AG Bonta Petitions Court to Place LA County Juvenile Halls Under Receivership

LOS ANGELES — California Attorney General Rob Bonta July 23 asked the Los Angeles County Superior Court to place Los Angeles County’s juvenile halls into a receivership amid the county’s persistent failure to comply with a stipulated judgment, enforcement order, and two stipulated amendments secured by the attorney general’s office since 2021. In the filing, the Attorney General argues that while it is a measure of last resort, receivership — or total control by an appointed officer of the court over the management and operations of the juvenile halls, including the setting of budgets; procurement of goods; hiring and firing of staff; and all other necessary decisions to bring the juvenile halls into compliance — is necessary to address the ongoing and immediate harm to youth at the facilities resulting from chronic illegal and unsafe conditions. In recent years, youth at these facilities have suffered severe harms, including overdoses on narcotics allowed to enter the facility, youth-on-youth violence facilitated by staff, and significant unmet medical needs — and will continue to do so if the juvenile halls remain under the county’s authority.

Attorney General Bonta’s proposed receivership, if approved, would give a court-appointed receiver all the powers vested with the county, and additional powers as approved by the court necessary to bring about compliance, providing the receiver with the tools necessary to shepherd the juvenile halls toward long-overdue compliance with the judgment.

On July 23, Los Angeles County Public Defender, Ricardo D. García, responded to the Attorney General’s request for receivership. 

“The protection of our youth is central to our wellbeing as a community. We believe in LA County’s vision of Youth Justice Reimagined and a system that focuses on healing trauma and ensuring a young person’s most basic needs are met. Any state intervention must prioritize the safety, well-being, and constitutional rights of every youth. Instead of further investment in a carceral system, state action should prioritize lasting transformation of how the criminal legal system treats its most vulnerable youth and continue to move away from punishment toward healing, education, and care, not cages.”