NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Justice Department on Monday asked a federal court to appoint a third party to operate the long-troubled New Orleans jail, saying the detention center had failed on its own to improve conditions that endanger inmates there and that new leadership was essential.
The government also sought to place Orleans Paris Marlin Gusman in contempt over what it called his noncompliance with overhauls mandated in a settlement agreement between the jail and the Justice Department.
"Although there is no question that receivership is an extraordinary remedy, so too is the level of harm that continues to plague the Jail, with no apparent end in sight," the Justice Department said in the court filing making the request. "The history of this case, the current state of consent judgment compliance, and the ongoing dangerous conditions demonstrate that receivership is the only path forward."
The city and Gusman did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
The inmates' lawyers joined the Justice Department in Monday's filing.
Inmates were moved to a modern new facility last September. But a court-appointed monitor says violence continues to be a problem. And a recent inmate suicide brought renewed attention to the jail's troubles.
The proposed receiver for the jail would have the authority to run the jail, including the ability to discipline, fire and promote jail employees, enter into contracts for jail services and decide how the budget should be spent, the Justice Department said.
"This is a sad day for our city and it's unfortunate that this had to happen," said Katie Schwartzmann, an attorney for inmates and co-director of the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center. "The jail has been under federal scrutiny since 2008 and in that time there have been dozens of deaths and scandals and various lawsuits. The consent decree has been in place since 2012 and the sheriff clearly can't or won't fix the problems at the jail."
Mayor Mitch Landrieu's administration, meanwhile, has been highly critical of Gusman's management of the jail. The city funds the jail, while Gusman operates it. The city had once asked U.S. District Judge Lance Africk to place the jail in receivership. Africk had rejected that course of action in 2013 but did not rule it out as a future remedy.
Issued less than two weeks after the jail's latest inmate suicide, a March report from jail monitor Susan McCampbell said continued disagreements between Gusman and Landrieu's administration over jail funding and management are part of the problem. But it also cited a "negative internal culture" at the jail under Gusman's leadership.
"The day-to-day crisis environment observed by the monitors in the agency's operations does not evidence a professional, competent, or informed leadership," said the report, issued by a team of monitors headed by McCampbell.
– by AP Reporters Kevin McGill and Eric Tucker
