(Update) Pimps for Private Prisons and Profit

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge refused on Thursday to halt the bidding process for planned private prisons, not on the merits but on the legal question of standing. The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports Judge refuses to halt private prison bidding process – Arizona Capitol Times:

Judge Arthur Anderson ruled that the plaintiffs – parents of a man incarcerated in a private prison and a Quaker group – lacked standing to bring the suit. They were asking the court to stop the bidding until the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADOC) completed a required biennial cost benefit analysis comparing state-run and private prisons.

Caroline Isaacs, a spokeswoman for American Friends Service Committee, a social action arm of the Quaker faith, said the group is considering an appeal.

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The Quaker group filed suit Sept. 12 to stop the bidding until the study was completed, arguing that the department has created a public safety issue by not complying with the law, citing security failures at a private prison in Kingman where inmates escaped in July 2010. One of the escapees now stands accused of murdering an Oklahoma couple before he was captured.

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In siding with state, Anderson wrote in his ruling that the function of the statute requiring the study isn’t to ensure public safety or use tax dollars wisely, but to only make sure the report gets done and sent to the Legislature.

Well, your honor, since you dismissed this case on the question of standing and not on the merits, your comments about the statute amount to mere dicta.

The Department of Corrections has until Nov. 22 to award the bids.