Lawyers for state inmates asked a panel of federal judges Thursday to hold Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in contempt of court and impose a fine for the state's failure to comply with an order to submit a plan for reducing the inmate population by 40,000 over two years.
The state submitted a plan Sept. 18 to U.S. District Court that would meet the order's requirements within five years, provided the Legislature changes state law. Without the legal changes, the governor's plan would not meet the judges' requirements even within six years.
