In the News

County to pay claims
Inmates jailed over 48 hours without arrest;
county paying $120,000

By Tim Hrenchir
THE TOPEKA CAPITAL-JOURNAL
Friday, June 18, 2004

Shawnee County commissioners agreed Thursday to pay nearly $20,000 to 100 people who filed class-action lawsuits contending their constitutional rights were violated when they were jailed more than 48 hours without getting a hearing before a judge.

The county also agreed to pay $100,000 to attorneys with the Topeka law firm of Joseph and Hollander P.A., who said they accrued more than $300,000 in fees and expenses representing the inmates.

Elizabeth Gillespie, director of the Shawnee County Department of Corrections, acknowledged Thursday that dozens of inmates between 2000 and 2003 were held more than 48 hours without seeing a judge because they were jailed on or near a weekend when a judge wasn't on duty.

"We should have arranged somehow to see that the judges were seeing those people on the weekends," Gillespie said.

She added that Shawnee County District Court judges have switched to giving inmates hearings seven days a week.

"Any problems that might have been noted through this lawsuit have since been corrected," Gillespie said.

Commissioners voted 3-0 Thursday to approve the settlement of almost $120,000 to resolve a case stemming from a federal lawsuit that Topeka attorney Christopher Joseph filed in September 2002 on behalf of four former Shawnee County Jail inmates. Joseph's clients asked for at least $1.5 million in damages against commissioners, Gillespie and District Attorney Robert Hecht. A federal court ruling concluded Hecht's office was immune from monetary damages.

Joseph's firm, Joseph & Hollander P.A., subsequently filed two class-action lawsuits on behalf of other former inmates against county commissioners and Gillespie. Thursday's settlement covers both cases.

Former inmates affected by Thursday's agreement all were jailed between Sept. 4, 2000, and Jan. 31, 2003. All were arrested under a provision of the law that enables law enforcement officers who have no arrest warrant to arrest a person when they have probable cause to believe that person committed a crime.

County counselor Rich Eckert said Thursday that prisoners arrested without a warrant have a constitutional right within 48 hours of their arrest to undergo a hearing before a judge, who reviews whether probable cause existed to arrest them. He presented commissioners with a settlement tentatively reached between county officials and attorneys for Joseph & Hollander.

"The purpose of the settlement agreement is to fully and finally resolve all outstanding issues regarding the procedures regarding the review of warrantless arrests for probable cause in Shawnee County," Eckert wrote in a memo to commissioners.

Eckert said the full settlement was to be paid not by taxpayers but through a fund to which people charged with crimes or traffic violations pay fees when they enter diversion agreements in Shawnee County District Court.

"It only seems fair that habitual line-crossers would pay other habitual line-crossers," Eckert said.

Hecht disagreed, writing a letter to Eckert questioning the decision to use money from the diversion fund -- which is administered by Hecht -- without giving Hecht a chance to comment.

"Payment of $100,000 in attorney's fees is not the purpose for which it is generated," Hecht wrote of the fund, adding that he hoped to discuss the financing arrangement with Eckert before payment was made.

Hecht's letter said he understood that the inmates' suit stemmed from a former judge's having told jail employees that people arrested without a warrant in connection with domestic violence on a Friday night or weekend were to be held until the following Monday, regardless of their ability to make bond. Hecht didn't name the judge.

About a year ago, County Commissioner Marice Kane said, attorneys for the plaintiffs in the suit voiced a willingness to settle the case for free as long as the county promised to see that all inmates received a hearing within 48 hours. Kane said Hecht prevented approval of that plan.

Kane said Hecht initially appeared to accept the deal, then demanded changes that weren't approved by some judges who had become involved in the case.

"We could have settled this for zero dollars, but the DA would not cooperate in that settlement, and that's what makes me so angry," she said.

Hecht responded that Kane's assertion wasn't true. He said the rejection of that agreement, which would have included payment of plaintiffs' attorney fees, was made not by his office but by attorneys representing judges who were involved.

Hecht's letter to Eckert said he was surprised to see that Thursday's settlement awarded attorney's fees in an amount five times the total of that received by the clients.

Terms of the deal approved Thursday included requirements that:

• The case's plaintiffs will receive specified amounts of between $100 and $500 each.

