Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/10pdf/09-1233.pdf
Page Number: 25.0

Cite as:  563 U. S. ____ (2011) 

19 

Opinion of the Court 

Special  Master  in  July  2009  describes  ongoing  violations, 
including  an  “absence  of  timely  access  to  appropriate
levels of care at every point in the system.”  App. 807.  A 
report filed by the Plata Receiver in October 2010 likewise 
describes  ongoing  deficiencies  in  the  provision  of  medical 
care  and  concludes  that  there  are  simply  “too  many  pris-
oners for the healthcare infrastructure.”  Id., at 1655.  The 
Coleman  and  Plata  courts  acted  reasonably  when  they 
convened a three-judge court without further delay. 

B 
Once  a  three-judge  court  has  been  convened,  the  court
must  find  additional  requirements  satisfied  before  it  may 
impose a population limit.  The first of these requirements
is that “crowding is the primary cause of the violation of a
Federal right.”  18 U. S. C. §3626(a)(3)(E)(i). 

1 
The three-judge court found the primary cause require-
ment  satisfied  by  the  evidence  at  trial.    The  court  found 
that overcrowding strains inadequate medical and mental 
health facilities; overburdens limited clinical and custodial 
staff;  and  creates  violent,  unsanitary,  and  chaotic  condi-
tions  that  contribute  to  the  constitutional  violations  and 
frustrate  efforts  to  fashion  a  remedy.    The  three-judge
court also found that “until the problem of overcrowding is 
overcome  it  will  be  impossible  to  provide  constitutionally
compliant  care  to  California’s  prison  population.”  Juris. 
App. 141a.

The parties dispute the standard of review applicable to
this determination.  With respect to the three-judge court’s 
factual findings, this Court’s review is necessarily deferen-
tial.  It  is  not  this  Court’s  place  to  “duplicate  the  role”  of
the trial court.  Anderson, 470 U. S., at 573.  The ultimate 
issue  of  primary  cause  presents  a  mixed  question  of  law 
and  fact;  but  there,  too,  “the  mix  weighs  heavily  on  the