WASHINGTON, June 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court said on Monday it would hear California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's appeal of a ruling to reduce the state's overcrowded prison population by some 40,000 inmates within two years.
The nation’s high court agreed to step into the long-running legal battle over California’s 33 adult prisons and their often-criticized medical care for inmates.
A panel of three federal judges had ruled that the state’s prison population must be reduced in stages over two years to relieve the overcrowding that has caused inadequate medical and mental health care.
In its appeal, the state questioned whether the lower court had jurisdiction, whether it properly interpreted the law and whether it gave sufficient weight to potential adverse impact on public safety and the state’s operation of its criminal justice system.
California’s prisons have been filled to twice their intended capacity of 80,000, according to the ruling. With some 165,000 inmates, California is the biggest prison system in the United States and one of the largest in the world.
In response to the prison crisis, Schwarzenegger has repeatedly urged the state legislature to reduce the prison population and most recently proposed measures to cut it by 37,000 inmates over two years.
Improving conditions in California’s prisons has become a major legal, political and budget issue in view of the state’s budget crisis and high unemployment.
The order to reduce the prison population "will interfere with the state’s operation of its criminal justice system and severely constrain California’s ability to set and fund political priorities during these difficult economic times," the state said in its appeal to the Supreme Court.
The justices are expected to hear arguments in the case and then issue a ruling during their upcoming term that begins in October.
