Prisoners Legal Clinic: California government claims for property

This brief letter is just to share some information which will be useful to those California prisoners who will file a government claims form for lost/damaged/stolen property by prison officers.

This is to provide you with information concerning a change in the victim compensation and government claims board methodology for processing government claims from inmates at the California Department of Corrections (CDC).

Previously, inmates were required to complete the internal CDC 602 process and provide a copy of the third-level decision prior to the board's processing of a government claim. The timeliness of the claim was determined by the date the 602 process was completed. A recent appeals court decision (Justin Wright v. State of California, C044302) eliminated the requirement for completion of the 602 process prior to filing a government claim. Therefore, claims from inmates received on and after November 11, 2004 must be filed in accordance with the time requirements for all other government claims. The timeliness of the claim will be established by the date of the incident giving rise to the claim and the date the complete claim, including the $25 filing fee or a completed fee waiver request, is presented to the board.

Government claims from inmates who received letters from the board requesting a copy of the third-level decision in their 602 process will be processed when a copy of that decision is received. The claim will be considered filed on the date the claim was originally received by the board.

- a California prisoner, January 2006