DOJ Files Lawsuit Claiming California Law Banning Private Prisons Is Unconstitutional – By Jerry Lambe (Law and Crime) / Jan 24 2020
The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday filed a lawsuit against the state of California claiming its new law banning the operation of all privately-owned prisons within the state is unconstitutional and unlawfully discriminates against the Federal Government and its contractors. The law was signed last year by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and went into effect Jan. 1.
“California, of course, is free to decide that it will no longer use private detention facilities for its state prisoners and detainees. But it cannot dictate that choice for the federal government, especially in a manner that discriminates against the federal government and those with whom it contracts,” attorneys for the DOJ wrote in the 16-page complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.
The Government contends that it has superior authority over state law derived from several sources, including the U.S. Constitution and Congress:
The Constitution, numerous acts of Congress, and various implementing regulations give the Federal Government both the authority and the prerogative to house individuals in its custody, including in private detention facilities. Exercising that authority, the Federal Government has long contracted with private detention facilities to house deferral prisoners and detainees, and it plans to continue that practice in order to address serious needs for detention space in California and elsewhere.
Specifically, the DOJ is seeking to have the Court declared California law A.B. 32 invalid as a violation of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution and, therefore, unenforceable against federal private prisons under current and future contract with the federal government.
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