Pack the Court - Oral Argument in Ashker v. Brown on class certification

Please join us on Thursday, Sept. 26 for a press conference and rally, and to hear oral arguments on class certification in Ashker v. Brown, our federal lawsuit on behalf of prisoners at the Pelican Bay State Prison in California.

In the Pelican Bay Security Housing Unit (SHU) and other California SHUs, prisoners are isolated in near-total solitude for between 22 ½ and 24 hours a day, denied telephone calls, contact visits, and vocational, recreational, or educational programs.

On July 8th, prisoners began a hunger strike and work stoppage, arguing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) failed to meet the prisoners' core demands, and reneged on negotiated agreements made after the 2011 hunger strikes. CCR and several advocacy and legal organizations in California filed the case last year on behalf of prisoners who have spent between 12 and 23 years in solitary confinement. In May, we moved for class certification.

The court will hear arguments as to whether Ashker v. Brown should be certified as a class action lawsuit. Plaintiffs are seeking to certify a class of all prisoners serving indeterminate sentences at the Pelican Bay SHU on the basis of gang validation for purposes of our due process claim, and a subclass of all prisoners who have been held at the Pelican Bay SHU for more than 10 years for purposes of our Eighth Amendment claim.

What: Press conference and rally to be held at 1 PM outside the Courthouse, followed by 2 PM court session hearing oral argument in Ashker v. Brown on class certification.
When: Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013 at 1:00 p.m.
Where: Oakland Courthouse, Courtroom 2, 4th floor, 1301 Clay Street, Oakland,CA 94612 before Chief District Judge Claudia Wilken.

We suggest those wishing to attend the 2 PM courtroom session arrive 30 minutes to one hour early, in order to go through security. Everyone will need a current form of identification in order to get inside the building.