Hall et al v. Mims et al
Filing
202
Joint Request for Appointment of Court Expert and ORDER, signed by District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill on 4/11/16. (Marrujo, C)
1
2
3
4
5
6
DANIEL CEDERBORG (SBN 124260)
OFFICE OF FRESNO COUNTY COUNSEL
2220 Tulare Street, Room 500
Fresno, CA 93721
Telephone: (559) 600-3479
Fax: (559) 600-3480
DONALD SPECTER (SBN 83925)
KELLY KNAPP (SBN 252013)
PRISON LAW OFFICE
1917 Fifth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
Telephone: (510) 280-2621
Fax: (510) 280-2704
ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANT
ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFFS
7
[ADDITIONAL COUNSEL LISTED ON
NEXT PAGE]
8
9
10
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
11
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
12
13
14
15
Case No. 1:11-CV-02047-LJO-BAM
QUENTIN HALL, SHAWN GONZALES,
ROBERT MERRYMAN, DAWN SINGH, and
JOINT REQUEST FOR APPOINTMENT
BRIAN MURPHY, on behalf of themselves
OF COURT EXPERT AND ORDER
and all others similarly situated,
Plaintiffs,
16
v.
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
COUNTY OF FRESNO
Defendant.
Date:
Courtroom: 8
Judge:
Hon. Barbara McAullife
Action Filed: December 13, 2011
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
MAUREEN P. ALGER (SBN 208522)
MONIQUE R. SHERMAN (SBN 227494)
COOLEY LLP
Five Palo Alto Square
3000 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA 94306-2155
Telephone: (650) 843-5000
MARY KATHRYN KELLEY (SBN 170259)
SHANNON SORRELLS (SBN 278492)
COOLEY LLP
4401 Eastgate Mall
San Diego, CA 92121-1909
Telephone: (858) 490-6000
13
MELINDA BIRD (SBN 102236)
DISABILITY RIGHTS CALIFORNIA
350 South Bixel Street, Suite 209
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Telephone: (213) 213-8000
Fax: (213) 213-8001
14
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
11
12
15
16
[ADDITIONAL COUNSEL LISTED ON
CAPTION PAGE]
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
JOINT REQUEST FOR APPOINTMENT OF COURT EXPERT AND ORDER
1
Pursuant to the Consent Decree (ECF 112-1) approved by this Court on November
2
2, 2015 (ECF 170), the parties shall “jointly request the appointment of three Court
3
experts pursuant to rule 706 of the Federal Rules of Evidence to advise the Court on the
4
adequacy of implementation of the Remedial Plan.” (ECF 112-1 at ¶ 10.) It further
5
provides, “The Court experts shall be entitled to reasonable compensation in an amount
6
approved by the Court, which shall be paid by Defendant.” (Id. at ¶ 11.)
7
The parties have agreed on Dr. Roberta Stellman as one of the three Court experts.
8
Her curriculum vitae is attached as Exhibit A. Dr. Stelmman will complete evaluations
9
and reports regarding mental health care in the Fresno County Jail. Defendant has agreed
10
to compensate her at a rate of $425 an hour for work performed and $175 an hour for time
11
spent traveling, and will reimburse her for reasonable travel expenses.
Defendant has provided Dr. Stellman with a copy of the Expert’s Duties (ECF
12
13
112-1, Appendix B, at 42-43).
The parties hereby request appointment of Dr. Roberta Stellman as Court expert
14
15
and approval of the compensation in the amount described above.
16
17
18
Respectfully submitted,
Dated: April 7, 2016
PRISON LAW OFFICE
19
20
:/s/ Kelly Knapp
Kelly Knapp
Attorney Plaintiffs Quentin Hall, Shawn
Gonzales, Robert Merryman, Brian Murphy,
Dawn Singh, and the Plaintiff Class
21
22
23
24
Dated: April 7, 2016
OFFICE OF FRESNO COUNTY COUNSEL
25
:/s/ Daniel Cederborg
Daniel Cederborg
Attorney for Defendant
26
27
28
//
//
JOINT REQUEST FOR APPOINTMENT OF COURT EXPERT AND ORDER
1
1
The Court approves the appointment of Dr. Roberta Stellman as Court expert to be
2
paid by Defendant in the amount of $425 an hour for work performed and $175 an hour
3
for time spent traveling. Defendant will also reimburse her for reasonable travel expenses.
4
5
6
7
Rule 706(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence requires the Court to “ inform the
expert of the expert’s duties.” The expert’s duties are as follows:
1.
Pursuant to rule 706 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, the Courts’ experts
shall advise the Court on the adequacy of the implementation of the Remedial Plan.
8
2.
During the first year of the Consent Decree, the three Court experts shall
9
10
each complete one comprehensive review and report to advise the Court on defendant’s
11
progress in implementing the Remedial Plan. For the remaining duration of the Consent
12
Decree, the Court experts shall complete comprehensive reviews and reports as they
13
determine to be necessary, or as jointly requested by the parties, but not more than once a
14
year, to advise the parties and the Court on the adequacy of defendant’s implementation of
15
the Remedial Plan. To form the basis of their reports, the Court experts shall have access
16
17
to all parts of any County jail facility, with adequate notice provided in advance of the
18
same to ensure appropriate security is provided, all relevant budgetary, custody, and
19
health care documents, persons (including confidential interviews with consenting staff
20
and consenting prisoners) and institutional meetings, proceedings, and programs to the
21
extent the experts reasonably determine such access is needed to fulfill their obligations.
22
The Court experts shall not have access to personnel files, including records and
23
24
information deemed confidential pursuant to California Penal Code § 832.7. Attorneys
25
shall not have ex parte contact with experts regarding their preliminary and proposed
26
opinions to be presented to the parties.
27
28
3.
At the request of either party, the Court experts shall participate in the
dispute resolution process, as described in Paragraph 18 of the Consent Decree, by
JOINT REQUEST FOR APPOINTMENT OF COURT EXPERT AND ORDER
2
1
evaluating the issue in dispute and preparing a report, including but not limited to whether
2
defendant is in substantial compliance with the terms of the Remedial Plan. The expert(s)
3
shall devote his or her best efforts to provide his or her report regarding the area of
4
disagreement within 45 days of the request.
5
6
4.
The Court experts shall be available to meet jointly with the parties in
7
person or by telephone in a manner that is reasonable and convenient for the purpose of
8
resolving disputes between the parties.
9
10
5.
At the request of the Court, the Court experts shall attend any negotiations,
mediation sessions, or court hearings.
11
6.
The Court experts shall be entitled to reasonable compensation in an
12
13
amount approved by the Court, which shall be paid by Defendant, for time incurred to
14
prepare reports, resolve disputes, or attend hearings or meetings as requested by the Court.
15
The Court experts shall provide defendant with a detailed written itemization of the
16
claimed fees and costs, itemized by date, amount of time spent, and task, as well as
17
records and bills evidencing the costs claimed, on a quarterly basis.
18
19
IT IS SO ORDERED.
20
21
Dated:
/s/ Lawrence J. O’Neill
April 11, 2016
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
JOINT REQUEST FOR APPOINTMENT OF COURT EXPERT AND ORDER
3
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?