On April 14, 2019, several pre-trial detainees in Wayne County Jail filed this class-action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The plaintiffs sued the 36th District Court in Detroit, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office (WCSO), the Chief Judge, and five Magistrates of the 26th District Court in their official capacities under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The plaintiffs, represented by the ACLU and private counsel, sought declaratory and injunctive relief, claiming violations of the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses and the Sixth Amendment's Right to Counsel. The case was assigned to Judge Laurie J. Michelson.

The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants unconstitutionally detained them in Wayne County Jail because they were unable to pay for their release and that the defendants' current arraignment policies created a wealth-based detention system that kept the plaintiffs in jail for their inability to afford bail. All of the plaintiffs included in the complaints were arrested and had their arraignment hearings held in the 36th District Court in Detroit. The plaintiffs were not provided attorneys during their arraignments and in each instance, the plaintiffs were ordered to pay cash bail amounts beyond their financial abilities. The arraignment policies provided two different condition forms: (1) 10% bail condition, which required the plaintiff to pay 10% or the real estate equivalent of their bail amount in order to be released; or (2) full cash bail condition, which required the plaintiff to pay the full amount. The magistrate judges that set the plaintiffs' bail amounts did not inquire whether the plaintiffs could afford their set bail amounts. When plaintiffs notified the court that they were unable to pay bail, they were sent to Wayne County Jail.

The plaintiffs also sought class certification of all pre-trial detainees that had their bail set during arraignment hearings held in the 36th District Court and as a result of the court's bail policies were detained because they could not afford their imposed cash bail conditions.

On June 10, 2019, WCSO moved to dismiss the complaint. They alleged that the plaintiffs could not seek injunctive relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 because: they were an entity entitled to quasi-judicial immunity where declaratory relief was available; under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the plaintiffs failed to state a claim for municipal liability because obeying court orders is not considered a policy of the municipality; and the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that clearly established law would have put WCSO on notice that obeying a court order for pretrial incarceration would expose it to liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

On June 19, 2019, the Chief Judge moved to dismiss plaintiffs' class action complaint.

A stipulated stay order was entered on August 23, 2019 to allow time for discussions between the parties as to resolution of the matter. Meanwhile, the Detroit News reported that a former Detroit magistrate judge filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit alleging that she had been fired after raising concerns about violations of defendants' rights in the 36th District Court.

As of April 12, 2021, the case remains stayed. However, the court has held telephone status conferences, and the case remains ongoing.

Kimberly Goshey - 06/11/2019
Hafsa Tout - 11/13/2019
Jonah Hudson-Erdman - 04/12/2021


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