Schultz v. State

• Decision Date: 04 September 2018
• Docket Number: Case No. 5:17-cv-00270-MHH
• Parties: Ray Charles SCHULTZ, et al., Plaintiffs, v. STATE of Alabama, et al., Defendants. Randall Parris, on behalf of himself and those similarly situated, et al., Plaintiff-Intervenor, v. Martha Williams, et al., Defendants. Bradley Hester, on behalf of himself and those similarly situated, Plaintiff-Intervenor, v. Matt Gentry, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Alabama

330 F.Supp.3d 1344

Ray Charles SCHULTZ, et al., Plaintiffs,

v.STATE of Alabama, et al., Defendants.

Randall Parris, on behalf of himself and those similarly situated, et al., Plaintiff-Intervenor,

v.Martha Williams, et al., Defendants.

Bradley Hester, on behalf of himself and those similarly situated, Plaintiff-Intervenor,

v.Matt Gentry, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 5:17-cv-00270-MHH

United States District Court, N.D. Alabama, Northeastern Division.

Signed September 4, 2018

J. Melvin Hasting, Law Office of Melvin Hasting LLC, Thomas E. Drake, II, The Drake Law Firm, Cullman, AL, for Plaintiffs.

Alec Karakatsanis, Pro Hac Vice, Katherine Claire Hubbard, Civil Rights Corps, Washington, DC, Andrea Woods, Pro Hac Vice, Criminal Law Reform Project, Brandon Buskey, Pro Hac Vice, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, New York, NY, Randall C. Marshall, American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama Foundation, Inc, Samuel J. Brooke, Alexandra Marie Jordan, Micah West, Southern Poverty Law Center, Brock Boone, ACLU Foundation of Alabama, Montgomery, AL, for Plaintiff-Intervenor.

James W. Davis, Steven Troy Marshall, Office of the Attorney General, Laura E. Howell, Alabama Attorney General's Office, Jamie Helen Kidd, J. Randall McNeill, Webb & Eley PC, Montgomery, AL, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

MADELINE HUGHES HAIKALA, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Bradley Hester was arrested and jailed in Cullman County. He was, and others similarly situated are, detained in the Cullman County jail following arrest because they cannot afford to post a surety bond or a property bond as a condition of pretrial release. Mr. Hester asks the Court to preliminarily enjoin the Cullman County Sheriff from detaining indigent defendants who cannot afford to post a property bond or a surety bond as a condition of pretrial release. Mr. Hester argues that Cullman County's procedures for setting a secured bond as a condition of pretrial release are constitutionally flawed, and he argues that the way in which Cullman County implements those procedures is inequitable. (Doc. 102).¹ For the following reasons, the Court finds that Mr. Hester is entitled to a preliminary injunction.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Procedural Background

On March 8, 2018, Mr. Hester intervened in this action. (Doc. 94). The following day, Mr. Hester filed his intervenor complaint against Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry, Circuit Clerk Lisa McSwain, Magistrate Amy Black, Magistrate Joan White, District Court Judge Kim Chaney, and District Court Judge Wells R. Turner III. (Doc. 95). In his first claim for relief, citing the Fourteenth Amendment, Mr. Hester alleges that the defendants violate the "fundamental rights" of indigent criminal defendants arrested in Cullman County "by enforcing against them a post-arrest system of wealth-based detention" pursuant to which indigent defendants "are kept in jail because they cannot afford a monetary amount of bail." (Doc. 95, p. 18, ¶ 80). In his second claim for relief, Mr. Hester alleges that the defendants do not provide counsel for bail hearings, give arrestees an adequate opportunity to testify or present evidence at bail hearings, apply a uniform evidentiary standard to determine whether a person should be detained prior to trial, or "require a [judicial] finding that no affordable financial or non-financial condition of release will ensure appearance or public safety before jailing pretrial arrestees on monetary bail amounts that they cannot afford." (Doc. 95, p. 19, ¶ 85).² Mr. Hester asserts that the defendants create de facto detention orders that apply to only indigent criminal defendants in Cullman County. Mr. Hester seeks declaratory relief from the judicial defendants -- Circuit Clerk McSwain, Magistrate Black, Magistrate White, Judge Chaney, and Judge Turner -- and injunctive relief from Sheriff Gentry. (Doc. 95, pp. 20-21, ¶¶ c-f).

Mr. Hester has asked the Court to certify this lawsuit as a class action and "certify a class consisting of all state-court arrestees who are or who will be jailed in Cullman County who are unable to pay the secured monetary bail amount required for their release." (Doc. 101, p. 2). The defendants do not oppose class certification should this case proceed. (Doc. 144, p. 8; Doc. 145, p. 1). Mr. Hester also has asked the Court to preliminarily enjoin Sheriff Gentry "from prospectively jailing arrestees unable to pay secured monetary bail." (Doc. 102, p. 2).

