By MATT CHANDLER
Buffalo Law Journal

The state and federal lawsuits alleging human-rights violations at the Erie County Holding Center and the correctional facility in Alden are the talk of the town.

The allegations of inmates being mistreated while in custody and, in some cases, enduring beatings not caught by security cameras, have been well-publicized.

But what's true? What's not? It's tough to tell.

"From time to time we'll have statements from prisoners that they have been roughed up by guards, and of course the guards always take the position that the prisoner in some way resisted," said defense attorney Paul Cambria Jr. "Unless you have a camera in there, I'm not sure who to believe."

This much is certain: Lawyers are abuzz. People are talking. But not loudly.

Many in the legal and law-enforcement communities are keeping mum when asked about their knowledge of conditions inside the facilities and what impact the lawsuits may have on the people jailed inside them.

Sheriff Timothy Howard and County Attorney Cheryl Green did not return calls seeking interviews before the Buffalo Law Journal's press time, and several sources interviewed for this story declined to comment on the record.

Robert Convissar, a defense attorney who is president of the Bar Association of Erie County, first agreed this week to comment on the impact of the jails lawsuits, then did not grant an interview, nor did he return several follow-up calls.

A few sources did offer general support for allegations outlined in the lawsuits and in a 50-page Justice Department report on conditions at the two county facilities, particularly in regard to medical treatment provided to prisoners.

"I would say that over the years, one consistent thing that I think has been lacking is prompt medical care," said Cambria, a senior partner at Lipsitz Green Scime & Cambria LLP.

"I've had many clients who had serious medical situations, and there was in my opinion an inordinate and unduly long delay in obtaining treatment," Cambria added. "I think that is just wrong. They won't let you have your own doctor - it's got to be somebody from (the correctional institution) - and I really think that is something that needs a lot of improvement.

"This is not just an Erie County issue," Cambria said. "I've had clients in all phases of custody who have had medical situations that were not attended to by competent physicians in a prompt manner."

The federal report also claimed that the county has not done enough to address suicide attempts by prisoners at the holding center.

Williamsville defense attorney Barry Dolgoff is representing the family of a woman who hanged herself while in custody at the ECHC in March 2008.

"Over the years, I've heard consistent complaints from clients who are housed there that don't know each other, that aren't in the same units, that aren't related, that have different charges, yet they've had similar complaints," he said. "It's not just the overcrowding, it's the treatment they get."

Dolgoff calls the county's response to the issue a case of "burying your head in the sand," and said he wonders why Erie County Executive Chris Collins, Green and Howard are not doing more to investigate and correct the situation.

In a 36-page response to the federal lawsuit, Green denied that Erie County refused access to the feds.

"The county informed the division it was welcome to tour the facility at a mutually convenient date and time," she wrote, "and made the reasonable request that an assistant county attorney be present during the entirety of the tour and a court reporter be present to transcribe requested interviews to obtain factually accurate information."

Green went on to say that that request was immediately denied and that no such inspection has taken place to date.

Howard, a Republican, is facing a re-election bid. Democratic challenger John Glascott, captain of administration with the Cheektowaga Police Department, has been critical of the Sheriff's Department's handling of the situation, prompting Howard's supporters to cry foul. The sheriff released a statement decrying what he called the decision to "politicize" the jail issue.

"Our opponent must feel he is an expert because he worked a short stint in Attica Prison more than 30 years ago and watches a lock up with a population of 5 to 10 people a day," Howard said in press release posted on his re-election Web site. "I am a 38-year law-enforcement veteran who currently oversees a population of over 23,000 people a year in the county's facilities. It is apparent that my opponent just doesn't get it."

Collins addressed the claims of mistreatment at a recent news conference. "The County of Erie under my direction has fought the Department of Justice's frivolous efforts to require county taxpayers to provide hotel rooms for prisoners," he said.

Comments like that anger Dolgoff and other attorneys who claim that prisoners are being treated unfairly and even inhumanely.

"Dogs get better treatment at the SPCA because they are helpless creatures," he said. "These are people that are being housed, and in effect they're helpless because they are locked up. They can't go out and get a toothbrush or a bar of soap."

Another defense attorney, Glenn Murray, echoed those thoughts.

"I think the politicians have chosen to ignore verifiable reports of indecent and unconstitutional conditions just to save money in the short-term," Murray said. "But it's foolish for the county to refuse rectifying these horrendous conditions, which, as described by numerous detainees, are blatantly unconstitutional and will cause financial ruin to Erie County taxpayers."

Still, as Cambria points out, the truth about conditions at the facilities in question is elusive.

"It is a jail," he said. "It isn't going to be pretty and it isn't going to be pleasant. It needs to be clean, and obviously people shouldn't be mistreated, but on the other hand, you have to be very careful just at face value, (about) what inmates are saying about their conditions."