Updated: 9:32 a.m., Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Cuyahoga County will hire a corrections expert to examine county jail conditions in what could be a step toward settling a lawsuit brought by inmates.
County council on Tuesday approved the hiring of Martin Horn, a professor emeritus at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. Horn also served as commissioner of New York City鈥檚 jail system and probation department under Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Horn will work as a joint subject matter expert for both the plaintiffs and the county. Cuyahoga County will pay him $90,000 to inspect the jail, review documents and prepare reports, according to the legislation. His contract lasts until July 2021.
Sarah Gelsomino, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said she hopes Horn will recommend ways to fix problems in the jail laid out by the lawsuit.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been able to work with the county to come to this place,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd hopefully we鈥檒l be able to resolve many of the issues through this process.鈥�
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The plaintiffs, who are seeking class-action recognition for people detained in the county jail, asked a federal judge to order improvements to sanitation, overcrowding, medical care and mental health treatment.
The county . But the lawsuit鈥檚 claims about overcrowding and understaffing will remain relevant as the jail population rises again, Gelsomino said.
鈥淭hat may look a little different currently,鈥� she said, 鈥淏ut we certainly will be able to evaluate what the problem was and whether that problem continues and make sure that the county can implement some changes so that that doesn鈥檛 happen again.鈥�
It wouldn鈥檛 be the Cuyahoga County jail鈥檚 first consent decree. on the jail population and required psychiatric care. A subsequent consent decree, , led to the expansion of the jail complex at the Justice Center to reduce overcrowding.
Hiring experts is a common step in lawsuits against jails and prisons, according to Michael Benza, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law.
鈥淢uch like the monitors in the Cleveland police department lawsuit, you have these independent monitors, you鈥檒l oftentimes bring in, in prison cases, a prison expert to work on structural, procedural and other types of changes to make the prison a better place,鈥� he said.
Although the county is not hiring Horn to act as a consent decree monitor, his work could help the parties reach agreements on reforms.
Council also gave the county the go-ahead to enter a 鈥渟tructured negotiation agreement鈥� with the plaintiffs. That could be a prelude to a settlement aimed at avoiding future litigation, giving parties a framework for coming to a deal, Benza said.
鈥淎s opposed to sort of a free-flowing negotiation where you鈥檙e bouncing from issue to issue and topic to topic,鈥� he said, 鈥測ou sort of sit down with a checklist and you go point by point.鈥�
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