ravalli county justice court judge bailey

Plaintiffs propose two main classes and two subclasses. of Cal. 49-2 at 11). Inc., 528 U.S. 167, 185-86 (2000)). appeals, but it also prompted one of the judge's biggest fan clubs As a result of his periodic incarcerations while in the Jail Diversion Program, O'Toole has not been able to find and maintain employment. In other words, as the County frames it, Plaintiffs' complaint is not that they are treated differently than non-indigent defendants, but that the requirements for obtaining pretrial services impact them differently, thus putting their equal protection claim squarely in the realm of a disparate impact case. (Doc. 2013). A house built along McDonald Creek in Glacier National Park has sparked public controversy for being built without adequate permitting. As such, the Justices of the Peace are on equal footing with the District Court Judges, who are also state actors for purposes of 1983 liability. 61 at 19-20). Plaintiffs claim that Sheriff Holton, through the Jail Diversion division, unlawfully detains pretrial arrestees beyond their release date by conditioning release on payment of arbitrary pretrial fees, and that [s]uch unlawful and involuntary restraint constitutes false imprisonment. 69-2 at 2, 8, 10). Plaintiffs have identified two similarly situated groups: arrestees who have been placed on the Jail Diversion Program and charged pretrial fees without having been convicted of a crime, and indigent arrestees in the same situation. United States District Court, District of Montana. 51 at 24). 34 at 66, 79, 92). 882 F.3d at 766-67. In addition, as to the third Mathews factor, the Plainitffs' assertion that the County has no legitimate interest in collecting pretrial fees is questionable. Ins. 69-1 at 10). Ray notes that [t]he circumstances under which an offender is placed on monitoring and the cost and type of monitoring are unique to each case, and it is her understanding that probation officers attempt to accommodate individuals to the best of their ability within the requirements of the Court's order. (Doc. (Doc. (Doc. 41-8 at 13). In Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 (1971), the Supreme Court established a strong federal policy against federal-court interference with pending state judicial proceedings absent extraordinary circumstances. King v. County of Los Angeles, 885 F.3d 548, 559 (9th Cir. 41-2 at 15-26). (Doc. Code Ann. The system is affecting so many people, he said. (Doc. See Dougherty v. City of Covina, 654 F.3d 892, 900 (9th Cir. Code. 2021). The Ravalli County Justice Court is one of the several courts of justice of this state,' and is thus an arm of the state' for purposes of the Eleventh Amendment. Hubbard v. Sheffield, 2012 WL 2969434, at *4 (D. Mont. Monell v. Dep't of Soc. 34, at 224(b)). A federal court is one of limited jurisdiction; it must dismiss a case upon concluding it lacks jurisdiction. A preliminary injunction is an extraordinary remedy never awarded as of right. Winter v. Natural Res. Fisher, in turn, states that pretrial services officers do not threaten to arrest, and do not arrest people who fail to submit to a drug test because they claim to be unable to pay for the test, and only arrest individuals pursuant to arrest warrants or other court orders. (Doc. Under Article III, 2 of the Constitution, the subject matter jurisdiction of the federal courts is limited to actual cases or controversies. Raines v. Byrd, 521 U.S. 811, 818 (1997). 2022). 41 at 25-29). The back-to-back coroners inquests led a nine-person jury through the deaths of Wendy L. Gottfried, 30, and Maryjane F. Galloway, 37. (Doc. 1989). But as Plaintiffs argue in response, their federal and state claims are entirely independent of each other. Med. See MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc., 549 U.S. 118, 126-27 (2007) (citing Aetna Life Insurance Co. v. Haworth, 300 U.S. 227, 240 (1937)). Ravalli County maintains that Plaintiffs fail to state a claim for municipal liability based on Fourteenth Amendment equal protection and due process violations. down the sentences and negotiated to sell the horse for 2 1/2 tons 34 at 224(a)(b)). Plaintiffs assert that by permitting the revocation of bail based on failure to pay pretrial fees without considering ability to pay, Defendants are effectively criminalizing poverty in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's procedural due process clause. 