(KRON) — A class action lawsuit filed against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) alleges that “millions” of newly freed Californians have been unlawfully denied money owed to them by law.
The University of California, Berkeley’s Criminal Law & Justice Center, and Edelson PC filed the lawsuit in Alameda County Superior Court on Tuesday, with CDCR as the defendant.
Instead of giving newly freed California prisoners “gate money” – funds provided to a newly freed prisoner to help them re-integrate into society – attorneys allege that CDCR instead “diverts” the funds for “the Department’s cost of clothing and transportation,” the complaint said.
Chesa Boudin, Founding Executive Director of Berkeley Law’s Criminal Law & Justice Center and ex-public defender to San Francisco, believes this is an issue of of individual rights, and public safety.
“California has long recognized that providing gate money helps people to successfully reintegrate into their communities, thereby enhancing public safety for us all,” Boudin said.
“Yet the Department of Corrections has improperly diverted these funds to other purposes and continued to do so even after being reprimanded by the courts. Our lawsuit seeks to ensure that the agency which punishes people who break the law is itself fulfilling the letter and spirit of the law,” Boudin added.
In 1973, the state, along with then-Governor Ronald Reagan, passed the “gate money law,” which requires CA prisons to release prisoners with $200 in hopes of helping them better assimilate to society in their first couple of days out of prison.
“Even Ronald Reagan recognized the importance of smooth reentry for the formerly incarcerated, yet the Department of Corrections has been working systematically to remove legally required support. This wrong-headed and illegal practice has to end,” Tinisch Hollins, Executive Director of Californians for Safety and Justice, said.
Attorneys allege the law “does not allow CDCR to divert the funds for their own purpose” and that CDCR “exceeded” its legal authority “by dipping into gate money to cover its clothing and transportation costs,” the complaint alleges.
This isn’t the first time the CDCR has been accused of withholding release funds. In 2008, the state Court of Appeals reprimanded the department for not following the gate money law. “Yet to this day, CDCR has continued to withhold gate money from people it releases from prison,” the complaint said.
Having been recently released from prison, I know how critical gate money is for successful reentry. We need gate money for essential and urgent expenses, like transport, food, and shelter. It’s not a gift from CDCR, but rather a legal duty.
Tina-Marie Silva, Member of California Coalition for Women Prisoners
Approximately 30,000 people are released from California prisons each year.
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