Hearing begins in 1977 suit over Maricopa County jails

A federal judge began hearing testimony today in a decades-old lawsuit that alleges inhumane treatment inside Maricopa County jails.

The class-action lawsuit was filed in 1977 when Jerry Hill was sheriff. Many of the jails cited in the suit have been replaced.

Entering the courthouse, the sheriff's attorney, Jack MacIntyre, expressed confidence the matter will be settled soon.

``We run a safe, constitutionally-mandated jail," MacIntyre said. ``It fulfills all the constitutional mandates. I think the court will realize that. We should be out from under this, probably in three to four weeks."

The suit alleges that inmates who have not yet been convicted of a crime are prevented from eating adequate food and are denied health care and housing in violation of constitutional provisions that protect them from punishment.

Inmate attorneys, in papers filed with the U.S. District Court in Phoenix, paint a horrifying portrait of life inside Maricopa County jails, including overcrowded intake units to cries for medical care that go unanswered.

``What we're actually looking for is an order from the court that would require (Sheriff) Joe Arpaio to change the conditions in the jail," said Debra Hill, an inmates' attorney, on Monday.

The two sides entered into a consent decree in 1995, but the sheriff's office filed a motion to terminate the decree in 2001. The suit has been in limbo since then.

Inmates' attorneys declined to talk with reporters as they entered court today.

McIntyre pointed out that Arpaio was not sheriff at the time the lawsuit was filed and said the jails in question no longer exist.

``It is a consent decree that really started concerning jail facilities that don't even exist any more," he said. ``One of them is part of the runway out at Sky Harbor Airport, and the other is the First Avenue Jail, where the only thing we house now are abused animals."

He also said Arpaio, since taking office, has worked to improve the jail system.

``In the last 10 years, Sheriff Arpaio went to the voters and got over $900 million to build new jails, basically to revamp the entire jail system, to provide for the enormous increase in population that we've had since 1977."

U.S. District Judge Neil Wake will hear testimony from expert witnesses, jail officials and inmates during hearings that begin this week and are expected to last nearly a month.

Hill said Arpaio and his staff provide unsafe jail environments for people who are arrested and not even convicted.

``People should not become ill because they are served bad food in jail,'' she said. ``They should not contract diseases because they are placed in a cell with an infected inmate. They should not be denied needed medications.''

Hill said Arpaio could save money on lawsuits by providing a clean environment in the jails.

"I think if Sheriff Joe would just spend the dollars necessary to provide a basic, clean environment for the people in his jails, he could avoid the grievances and lawsuits that have cost the county millions of dollars," she said.

The inmates are suing both the sheriff's office and Correctional Health Services, a separate agency responsible for the medical, mental and dental care of inmates, including monitoring chronic conditions like HIV and diabetes, as well as serious mental illness.