BERKELEY, CA – UC Berkeley Criminal Law & Justice Center and Edelson PC, a law firm specializing in plaintiff work, are suing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation(CDCR) for using money set aside for formerly incarcerated people – more than one million of them – for internal department costs.
A press release explains funds for formerly incarcerated individuals is also referred to as “gate money,” established California law since 1973 and intended to be money specifically to help freshly released individuals “navigate their first days out of prison.”
CDCR, the suit claims, has been using the “gate money” to cover their costs of clothing and transportation, something which is prohibited by the 1973 law.
The lawsuit is an attempt to halt the CDCRs illegal behavior as well as to force them to monetarily repay more than one million people who did not receive the appropriate payment.
Founding Executive Director of Berkeley Law’s Criminal Law & Justice Center, Chesa Boudin, charged, “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.”
Yaman Salahi, a Partner at Edelson PC shared a similar sentiment as Boudin, stating “their (the plaintiffs) efforts to reestablish themselves in society were made far more difficult by CDCR’s failure to provide the money they were owed.”
The pleading said CDCR owes each individual $200; a price point which has not altered since the law’s inception in the early 1970s.
And, the legal action notes CDCR owes this money to every one of the 30,000 people released from prisons each year.
Tina-Marie Silva, Member, California Coalition for Women Prisoners, 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, imposed on CDCR by the state so that people can meet their basic needs upon release.”
