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Court upholds ruling against prison company

Posted at 2:52 PM, May 23, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-23 16:52:24-04

BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- A federal appellate court has upheld a contempt of court ruling made against private prison company Corrections Corporation of America for falsifying staffing reports at an Idaho prison.

Monday's ruling from the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals means the Nashville, Tennessee-based CCA will have to pay higher-than-normal attorneys' fees to the ACLU for that organization's work representing Idaho Correctional Center inmates.

The ACLU sued CCA on behalf of the prisoners in 2011, contending that understaffing led to rampant violence and other problems. CCA agreed to increase staff as part of a settlement agreement, but an Associated Press investigation later revealed that the company was falsifying reports in order to hide continued understaffing from state officials.

The phony staffing logs prompted Idaho Gov. "Butch" Otter to order the state to take over operations at the prison.