County Held Liable for Hanged Inmate : Penal system: U.S. Supreme Court upholds ruling that the denial of adequate psychiatric care was proof of ‘deliberate indifference’ to the care of prisoners.

WASHINGTON —  The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered Los Angeles County to pay $357,500 in damages and lawyer fees for not providing enough psychiatric attention to a jail inmate who later committed suicide.

On a 7-2 vote, the justices let stand a federal appeals court ruling that the county had displayed “deliberate indifference” to the welfare of inmates in its custody.

The decision upholds a verdict handed down by a Los Angeles jury three years ago, which found county jailers liable for the death of Sergio Cabrales. He hanged himself in the County Jail in 1984.

Josefina Cabrales, the inmate’s mother, contended that the county had violated her son’s constitutional rights by failing to give him adequate psychiatric care in the face of evidence that he was potentially suicidal.

Cabrales tried to hang himself on Dec. 16, 1983, but was stopped by two deputies. He was then transferred to a psychiatric ward where he was closely monitored. On three occasions, he was visited briefly by jail psychiatrists who concluded that he was not likely to kill himself.

When Cabrales stabbed another inmate during a fight, he was moved from the psychiatric ward to an isolation area. There, on Jan. 3, 1984, he hanged himself.

In their defense, lawyers for the county argued that they had provided adequate care for Cabrales and that they should not be held responsible for an unforeseen suicide. But the jury disagreed and awarded the mother $157,500 in damages. In addition, the county was ordered to pay $200,000 in fees to her attorneys, Marion and Stephen Yagman.

Last year, when the county appealed the damage award to the Supreme Court, the justices vacated the lower court judgment and sent the case back to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

To win a civil rights lawsuit against a local government, the plaintiff must show that a particular “policy or custom” resulted in his rights being violated. Last year, the high court ruled that simple negligence by a city or county official is not enough to hold the government liable for damages. Rather, the plaintiffs must demonstrate that government officials had a policy of acting with “deliberate indifference” to the welfare of a person in their care or custody.

In September, the 9th Circuit said Los Angeles County had acted with “deliberate indifference” to the welfare of Cabrales, and it reinstated the original jury award. Its opinion said the county had “seriously understaffed” its jails so that doctors and psychiatrists rarely had enough time to examine inmates in need of care. The appeals court said this amounted to a “deliberate decision” by county officials to ignore the welfare of inmates.

The county appealed to the high court again in December, arguing that its psychiatric staffing was adequate and certainly did not demonstrate a policy of indifference to the inmates.

But only Justices Byron R. White and Sandra Day O’Connor voted to hear the appeal. In a brief order, the justices dismissed the appeal and ordered the damages to be paid. (County of Los Angeles vs. Cabrales, 89-907.)

Since Cabrales’ suicide in 1984, the jail has increased its staff of full-time psychiatrists from two to a minimum of six, said Kevin C. Brazile, a deputy county counsel.

Stephen Yagman, an attorney for Cabrales, complained however that, “Nothing at all has changed. The number of inmates has gone up, and the ratio of psychiatrists to inmates is lower now than in 1987.”