A federal appeals court has delayed a planned takeover of Arizona’s prison healthcare system, allowing the state to retain control temporarily. The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry was slated to lose control of healthcare operations on Monday. However, in a new order, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to put off a complete transfer of power.
The court allowed the appointed receiver, Annette Chambers-Smith, to start working on an operational plan and assess what resources are necessary to get the receivership off the ground. But the order simultaneously kept ADCRR director Ryan Thornell at the helm, at least for now, citing the state’s legitimate interest in maintaining control of policies, budgets and contracts and “serious questions concerning the extent of a federal court’s remedial authority over state prisons.”
Attorneys for the department have fought to block the orders greenlighting a receivership and appointing a receiver, going so far as to plead to the U.S. Supreme Court. The department claimed the district court Judge Roslyn Silver did not attempt any other remedial measures to push toward compliance before granting receivership, a “remedy of last resort.” And they pointed out the department has only had three years to comply with the terms of a 2023 agreement it struck with the court and the incarcerated plaintiffs, while the receiver would be granted five years to turn around the prison healthcare system.
And of critical importance, ADCRR’s attorneys wrote, the loss of control of the healthcare system before a final say on the matter still means loss of control of budgets, staff and policy. “That politically unaccountable individual will then assume sole responsibility for supervising state employees and contractors, directing hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds, and otherwise overseeing healthcare for more than 25,000 inmates in nine prison complexes across Arizona,” attorney for the department and former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement wrote in his brief to the Supreme Court.
That argument failed, until now. After considering an emergency motion to reconsider from the department, the 9th Circuit agreed to grant partial relief. Though the court declined to completely halt receivership, judges agreed that the department had shown a potential for success on appeal and irreparable harm to the state if the federal takeover goes forward before the appellate courts make a final decision on receivership.
Still, the court did not discount the ongoing harm to the tens of thousands of inmates incarcerated in Arizona prisons. “The deprivation of a prisoner’s constitutional right to adequate medical care is irreparable harm,” the court wrote. “Here, the district court made extensive findings that the Appellee prisoner class has suffered from constitutionally deficient medical care and that the deficiencies have not been corrected since issuance of the 2023 injunction.”
With this in mind, the court tried to split the difference. Now, the 9th Circuit turns toward the issue of receivership itself. The department filed its opening brief on Sept. 15, with support from legislative leaders House Speaker Steve Montenegro and Senate President Warren Petersen. In its briefing, the department again claimed it had made progress in complying with the injunction and contended it was entitled to more time to remedy healthcare failings. Attorneys noted, too, that Silver should not have taken into account the entire 14-year history of the lawsuit but instead should have zeroed in on progress made since the 2023 injunction took effect.
