Response in bond hearing lawsuit filed in Fayetteville says system is stacked against the poor

Plaintiffs argue indigent defendants need lawyers at that stage of proceedings

A Benton County courtroom Nov. 27, 2020.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)
A Benton County courtroom Nov. 27, 2020. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)

FAYETTEVILLE -- A lack of procedural safeguards for bond hearings make them one-sided affairs in which people without a lawyer are unfairly at risk of losing their freedom, according to documents filed in a federal lawsuit over how judges in Benton County conduct the hearings.

The federal lawsuit claims not appointing a lawyer to represent people who can't afford to hire one in the earliest stages of a criminal case is a violation of their constitutional rights. The case was filed in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville by Doug Norwood and Alison Lee on behalf of Abigail Farella and Logan Murphy. The lawsuit seeks class action certification.

The lawsuit argues Farella and Murphy were both arrested on felony charges and given bail hearings before District Judge A.J. Anglin. Both were found to be indigent but didn't have attorneys appointed to represent them at their bail hearings.

Indigent means a person doesn't have sufficient income to afford a lawyer for defense in a criminal case. If the court finds a person indigent, it must appoint a public defender or other attorney to represent him. At dispute is when in the process the defender must be appointed.

Anglin earlier filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on several grounds ranging from qualified immunity to failure to state a valid claim.

Anglin's motion to dismiss argues the case should be dismissed according to federal rules of procedure because the plaintiffs cannot show that they have a constitutional right to counsel at that early point in the proceedings. It also argues bail hearings are not the "initiation of adversarial judicial proceedings" like an indictment or arraignment that triggers plaintiffs' right to counsel.

In response to Anglin's motion to dismiss, Norwood and Lee contend having an attorney appointed is the only way a person in custody can have any chance of meaningful input or even a chance of prevailing at a bond hearing.

"They appear, without counsel, for a hearing that may determine their length of stay in the Benton County jail," according to the response. "They do not have counsel to argue on their behalf for lower bond or even to make sure that the judge is following proper bond inquiries."

Once a bond is set for indigent defendants, they're likely to stay in jail for a significant period of time due to being unable to hire a bondsman, according to the response.

"They may lose their jobs, their homes and sometimes their children," according to the response. "Counsel is necessary at prebail hearings to argue mitigating factors and, in many cases, assist in getting the person out of custody."

The response also argues there is no legal mechanism to allow an appeal of a bond decision to be quickly argued and ruled upon, meaning a person could spend months in jail waiting for an appeal to be resolved.

The response asks that U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks deny Anglin's motion to dismiss and rule that indigent detainees are to have a lawyer appointed at pretrial bail hearings.

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Motion to dismiss

A motion filed when a party believes that a complaint is legally invalid, which can be based on a variety of grounds. A motion to dismiss can be filed by either party in a case at any time during the proceedings, but it’s usually filed by a defendant at the beginning of a lawsuit. This type of motion may focus on the facts and allegations in the complaint and any documents — called “exhibits” — that are submitted in support of the complaint.

Source: FindLaw

 


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