The judicial defendants filed opposition to Mr. Hester's motion for preliminary injunction. (Doc. 122). In addition to arguing that Mr. Hester has not satisfied the standard for a preliminary injunction, the judicial defendants contend that Cullman County's recent adoption of new bail procedures moots Mr. Hester's claims for injunctive relief. (Doc. 122, p. 32). Sheriff Gentry has asked the Court to dismiss Mr. Hester's claims for injunctive relief. (Doc. 123).³

On April 12 and 13, 2018, the Court held a hearing on the motion for preliminary injunction. (Docs. 136, 143). Dr. Stephen Demuth, whom the Court admitted as an expert in statistical analysis and quantitative research methods related to pretrial detention and release processes, testified for Mr. Hester. (Doc. 136, pp. 36-40). Judge Truman Morrison of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, whom the Court admitted as an expert in bail setting procedures, also testified for Mr. Hester. (Doc. 136, pp. 118-21). Sheriff Gentry and Judge Turner testified for the defendants. (Doc. 136, pp. 187, 268). The parties provided additional evidence via affidavit and stipulated to certain facts relevant to Mr. Hester's motion for preliminary injunction. (Docs. 132-135, 138-140, 146, 148, 153). On this record, the Court considers Mr. Hester's request for a preliminary injunction.

B. Factual Background

In Cullman County, individuals charged with crimes are taken into custody either pursuant to a probable cause warrantless arrest or pursuant to an arrest warrant issued by one of the county's magistrates. Most arrests in Cullman County are warrantless probable cause arrests. (Doc. 136, pp. 235-36; Doc. 143, p. 194).⁴

Under Alabama law, absent a capital murder charge, arrestees have a statutory right to bail. (Doc. 136, p. 285; see generally Ala. Code §§ 15-13-106, -108).⁵ In Cullman County, bail initially is set as a condition of pretrial release for every arrestee. The staff of Cullman County's Sheriff's Office selects the initial bail amount for individuals jailed for warrantless probable cause arrests; magistrates select the initial bail amount in arrest warrants. (Doc. 136, pp. 206, 275).⁶ Because most of the arrests in Cullman County are warrantless arrests, the Sheriff's Office sets most of the initial bail amounts in the county. Both the sheriff and the magistrates use a bail schedule to determine the bail amount. On an average day, there are ten arrests in Cullman County, and six of those arrestees are immediately bail eligible. (Doc. 136, p. 193).⁷

Cullman County primarily uses property bonds and surety bonds to meet the bail condition for pretrial release of arrestees. In the case of a property bond, a criminal defendant's relative or neighbor may post property (typically real property, but occasionally a vehicle) to secure the defendant's release. (Doc. 136, pp. 190-92, 224). By state statute, Cullman County must assess a $35 bond fee for property bonds. (Doc. 136, p. 192).⁸ Bonding companies provide surety bonds. Cullman County advertises the telephone numbers for bonding companies in its jail cells. An arrestee may call a bonding company, "work out an agreement ... on a set price for that bonding company" to post bond, and secure her release from jail. (Doc. 136, p. 191).⁹

Sheriff Gentry testified that he has two primary interests in the pretrial process: getting defendants to appear for court proceedings and ensuring the safety of the community. (Doc. 136, pp. 235-36). Those interests are consistent with Alabama law. Pursuant to Rule 7.2(a) of the Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure, conditions of pretrial release are imposed to "reasonably assure the defendant's appearance" at court proceedings and to protect "the public at large" from "real and present danger." Ala. R. Crim. P. 7.2.

1. Pre-March 26, 2018

Until March 26, 2018, Cullman County used a bail schedule that identified a range of bail for various state criminal offenses. (Doc. 129-34; Doc. 132, p.1, ¶ 1). For each individual arrested, Sheriff Gentry set bail based on the crime charged and then released criminal defendants who could post a secured bond for the bail amount and detained criminal defendants who could not afford to post bond. (Doc. 132, p. 2, ¶¶ 7-8).

Cullman County magistrates conducted initial appearances for arrestees who could not afford to post bond. (Doc. 132, pp. 2-3, ¶¶ 10, 12). The initial appearance was conducted by video conference, and the state did not offer counsel for the appearance. (Doc. 132, pp. 2-3, ¶¶ 10, 13). At the initial appearances, the magistrates informed the arrestees of their bail amount but did not evaluate the bail amount to determine whether the bail amount exceeded the amount necessary to satisfy the statutory purposes of bail. (Doc. 132, p. 3, ¶ 14). Arrestees who could not afford to post a secured bond had to remain in jail and file a motion to reconsider their bail amount. (Doc. 132, p. 2, ¶ 9). Typically, a district judge would not consider such a motion until several weeks after arrest. (Doc. 132, p. 2, ¶ 9).

The parties dispute the number of arrestees who were detained each month solely because they could not afford to post bail under this system. According to Alacourt records, Alabama's electronic trial management system, during the month of February 2018, 85 of 235 arrestees (i.e. 34%) who were eligible to secure their release by posting a secured bond were unable to post bond within 72 hours after arrest. (Doc. 129-9, p. 3, ¶¶ 3-4; Doc. 136, pp. 262-63). Of those 85 arrestees,...