"Sacramento County is isolating too many jail inmates in small cells for prolonged periods of time, sometimes for 24 hours a day, and may be headed for a class-action lawsuit.

That’s the substance and threat of a scathing review, first released in August, by two groups that examined the treatment of inmates at the main jail downtown and Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center, both of which are operated by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department.

Attorneys representing five local homeless individuals and their families in a lawsuit against the city and county of San Diego said Tuesday their clients should be provided access to county-funded hotel and motel rooms during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly due to being at high risk of contracting the virus.