• Joseph & Hollander P.A. won't represent or assist other lawyers, except as required by the Kansas Rules of Professional Conduct, in filing or prosecuting any claim against a Shawnee County officer or employee regarding anything that happened before May 15, 2004.

PLAINTIFFS LISTED IN THE SETTLEMENT

This list identifies 100 former Shawnee County Jail inmates who were plaintiffs in a lawsuit that county commissioners agreed to settle and gives amounts those plaintiffs are to receive. Seven names are listed twice because those people were jailed twice. Some inmates received larger sums because they were jailed for longer periods of time.

David C. Bean -- $195 Todd Bean -- $300 Christopher Boyett -- $375 Michelle Boyett -- $375 Deques Brown -- $255 Gilbert L. Clark -- $225 Steven R. Davis -- $225 Lynn Doherty -- $150 Reginald F. Forbes -- $500 Richard A. "Rick" Harper -- $500 Pete V. Hernandez -- $150 Greg L. Howard -- $340 Elizabeth J. Hughes -- $500 Booker Johnson III -- $500 Craig M. Kelly -- $150 Anthony L. Lee -- $375 Steven C. Lee -- $390 Chuck McCoy -- $195 Rodney McGee -- $450 Shawn M. McMillan -- $255 Christopher J. McMillon -- $150 Jared W. Meade -- $345 Sheila Mitchell -- $375 Matthew Pritchett -- $150 Mark Quinn -- $150 Robert C. Reynolds -- $500 Steven M. Sandgren -- $150 Jason A. Scott -- $195 Lonnie Silver -- $150 Michael Stringfield -- $315 Joe Thomas II -- $180 Craig Thurber -- $150 Tonya Ward -- $210 Anthony L. West -- $405 Allen Williams -- $285 Ronald F. Young -- $150 Andre Baker -- $100 Everett Barton -- $100 Ralph J. Beilman -- $100 Gary Belisle -- $100 William J. Bell -- $100 Jerimie Blanchette -- $100 Kevin Brock -- $100 Roy L. Castor -- $100 Cornell Cushinberry -- $100 Mitchell Davison -- $100 Shellay Dighera -- $100 Randy Drown -- $100 Henry Escalante -- $100 Julian Fields -- $100 Andrew Harrison -- $100 Lonnie Haywood Jr. -- $100 Robert Hernandez -- $100 Amber Hickey -- $100 Shawn K. Honer -- $100 Troy A. Hopp -- $100 Audrey Hysten -- $100 Darvin L. Hysten -- $100 Carlos Jenkins -- $100 Pierre Johnson -- $100 Debra L. Kelly -- $100 Robert J. Kramer -- $100 Darwin D. Law -- $100 Jerry Martinez -- $100 Jerry Martinez -- $100 Raymond Mauney -- $100 Stephen M. Negus -- $100 Raul Perez -- $100 Travis Peters -- $100 Travis Peters -- $100 Justin D. Pierce -- $100 Danny N. Roberson -- $100 Wayne Shay -- $100 Kenneth B. Shelton -- $100 Michael Shepard -- $100 Gragg A. Sheppard -- $100 Latiseia Stano -- $100 Dame L. Taylor -- $100 Michael Thorne -- $100 William Vanbuskirk -- $100 Thomas Washington -- $100 Daniel P. Wiese -- $100 Ralph Beilman -- $200 Sean Berry -- $200 Michael Branstetter -- $200 Kevin Brock -- $200 Lamar Broyles -- $200 Joseph Carrier -- $200 Eddie Clark -- $200 James Dunn -- $200 Eric Essman -- $200 Julian Fields -- $200 Robert Hernandez -- $200 Amber Hickey -- $200 Sherry Howerton -- $200 Maleek Hughes -- $200 James Long -- $200 William Manrose -- $200 Jake McGee -- $200 Armand Peppers -- $200 Frank Rector -- $200 Vicente Retana-Martinez -- $200 Tracy Rex -- $200 Corey Robinson -- $200 Jarold Sanstra -- $200 Thomas Washington -- $200 Allen Williams -- $200

Source: Office of Shawnee County counselor Rich Eckert

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