Attorneys for the Arizona Department of Corrections say they are appealing the most recent contempt fine of $1.1 million dollars from a federal judge for failing to provide constitutional health care in state prisons. U.S. District Court Judge Roslyn Silver levied the fines against DOC for failing to meet performance benchmarks the department agreed to more than six years ago to settle a prison health care class-action lawsuit, Parsons v. Ryan.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the department in 2020 when it appealed a similar, $1.4 million contempt fine.

Judge Silver has been critical of the department’s expensive, years-long legal response to the settlement.

“Despite the outlays in fines and attorneys’ fees, Defendants’ counsel continues to litigate each and every issue to the maximum extent possible, including frivolous ones,” Silver wrote in a previous order. “Counsel files repetitive motions, close-to-baseless appeals, and petitions for writs of certiorari. It is unclear whether Arizona taxpayers are directly footing the bill for this conduct but it is time for those responsible for this litigation to reexamine whether the six years of litigation represents a wise use of resources going forward.”

Records provided to KJZZ show the department has spent more than $21 million in legal costs on the Parsons lawsuit since Fiscal Year 2012. More than $10 million has been paid to outside counsel, the Phoenix-based law firm Struck, Love, Bojanowski & Acedo PLC.