Filed Date: 2010
Closed Date: Dec. 5, 2012
Clearinghouse coding complete
In January or February 2010, Fresno Sheriff Margaret Mims laid off staff and shut down three floors of the county jail, substantially reducing capacity, because her budget wouldn't allow her to staff both the jail and patrol. Because of the jail population cap in Cruz v. Fresno, (listed below as a related case), the result was a substantial number of pretrial prisoner releases. The Fresno Board of Supervisors refused to give her any additional money and ordered her office to restore the jail staff; she brought this lawsuit in state court, claiming that as an elected official, only she had authority to decide the appropriateness of layoffs. In July 2010, Sheriff Mims won a preliminary injunction enabling her to carry out the layoffs, but the lawsuit continued.
On August 1, 2012, the court issued a tentative statement of decision, finding in favor of the County Board on the issues concerning whether the County Board may limit the number of Sheriff’s Department employees by position class and whether the County Board may take action below object level through the Sheriff’s budget.
On December 5, 2012, Fresno Superior Court Judge Mark Snauffer upheld the budget practices of the Fresno County Board, holding that the Board was within its powers to eliminate positions by classification and that the Board had the power to prescribe the level of funding for specific expenditures within the Sheriff’s Department, provided that the Board did not attempt to interfere with the Sheriff’s “deployment decisions” or investigative functions.
The case is now closed.
Summary Authors
Margo Schlanger (7/3/2012)
Averyn Lee (6/8/2019)
Cruz v. County of Fresno, Eastern District of California (1993)
Franson, Donald R. (California)
Snauffer, Mark W. (California)
Last updated Aug. 30, 2023, 12:51 p.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: California
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
California Jail Population Caps
Key Dates
Filing Date: 2010
Closing Date: Dec. 5, 2012
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Fresno County Sheriff.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: No
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Fresno County Board of Supervisors (Fresno), County
Defendant Type(s):
Facility Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Defendant
Nature of Relief:
Preliminary injunction / Temp. restraining order
Source of Relief:
Content of Injunction:
Issues
General/Misc.:
Affected Sex/Gender(s):
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions: