GEORGETOWN (WBOC/AP) - A Delaware Chancery Court judge has denied a request by the state to intervene in the two-week protest by prison guards.
The state Department of Correction was seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the Correctional Officers Association of Delaware from continuing a job action that has led guards to refuse to work voluntary overtime for almost two weeks now. But the motion was denied at a hearing Friday morning.
The guards are refusing to work voluntary overtime to protest staffing shortages, wages and other issues. The DOC in filing its court papers, said it was concerned about the officers' refusal to work voluntary overtime, because the shortage of overtime workers has left the state without enough guards to transport some prisoners to court appearances.
Under court rules, preliminary hearings must take place within 10 days for inmates. The DOC said if they do not, charges- including even ones of the most serious nature- against inmates can be reduced or dismissed.
But in his decision Friday, Chancellor William Chandler said there are fundamental constitutional questions about forcing people to work when they are not legally bound to do so. Chandler told the DOC officials that they had not provided him with convincing proof that he should rule in favor of their request.
"You have not given me enough information to tell the members of the corrections association to go and resume voluntary work," Chandler told the DOC officials in court. "You have not shown where it is harming the public interest. You have not shown where as a matter of law I can direct people not to talk to each other about issues, or to work voluntary overtime."
Even before Chandler's decision came out, guards said that serving papers against them is unnecessary.
"If I finish my shift and I want to go home and relax and play with my kids and do all these other things, who are they to tell me that I can't?" said Sgt. Lisa David. "I'm doing my 8 hour shift. I'm doing my 40 hours a week. I'm doing what I promised for the public."
In addition to filing the legal motion, DOC Commissioner Stanley Taylor Jr. on Thursday ordered 26 members of the state's Correctional Emergency Response Team to report for inmate transportation duties beginning on Friday.
Taylor said because the CERT team is made up of correctional officers, mandatory overtime will be used to fill these officers' regular positions.
Officials say mandatory overtime will be used to fill the positions in the prisons of the emergency team members.
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