Prisoner payment suit thrown out by Court

Prisoner payment suit thrown out by CourtSaying the state can pay whatever level of wages it wants, even zero, an appeals court has ruled against higher pay for federal prisoners in California.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported on Monday that in a 3-0 ruling, Ninth U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said prisoners "do not have a legal entitlement to payment for their work."

It was further reported that the ruling came in a lawsuit brought by attorney J. Tony Serra, who spent nine months in a federal prison camp for non-payment of taxes.

The Chronicle also said that Serra calculated how much he was being paid for watering the camp gardens, 19 cents an hour, and filed a suit charging the state with violating a U. N. standard that inmates are entitled to fair wages.

In turning down the suit, which had sought at least federal minimum wage of $7.35, the court ruled federal law allows the attorney general to arrange payments to prisoners "as he may deem proper."

It was also noted by the court that even the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, ending slavery and involuntary servitude, contained an exception for convicted criminals. (With Inputs from Agencies)