Viet Mike Ngo (E-21895), a prisoner at San Quentin State Prison, has petitioned the Marin County Superior Court for a writ of habeas corpus regarding the administration's illegal racial segregation of inmates in housing and discipline, a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution. The petition has moved past the preliminary stages of judicial review and has been granted a public
evidentiary hearing to show cause at 9am on Thursday 20, 2002 (this hearing was postponed and has not taken place as of yet). The stakes of this case are extremely significant. If the court rules in Ngo's favor, San Quentin State Prison and the California Department of Corrections(CDC) could be held liable for the criminal violation of prisoners' civil rights and ordered to put an immediate end to all policies of illegal
racial segregation. This would strike a blow at one of the staunchest institutional defenders of segregation in this country. As a result of this petition, the FBI and the US Attorney's Office have moved to conduct a federal inquiry into the matter. The crux of Ngo's claim is summarized in a favorable 1994 ruling of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Johnson vs State of California) regarding similar charges of formal racial segregation in California's prison system dating as far back as 1987. Despite the firm
condemnation presented in the Court's opinion, the CDC has persisted in its illegal policy for the past fifteen years.
By denying prisoners the choice of cellmate and the freedom from unwarranted group punishment, the practice of racial segregation presents more than a violation of prisoners' constitutional rights. It also provides a means for the prison administration to manufacture and manipulate racial conflict and violence between prisoners. It impacts the critical issue of overcrowding or "double celling" insofar as incoming
prisoners are not assigned to available space if they cannot be racially paired off. Moreover, the currentclassification system singles out Jewish prisoners as "white" and as a result often forces them into cells with prisoners who hold explicitcommitments to or membership in Anti-Semitic, white supremacist organizations

I'm not too sure I understand this.

From what I know about prisoners that are no longer being allowed to chose thier cell mates. That many prisoners go into the "hole" years at a time than cell with someone of another ethnic culture.

So the present prison rules that are trying to force de-segregation for inmates by forcing them to cell with other races is going to be challenged in court on grounds of the 14th ammendment?

Is this kinda like the forced busing laws in the south?
WHen they forced children to ride buses 3 hours to another school district to allocate blacks and white equally?
It took a Supreme Court order to stop it. Busing looked like a good idea on paper but in reality it was bad on the children.

I'm not so sure about this. I think you may be asking for a lot of trouble. The racial segregation in prison is not enforced by the prison so much as by the inmates themselves.

Forcing integration on these prisoners will cause more trouble than most people can imagine. I don't think you want to be on a Level IV yard at Corcoran or New Folsom when this thing happens.

This is a reversed segregation.

WHen the inmates could chose thier cellmates they of course would chose someone familar with them. This is the issue the prisoner are wanting back. To chose thier own cell mates Blacks with blacks and whites with whites etc etc.

When the prison passed rules that denied inmates the right to chose thier own cell mates and forced them to cell with inmates of other culture and race. It didn't cause riots I don't think but it caused some inmates to spend thier sentence in the hole when they refused. It caused fights and injuires when mixing these people and forcing them to room together.

Prison s that assigned cell mates would be forced de-segregation.
WHen they would put in an Arian racist with a black man.

The law suit is to allow prisoners to chose who they want to live with.

California prisons are very segragated. You can't be celled up with another person of another race. You don't choose your cell mates (you can request a cellie & you will get it unless they have a reason not to, but this is another issue). If your white, & your cellie leaves they will only put another white guy with you. Everyone is classified as either white, black, mexican, or other. I too agree that trying this will just create many more problems. They have been having problems for years with the Northern Chicanos & the Southern Chicanos. Many riots have happened between these two groups. -----Ken

I'm still confused.
Is allowing inmates to chose thier own cell mates good or bad? Is that what the law suit is about?
I thought it would be good.

I just know what Richard tells me and where he is they purposely place opposing people to cell together.
Knowing they will refuse and live in the hole or kill each other trying to live together.

In Calif you can only be celled with someone of your own race, this suit will do away with that so you could be celled with anyone. You can ask the CO in charge on 2nd watch to have a person celled up with you & in most cases they will do it, this is how lovers get celled up together, now I'm not saying that just because someone asked to be celled up together they are lovers, some do it for security, to have a friend to be around, etc. I believe it's good to be able to choose your cellie, but if not, I believe it's best to keep everryone segragated racially. Calif also has other rules in prison that are based on racial segragation that I believe are good. In the 20 some years that Calif has segragated their prisons this is the only clown who has even attempted this. Orange County Jail is partially segragated & the part that isn't segragated is the worst in the jail. If this guy is sucessfull in his suit people will get hurt, & even killed, this will turn Calif prisons upside down, & many "innocent" prisoners will pay the price. -------------------Ken

Ken,
Do you think that if this guy wins his case, it will make the system seem
more overcrowded? Will this restrict the CDC from doing so many transfers?
Will they even have control over where they can house an inmate, or will
any inmate be able to transfer to any prison? (i.e. closer to home) I'm glad
my husband is where he's at (CMC)!! This is not good!