46); (3) Defendant District Court Judges' Motion to Dismiss (Doc. The Court finds the commonality requirement is satisfied. The County has submitted evidence that the fees associated with some conditions of pretrial supervision are minimal. This leaves Plaintiffs with their motion seeking certification of their indigent injunctive subclass as to Counts 3 through 8, and their indigent damages subclass as to Counts 4 through 8. (Docs. Rule 23(b)(2) requires that the party opposing the class has acted or refused to act on grounds that apply generally to the class, so that final injunctive relief or corresponding declaratory relief is appropriate respecting the class as a whole. Fed.R.Civ.P. (Doc. 1976)). Plaintiffs propose a damages subclass that is limited to indigent persons, but is otherwise identical to the proposed main damages class. Count 5 also states a claim for relief for the reasons explained above. 69 at 20, quoting Dukes, 564 U.S. at 360-61). In addition, for Younger abstention to apply the state proceeding must be (1) ongoing,' (2) implicate important state interests,' and (3) provide an adequate opportunity to raise constitutional challenges. Amend. 1963), aff'd, 314 F.3d 343 (2d Cir. 34 at 57). Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Count 9 alleges Violation of Due Process via Contract Increasing Criminal Exposure. (Doc. Because the requirements for Younger abstention are not satisfied, the Court need not address Plaintiffs' argument that the irreparable harm exception to Younger abstention applies. As in Arevalo and Gerstein, the pretrial fee practices and procedures challenged by Plaintiffs are separate from any underlying criminal prosecution, and resolution of Plaintiffs' claims would not enjoin or otherwise impede the criminal proceedings against them. Wash. Sept. 14, 2020) (recognizing that the preliminary injunction standard is more demanding that the lower Iqbal/Twombly threshold of plausibility under Rule 12(b)(6)). Plaintiffs thus estimates that the indigent damages subclass consists of hundreds of individuals. Count 6 alleges Violation of Federal Equal Protection for Wealth-Based Discrimination. (Doc. 46). Co., 594 F.3d 1087, 1094 (9th Cir. Beginning with Counts 1 and 2, Plaintiffs argue the County's pretrial fee scheme fails under the three-part balancing test established in Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319 (1976). (Doc. Plaintiffs allege that unlike bail amounts, the Jail Diversion Program fees imposed on pretrial arrestees to secure their release cannot be challenged and [t]here is no avenue for judicial review of these assessments. (Doc. (Doc. Casetext, Inc. and Casetext are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice. Likewise, to the extent Plaintiffs assert that the District Court Judges revoke bail for non-payment of fees, consistent with the policies of the Jail Diversion Program, this allegation does not demonstrate that the judges were acting as enforcers or administrators of the program. 1. Ravalli County relies on the traditional equal protection framework (Doc. 1992). 469-106. As to the first and third factors, Plaintiffs contend they have an obvious property interest in the money they are required to pay in pretrial fees, and assert the County has no legitimate interest in collecting pretrial fees. 34 at 59, 84). 2014). Fund, 754 F.3d 754, 759 (9th Cir. Bearden, 461 U.S. at 666-67. Some of Plaintiffs' more specific allegations include that the County (1) refuses to release pre-trial arrestees from jail until pretrial arrestees pay an arbitrary amount of pre-trial fees even after pre-trial arrestees have paid their bail amount and/or been ordered by the court to be released (Doc. Dr. Jennifer Balch's research aims to understand the patterns and processes that underlie disturbance and ecosystem recoveryparticularly ho. at 164 (emphasis in original; internal quotation marks and citations omitted). The County nevertheless argues that Younger abstention is warranted under O'Shea v. Littleton, 414 U.S. 488 (1974). Here, however, Plaintiffs are requesting a preliminary injunction that would alter the status quo by prohibiting the County from continuing its uncontested practice of charging fees associated with the Jail Diversion Program. Mont. Consistent with Hubbard and Eggar, the Court finds the Justices of the Peace are state actors. You have permission to edit this article. Department of Justice /QuickLinks.aspx. Buffin, 2018 WL 424362, at *8-10. 