could adjudicate his "sexually violent predator" or SVP designation and secure a release from jail.

He argued in his lawsuit against the county and former Sheriff Lee Baca that his confinement violated his due process rights by not letting him outside, have visits, possess most property or make any phone calls.

In reversing U.S. District Judge Terry Hatter's summary judgment in favor of the defendants, the three-judge panel ruled that even though sexually violent predator inmates were housed separately from the rest of the criminal population, it was wrong to treat them in the same manner.

"Detainees in the SVP unit were housed separately from the jail's criminal population, but were subject to essentially the same regime," wrote Judge William A. Fletcher on behalf of the panel that included Judges Sandra S. Ikuta and Sarah Evans Barker. King v. County of Los Angeles, 2018 DJDAR 2286.

The panel said King's confinement triggered both presumptions in a previous 9th Circuit decision, Jones v. Blanas, which said a person in a civil case cannot be subjected to conditions that amount to punishment. 393 F. 3d 918, 931-35 (9th Cir. 2004).

"We held in Jones that individuals who are civilly detained pending commitment proceedings under SVPA are 'entitled to protections at least as great as those afforded to a civilly committed individual,'" the panel ruled.

The panel remanded the case back to the district court in Los Angeles, asking it to examine the conditions of the Los Angeles County jail pursuant to Jones.

"In evaluating any rebuttal to the Jones presumptions on remand, the district court should consider the conditions in the Los Angeles County jails to determine whether, given those conditions and the realities facing the jail administrators, it is possible to rebut the Jones presumptions for SVP detainees held in those jails," Fletcher wrote.

Plaintiff's attorney Ari J. Savitzky of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP declined to comment. Rina Mathevosian of Nelson & Fulton, who represents the county, did not respond to a request for comment.

The county said King's "violent tendencies" justifiably kept him in the criminal population, the court observed.

However, the plaintiff claimed this status -- a "high security K-10 status," was dubious -- and the 9th Circuit agreed.

Attorneys for King, who died last year, said other inmates lied about his conduct to convince jail officials he was violent, and that those officials did not follow appropriate procedures to determine the truth, according to the opinion.

"Taking the facts in the light most favorable to King, there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether King displayed violent tendencies sufficient to justify assigning him to" administrative segregation, the panel ruled.

King spent about six years in administrative segregation, the unit where criminal prisoners were housed, and less than a year in the sexually violent predator unit. There he said a red uniform he was mandated to wear to distinguish himself as a sexually violent predator exposed him to chronic harassment. The incidents culminated with an inmate attacking King with a makeshift knife, cutting him on his face and thigh, the panel said.

"King's detention in AdSeg was particularly harsh because of his SVP detainee status," the panel ruled.