Africk: "Do you not think that Orleans Parish Prison has to comply with the U.S. Constitution?" #OPPConsentDecree
— The_GambitLIVE (@The_GambitLIVE) April 3, 2013
Rosenberg: "I'm not arguing that the U.S. Constitution should be jettisoned, but that state law should be respected." #OPPConsentDecree
— The_GambitLIVE (@The_GambitLIVE) April 3, 2013
That's U.S. Attorney Harry Rosenberg representing the city in the OPSO Consent Decree fairness hearing today. It was the tail end of an exchange between Rosenberg and Judge Africk over inadequate access to mental health services for prisoners. Gambit hasn't filed a report yet* so I'm just going on tweets, but it appears as though Rosenberg's objective is to demonstrate just how hard up the city is to fund a "constitutionally sound" Parish Prison without outside aid. And thus the above bit of clownery.
This would be in line with the city's argument here.
NEW ORLEANS - As the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office consent decree hearings continued Wednesday, New Orleans' chief administrative officer stressed that a multi-million financial hit to the city would cripple services.
Andy Kopplin said that money could not be taken from other areas of the city budget without devastating consequences.
Kopplin suggested Sheriff Marlin Gusman should better manage the city-funded jail and possibly seek taxpayer money.
Admittedly, Gusman probably hasn't been a paragon of fiscal responsibility. For example that plan to replace the controversial ankle monitoring contract with Google Glasses was a bit indulgent, not to mention self-defeating.
*Update: Here's the Gambit write-up on this morning's action. The exchange related via the above tweets is described below.
Former U.S. Attorney Harry Rosenberg, who is on the city's legal team, cited a state law mandating that prisoners' not receive better treatment than the working poor during his cross-examination of Dr. Bruce Gage. Gage, a psychiatrist and expert witness for the plaintiffs, asserted in his testimony yesterday that mental health care at Sheriff Marlin Gusman's jail is dangerously inadequate.
"Are you aware that the working poor in New Orleans cannot get access to mental health care within 24 hours?" Rosenberg asked.
Africk asked why Rosenberg was comparing prisoner care to resources available to the general population, and Rosenberg quoted a state law mandating that "no inmate shall have a standard of living better than the state poverty level." (Note: Plaintiffs note that even that law requires that conditions conform to the U.S. Constitution.)
"So your argument is that since the general public can't get mental health treatment, the prisoners shouldn't get it," Africk said. "I think that's just wrong."
Africk quoted from the U.S. Supreme Court's 2011 decision in Brown v. Plata: "To incarcerate, society takes from prisoners the means to provide for their own needs. Prisoners are dependent on the State for food, clothing, and necessary medical care. A prison's failure to provide sustenance for inmates 'may actually produce physical "torture or a lingering death."
"Do you not think that Orleans Parish Prison has to comply with the U.S. Constitution?" Africk asked Rosenberg. Rosenberg said that he does not believe the constitution should be "jettisoned," but rather weighed against state law, which, he said should also be respected.