Sheriff wants to end parts of Santa Rita Jail consent decree early

The maximum security area at Santa Rita Jail.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Alameda County Sheriff's Office wants to end parts of the Santa Rita Jail consent decree about three years early, according to legal documents filed in U.S. District Court in Northern California.
What we know:
Lawyers for Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez filed their request with Judge Nathanael Cousins in San Jose on Jan. 10, essentially saying that the jail has been working "tirelessly" to reform Santa Rita Jail since the consent decree went into effect on Feb. 7, 2022, and it's time some oversight was lifted.
In addition, according to KTVU's analysis of in-custody deaths, 2024 had the lowest number – 3 – since 2014, when there was a high of 10 deaths.
Timeline:
The consent decree is supposed to last for six years and end on Feb. 7, 2028.
The decree, like a legal settlement, was signed between the county and the law firm of Rosen, Bien, Galvan and Grunfeld in San Francisco, in a case known as Babu v. Ahern, which stemmed from allegations that the jail overused solitary confinement, did not have adequate suicide prevention and mental health services, and did not let incarcerated people have enough out-of-cell time.
Instead of going to trial over how people with mental illness are treated at Santa Rita Jail, the sheriff signed the decree with the promises of reforms.
Specifics:
County attorney Gregory Thomas told the judge that to date, outside consultants, Temitayo Peters, Julian Martinez and James Austin, have all written reports showing that the jail is in "substantial compliance" with many of those reforms.
Specifically, the sheriff would like to end the COVID protocols and some of the classification requirements that mandate jail staff with with newly incarcerated people face-to-face to determine what housing units they should live in.
The other side:
Kara Janssen, an attorney who represents the incarcerated class, said at this time, it does appear that the sheriff is complying with many of the reforms and "they're doing what they're supposed to do."
She said she has no reason to believe that jail staff will revert to their old ways and if there are problems, her firm can step in as there are three more years to the legal agreement, if necessary. For example, Jansssen said she expects jail staff to continue to classify people in-person if this area of the consent decree is terminated early, but that they will no longer have to be visited twice a year by an outside consultant to prove they did so.
Before giving the sheriff a final stamp of approval, however, she wants to wait until Austin's report is presented from his last visit to the jail in December.
Janssen said there are still aspects of the jail that are not OK, such out-of-cell time.
The consent decree mandates that people at Santa Rita Jail get at least 14 hours out of their cell per week, which is not yet occurring, she said.
Janssen noted that a yard is currently under construction in the maximum area of the jail, which should help that when it is completed.
What they're saying:
The sheriff's office was unavailable for comment on Monday.
But KTVU has reviewed many of the consultants' reports, which indeed have praised the jail.
In one of the most recent reports from November 2024, the author wrote that the jail has made "excellent strides," where the jail staff "are improving systems and more importantly, the jail culture."