The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) is headed to Oakland on September 26th for oral arguments on class certification in Ashker vs. Brown, a federal lawsuit on behalf of prisoners at the Pelican Bay State Prison in California.

In the Pelican Bay Security Housing Unit (SHU) and other California SHUs, prisoners are isolated in near-total solitude for between 22 ½ and 24 hours a day, denied telephone calls, contact visits, and vocational, recreational, or educational programs.

CCR and several advocacy and legal organizations in California filed the case last year on behalf of prisoners who have spent between 12 and 23 years in solitary confinement. In May, they moved for class certification.The court will hear arguments as to whether Ashker v. Brown should be certified as a class action lawsuit.

(image source: flickr)