In September 2000, plaintiff George Vasquez, 27, an imprisoned sex offender, was transferred from prison to Coalinga State Hospital, also known as the California Department of State Hospitals-Coalinga, a state mental hospital in Coalinga. Vasquez had been imprisoned since 1995 after pleading no contest to four counts of lewd or lascivious acts on a child. In 2000, it was determined that he had served his sentence, and he was set to be released from prison on Nov. 7, 2000. However, prior to his release, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed a petition seeking to have Vasquez committed as a sexually violent predator in need of mental health treatment. The Supreme Court ordered Vasquez’s removal from prison so that he could be arraigned on the petition. Thereafter, a series of five deputy public defenders represented Vasquez, who was held at Coalinga State Hospital while awaiting trial on the prosecution’s petition. The case continued without a trial for 16 years. Vasquez objected to postponing his trial date once again in 2016. As a result, the trial court judge removed the public defender’s office and appointed an attorney to represent Vasquez. This attorney filed a motion to dismiss the prosecution’s petition, contending that Vasquez’s constitutional right to a speedy trial had been violated. On Jan. 8, 2018, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James Bianco ruled that Vasquez was to be freed. The district attorney’s office fought the issue but lost on appeal. After Bianco’s ruling, and before the appeal had been settled, Vasquez sued the Law Offices of the Los Angeles County Public Defender, Los Angeles County, and several members of the public defender’s office, including Chief Deputy Jenny Brown, former Chief Deputy Public Defender Kelly Emling, former Deputy Public Defender Daniel Kuperberg, former Public Defender Ronald Brown, Assistant Public Defender Ruben Marquez, Office Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Division Chief Michael Suzuki. Vasquez alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted a deliberate indifference to the processing of his case, causing his wrongful detention, in violation of his civil and constitutional rights. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that the practices and customs at the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office resulted in Vasquez’s case being delayed in violation of Vasquez’s due process rights and Vasquez’s right to a speedy trial. Defense counsel contended that Vasquez had a long history of evaluation reports that recommended that he be committed as a sexually violent predator. However, plaintiff’s counsel asserted that one of the two state psychologists who examined Vasquez concluded that Vasquez no longer qualified for the “sexually violent predator” designation., Vasquez was jailed as a civil detainee awaiting trial for more than 17 years. He claimed that he suffered emotional distress as a result of his wrongful detention. Vasquez sought recovery of damages for his emotional pain and suffering.