December 3, 2010
Dan Walters: California’s perpetual prison mess
There's a surrealistic, Alice-in-Wonderland quality to California's perpetual political and legal wrangle over its huge prison system.
The U.S. Supreme Court may be on the verge of ordering the state to reduce its inmate population, now nearly 150,000, by perhaps 40,000 on the grounds that overcrowding is causing unconstitutional health problems.
The state appealed an order of a three-judge panel to that effect. This week, the case was argued before the Supreme Court. It was evident from the justices' questions that the court's four liberal members were inclined to uphold the order while its four conservatives were disinclined, leaving – as often occurs – Anthony Kennedy as the swing vote...
LINK - SacBee.com
