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Page Number: 18.0

12 

BROWN v. PLATA 

Opinion of the Court 

appeal.

The  three-judge  court  heard  14  days  of  testimony  and 
issued  a  184-page  opinion,  making  extensive  findings  of 
fact.  The  court  ordered  California  to  reduce  its  prison
population to 137.5% of the prisons’ design capacity within 
two years.  Assuming the State does not increase capacity
through new construction, the order requires a population
reduction of 38,000 to 46,000 persons.  Because it appears
all  but  certain  that  the  State  cannot  complete  sufficient 
construction  to  comply  fully  with  the  order,  the  prison 
population will have to be reduced to at least some extent. 
The court did not order the State to achieve this reduction 
in any particular manner.  Instead, the court ordered the 
State  to  formulate  a  plan  for  compliance  and  submit  its
plan for approval by the court. 

The State appealed to this Court pursuant to 28 U. S. C.
§1253, and the Court postponed consideration of the ques-
tion of jurisdiction to the hearing on the merits.  Schwar-
zenegger v. Plata, 560 U. S. ___ (2010). 

II 
As a consequence of their own actions, prisoners may be
deprived of rights that are fundamental to liberty.  Yet the 
law  and  the  Constitution  demand  recognition  of  certain 
other  rights.    Prisoners  retain  the  essence  of  human  dig-
nity  inherent  in  all  persons.  Respect  for  that  dignity
animates the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel 
and unusual punishment.  “ ‘The basic concept underlying 
the Eighth Amendment is nothing less than the dignity of 
man.’ ”  Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U. S. 304, 311 (2002) (quot-
ing  Trop  v.  Dulles,  356  U. S.  86,  100  (1958)  (plurality 
opinion)).

To  incarcerate,  society  takes  from  prisoners  the  means 
to  provide  for  their  own  needs.    Prisoners  are  dependent
on the State for food, clothing, and necessary medical care. 
A prison’s failure to provide sustenance for inmates “may