41-4 at 3, 6). The County argues, and Plaintiffs do not disagree, that Plaintiffs are not claiming the Jail Diversion Program is being unequally administered. (Doc. 2015). Even considering the bail statutes, taking the allegations in the Second Amended Complaint as true for present purposes, Plaintiffs have adequately pled procedural due process violations based on the County's alleged failure to provide adequate notice of the Jail Diversion Program fees and a reasonable opportunity to opportunity to contest those fees. Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Instead, as the County sees it, Plaintiffs are asserting a disparate impact equal protection claim. Because Plaintiffs allege a wealth-based liberty deprivation, a heightened strict scrutiny standard of review applies. In Buffin, the court applied a strict scrutiny standard of review to claims by a class of pretrial detainees that use of a countywide bail schedule violated the plaintiffs' rights to equal protection and due process because it failed to take into account their ability to pay the preset mandatory bail amounts. Third, Plaintiffs assert facts upon which it could be determined that the County's alleged policy of charging Jail Diversion Program fees without considering ability to pay, and incarcerating indigent pretrial arrestees for non-willful failure to pay those fees, bears no rational connection to the County's purpose of promoting public safety and ensuring that arrestees appear for court. The In re Justices plaintiffs brought suit against justices of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court, challenging the constitutionality of Puerto Rico statutes requiring attorneys to belong to the Puerto Rico bar association and pay bar association membership dues. 420 U.S. 103, 107-08 (1975). 34 at 55). Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Here, unlike Georgevich, Montana's bail statutes do not make the District Court Judges administrators of the Jail Diversion Program. (Doc. 1955, 1974 (2007)). As discussed above, however, Plaintiffs have alleged facts which, if true, show that the bail statutes do not guarantee that arrestees are given notice and an opportunity to be heard as to the imposition of pretrial fees. (Doc. Because the Court has concluded the predominance requirement is not satisfied, it is not necessary to address superiority. (Doc. 34 at 212-14). 69-1 at 6). Plaintiff Daniel O'Toole states that in October 2018 he spent a week in jail after posting bond before he managed to gather the $600 in pretrial fees the County required him to pay before releasing him. (Doc. Plaintiffs bring official capacity claims for declaratory relief against District Court Judges Howard Recht and Jennifer Lint. The party seeking the injunction bears the burden of proving these elements. First, they seek a declaratory judgment that (1) the Jail Diversion Program, and Ravalli County and Sheriff Holton's conduct in implementing and enforcing the program, is unlawful; and (2) the District and Justice Court Judge Defendants' ongoing practices of ordering participation in the Jail Diversion Program; failing to conduct ability-to-pay and risk assessments; and revoking pretrial arrestees for nonpayment of Jail Diversion Program fees are unlawful. Search. Rannis v. Recchia, 380 Fed.Appx. Code Ann. According to Sheriff Holton, it is the county attorney who decides whether to seek an arrest warrant, and [t]he Ravalli County Sheriff's Office does not arrest individuals for failure to pay for pretrial services unless a warrant has been issued by the court commanding that arrest. (Doc. In fact, Ray states in her declaration that pretrial arrestees are told they should notify the court if they have difficulty complying with the conditions of release, and the court regularly works with individual on pretrial monitoring who have difficulty making payments by adjusting payments during times of financial hardship. (Doc. 23(a)(4). Ctr., 521 F.3d 1097, 1104 (9th Cir. O'Toole states that he was charged several hundred dollars per month in pretrial supervision and drug patch fees while that case was pending, and in subsequent criminal cases without anyone ever asking him if he could afford to pay the fees. To be sure, Plaintiffs have an interest in not being incarcerated solely for non-willful failure to pay pretrial fees they cannot afford. The County Defendants' motion to dismiss Plaintiffs' claims against Sheriff Holton should be granted accordingly. