Attorney in Civil Contempt Case Marks One Year in Solitary 'Coercive Confinement' in L.A. County Jail

Full Disclosure Network(R) Reports

WASHINGTON, March 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On March 4, 2010, Richard I Fine will mark one year in the L.A. County Jail. He accused Superior Court Judge David Yaffe of corruption for taking illegal payments from L.A. County in a case involving the County. Full Disclosure Network is releasing a seven minute video news report http://tiny.cc/aclu12 featuring court appointed ACLU jail monitors relating attempts made to get the Los Angeles County Sheriff to respond to Fine's inmate complaints. Fine has been held in solitary "coercive confinement" and since January 5, 2010 without dentures, preventing his ability to chew.

Richard Fine was ordered taken into custody by Superior Court Judge Yaffe who failed to disqualify himself from the contempt case where Fine had alleged the Judge had a conflict. Fine is a 70 year old anti-trust attorney, who holds a Ph.D in International Law. Having never been convicted of a crime, he is being held without a jury trial, without bail or hearing date and circumstances that violate U.S. Supreme Court precedent In Re Farr (1974), that ruled a five-day limit in "coercive confinement" for civil contempt of court.

The ACLU previously informed Mr. Fine's family and Full Disclosure they were unable to assist him. But when his upper dental plate broke on January 5, 2010 he complained to his jailers of difficulty eating, he realized he desperately needed help.

Full Disclosure notified Actor Ed Asner, long known as a humanitarian and who was recently honored by the ACLU for his support of Civil Liberties. Mr. Asner unhesitatingly offered to call Ramona Ripston executive director of the ACLU and wife of Ninth Circuit Court Justice Steven Reinhardt, to request help. For years the ACLU has served as the court appointed monitors of L.A. County jails to prevent inmate abuse and assure the Sheriff's response to inmate complaints.

Watch 7 minute video news update featuring:

Richard I. Fine by collect telephone call from his jail cell

Mary Tiedeman ACLU Jail Project Coordinator

Peter Eliasberg ACLU Managing Attorney

Contact: Leslie Dutton 310-822-4449, [email protected]

SOURCE Full Disclosure Network