Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/10pdf/09-1233.pdf
Page Number: 87

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

13 

ALITO, J., dissenting 

oners  in  the  two  plaintiff  classes  could  be  considered. 
Plaintiffs proposed not only a systemwide population cap,
but also a lower population cap for inmates in specialized 
programs.  Tr. 2915:12–15 (Feb. 3, 2009).  The three-judge
court  rejected  this  proposal,  and  its  response  exemplified
what went wrong in this case.  One judge complained that
this  remedy  would  be  deficient  because  it  would  protect
only  the  members  of  the  plaintiff  classes.    The  judge 
stated: 

“The  only  thing  is  we  would  be  protecting  the  class
members.  And maybe that’s the appropriate thing to 
do. 
I  mean,  that’s  what  this  case  is  about,  but  it 
would  be  . . .  difficult  for  me  to  say  yes,  and  the  hell 
with everybody else.”  Id., at 2915:23–2916:2. 

Overstepping  his  authority,  the  judge  was  not  content  to 
provide  relief  for  the  classes  of  plaintiffs  on  whose  behalf 
the  suit  before  him  was  brought.    Nor  was  he  content  to 
remedy  the  only  constitutional  violations  that  were 
proved—which concerned the treatment of the members of
those classes.  Instead, the judge saw it as his responsibil-
ity to attack the general problem of overcrowding. 

III 
Before  ordering  any  prisoner  release,  the  PLRA  com-
mands  a  court  to  “give  substantial  weight  to  any  adverse
impact  on  public  safety  or  the  operation  of  a  criminal
justice system caused by the relief.”  §3626(a)(1)(A).  This 
provision  unmistakably  reflects  Congress’  view  that  pris-
oner release orders are inherently risky. 

In  taking  this  view,  Congress  was  well  aware  of  the
impact  of  previous  prisoner  release  orders.    The  prisoner
release  program  carried  out  a  few  years  earlier  in  Phila-
delphia  is  illustrative.    In  the  early  1990’s,  federal  courts
enforced  a cap  on  the number  of  inmates  in  the  Philadel-
phia  prison  system,  and  thousands  of  inmates  were  set