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 24 (2008). very own. When reviewing a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, the court is to accept all factual allegations in the complaint as true and construe the pleading in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Co., 333 F.R.D. 34 at 55). Departments; Youth . The Court finds Plaintiffs have alleged facts from which a reasonable inference of discriminatory intent can be made. 1249, 1255 (2017). Plaintiff Teri Lea Evenson-Childs states in her declaration that she was arrested in March 2020, spent a week in jail after posting bond because pretrial services had to locate someone to put an alcohol monitoring device on her ankle, and was required to pay the first month of fees before she was released. In sum, Plaintiffs' equal protection claim is adequately pled whether it is properly categorized as a disparate impact claim, as the County maintains, or as a facial challenge, as Plaintiffs maintain, and whether it is analyzed under the traditional equal protection framework or the hybrid framework followed in Bearden. To withstand a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the plaintiff must allege enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face. 1981). Cal. Winter, 555 U.S. at 20. Ravalli County District Court 205 Bedford Street Suites A & B Hamilton, MT 59840 Dept. Ray also indicates that she does not recall any of the pretrial detainees who have submitted declarations in support of the Plaintiffs' motion ever raising the issue of financial hardship with regard to payment for pretrial monitoring at the time of the initial hearing or at any time thereafter, and had they done so, Ray would have explored with them possible solutions to the problem. (Doc. Plaintiffs propose a main injunctive class consisting of [a]ll persons who are or will be: accused of a crime in Ravalli County, Montana, arrested, incarcerated, placed on the Jail Diversion Program, and charged pretrial fees without having been convicted for the crime for which the Jail Diversion Program was ordered. (Doc. But because the plaintiffs' equal protection and due process claims also alleged the deprivation of the fundamental right to personal liberty, the court concluded the claims were subject to strict scrutiny review based on Bearden and its predecessors, Tate v. Short, 401 U.S. 395 (1971) and Williams v. Illinois, 399 U.S. 235 (1970). (Doc. Ravalli County argues Plaintiffs have not pled sufficient facts to state a claim for municipal liability under 1983. The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the government from denying individuals equal protection of the laws, which is essentially a direction that all persons similarly situated should be treated alike. City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Ctr., 473 U.S. 432, 439 (1985). Buffin, 2018 424362, at *10. Fisher's duties as a Misdemeanor Probation and Pretrial Services Officer include supervising and monitoring individuals for compliance with court-ordered conditions of pretrial release. As the County notes, Plaintiffs do not allege that it charges different amounts for Jail Diversion Program services based on wealth, or that it treats the failure to comply with conditions of the program any differently based on wealth. (Docs. Mitch Young, the attorney representing Ravalli County, declined to comment pending further litigation. The District Court Judges maintain that this case or controversy standard is not satisfied here because Plaintiffs have not established the requisite adversity of interest. (Doc. 61 at 32). Co., 214 F.R.D. Again citing In re Justices, the Sixth Circuit found that the threshold consideration is whether the judge is acting, under the statute at issue, in an adjudicatory capacity or as an enforcer or administrator. Lindke, 31 F.4th at 491. The court must balance the competing claims of injury and must consider the effect on each party of the granting or withholding of the requested relief. Winter, 555 U.S. at 24. It must dismiss a case upon concluding it lacks jurisdiction the District Court Judges ' Motion to dismiss Doc. 811, 818 ( 1997 ) a nine-person jury through the deaths of Wendy L. Gottfried 30... Young, the subject matter jurisdiction of the Constitution, the subject jurisdiction. ( D. Mont damages subclass that is limited to actual cases or controversies, 528 167... 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