Judge likely to order more oversight of state’s prison mental health care

A federal judge said she would likely order increased oversight of California's prisoners mental health care system, according to plaintiffs' attorneys in the long-running case.

U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller's comments came at a hearing Wednesday after a days-long evidentiary hearing in Coleman v. Newsom, 90CV00520 (E.D. Cal., filed April 23, 1990).

The hearing was part of the fallout from a whistleblower report released last year by Dr. Michael Golding, chief psychiatrist at the Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation.

Golding warned prison officials were submitting misleading data to the court and the special master overseeing prisoner care, seeking to create the appearance prisoners were receiving care in a timely manner. Attorneys with the state Department of Justice sought to portray Golding as a difficult and incompetent employee raising unwarranted concerns.

While Mueller did not say exactly what steps she would order, she indicated she found Golding credible, said Michael W. Bien, a partner with Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP in San Francisco who is part of the team representing the plaintiffs. Mueller ordered the sides to try to reach an agreement on oversight but said she would issue a ruling in the coming weeks.

Bien said despite the contentious hearings, he had some sympathy with prison officials because the state has not provided adequate resources to a prison mental health care system that has been overwhelmed by the sheer number of prisoners with psychiatric issues.

"You can't solve this problem in the prisons," Bien said. "The whole system of government failed. You can't put that much pressure on people."

A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections reached Thursday said it was policy not to comment on pending litigation.

-- Malcolm Maclachlan