Kentucky Court of Appeals Rules You Can Be Billed For Jail Costs Even If Found Innocent

jefferz

Steel Belt
@Steel
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
32,013
Reaction score
17,455
In Kentucky, you can be charged for jail costs — even if you're innocent
Andrew Wolfson, Louisville Courier Journal

Even if you’re never convicted and the charges against you are dismissed, you can be billed thousands of dollars for the cost of keeping you in jail, the Kentucky Court of Appeals has ruled.
The court decided 2-1 Friday against a man who was held in the Clark County Detention Center for 14 months on a charge that was ultimately dismissed. But he was billed $4,008 for his incarceration.
In a dissent, Judge Sara Walter Combs said it is both “ridiculous and unjust” to charge a person “a huge sum … for the time spent incarcerated when the very dismissal of those charges underscores the error of his confinement in the first place.”
But Judge Jeff Taylor, joined by Judge Allison Jones, said the law allows any prisoner to be billed, regardless of the disposition of their charges.
The case was brought on behalf of "all persons similarly situated" by David Jones, who was arrested in 2013 and charged a $35 booking fee and $10 for each day of his confinement.
Nearly every state allows inmates to be charged for room and board, and Kentucky counties have recovered millions of dollars.

Jefferson County only charges inmates a $35 one-time booking fee. If charges are dismissed or the defendant is exonerated, a refund can be requested.
Louisville Metro Corrections' Assistant Director Steve Durham says inmates are not charged a daily fee because "we'd rather have them spend the money to support their dependents."
A 2000 Kentucky law says a prisoner in a county jail "shall be required by the sentencing judge" to reimburse the county, except for “good cause shown.”
Jones alleged that Clark County’s collection demand violated the law because it wasn’t issued by the sentencing judge.
But affirming a Clark Circuit Court ruling, the Court of Appeals said a jailer’s authority to bill and collect unpaid fees is not contingent upon an order of a judge.
In her dissent, Combs said the law is “clear and unambiguous” that a sentencing court alone is vested with the authority to require reimbursement.
She said that under the majority’s ruling, "a person unjustly jailed upon his release can look forward to becoming an instant debtor through no fault of his own."

https://www.courier-journal.com/sto...prisoners-even-if-charges-dropped/4691819002/

 
ok...if that's the case, innocent people should be able to sue the fuck out of the local county/city for being wrongfully incarcerated.
 
Hell if the jail needs a little extra cash just round up some innocent people and throw them in jail for a few days at a time.
 
lol this is from the backwards ass state that had a governor pardon a convicted child rapist and repeatedly elected Mitch McConnell.
 
Ahhhh, the business of putting people in jail
 
ok...if that's the case, innocent people should be able to sue the fuck out of the local county/city for being wrongfully incarcerated.
Yeah, I'd immediately counter sue.
 
That jail should not have charged for wrongful imprisonment. It’s the wrong thing to do
 
Like they say, if you can't do the time, don't be charged with a crime
 
Your solution works if people have money for this. Which I’m sure they don’t.
There are groups that help fund for this sort of thing though. Some lawyers will take the case on pro bono or only take a cut if the defendant wins.

Granted, if there are a lot of cases clogging up the dockets for this, free defense teams may be hard to come by after a while. But, if they continuously win, the state may have to reconsider their stance.
 
There are groups that help fund for this sort of thing though. Some lawyers will take the case on pro bono or only take a cut if the defendant wins.

Granted, if there are a lot of cases clogging up the dockets for this, free defense teams may be hard to come by after a while. But, if they continuously win, the state may have to reconsider their stance.


So the position you took earlier doesn’t make sense for the average working class family at all.

This is happening because the people behind it know there isn’t much recourse for the average person.

Your solution is not a good one.
 
Are these considered court fees or something different? I have been to jail quite a few times and almost always had to pay court fees regardless of outcome.
 
So the position you took earlier doesn’t make sense for the average working class family at all.

This is happening because the people behind it know there isn’t much recourse for the average person.

Your solution is not a good one.
So what do you propose they do? Pay the costs and deal with it?
 
So what do you propose they do? Pay the costs and deal with it?

No I don’t know what they should do. Sounds like this needs to be legislated away.

But I know your solution is a fairy tale one for the average working family.
 
I hope those 2 judges suffer thousands of dollars worth of slashed tires, flaming poo bags, and any other petty revenge that can be visited upon them. They should feel miserable and harassed until such time as they pull their heads out of their asses.
 
This is an outrage. One of the most flagrant cases of adding insult to injury I've ever heard.
 
Are these considered court fees or something different? I have been to jail quite a few times and almost always had to pay court fees regardless of outcome.

No, this is like "rent" for them housing you. This jail charges the prisoner $10 a day to keep you in jail. If you don't have the money when you get released to pay the housing bill, the bill goes to a collection agency.
So in this case they dropped the charges after 14 months, 100% innocent. Then the jail sends him a bill for his incarceration. He appealed the bill, and the Appeals court ruled it was constitutional for the jail to do this even though he was found 100% innocent. Pay up.
What's absurd is that he didn't even have a court trial, plea bargain, nothing. They dropped the charges. They took 14 months of this mans life away and then sent him a bill for it.
 
Last edited:
This won't stand up to constitutional challenge. Judges should know better.
 
Back
Top