LOS ANGELES — Lawyers for a private prison company traded arguments with the state of California before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena on Tuesday over a lawsuit challenging state legislation banning private, for-profit prisons and immigration detention centers.
Although no ruling has been made, the outcome of the case could affect the future of the private prison industry in several states beyond California.
When California legislators passed Assembly Bill 32 in 2019, they saw their state as a leader in the battle to rid the country of private detention, and hoped that others would follow suit.
