“Presumptively innocent people arrested by law enforcement without a warrant are protected by a penumbra of rights that are given effect by prompt appearance before a judicial officer. Appearances before a judicial officer within 48 hours of a warrantless arrest are sufficiently ‘prompt’ to pass constitutional muster,“ court documents read. ”When people were arrested by police in the City of Fairfield and held in the Butler County Jail for appearance before the Fairfield Municipal Court, however, this so-called ’48-hour rule’ was not always satisfied.”
The original lawsuit was filed by Anselm Caddell against Campbell and the city of Fairfield but was expanded to include Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones for not bringing people to court within two days of a warrantless arrest and or releasing them if a court date wasn’t possible.
Jones told the Journal-News he can’t comment because the judge hasn’t approved the settlement yet.
The parties have agreed to a $1.2 million settlement that includes a $35,000 award for Caddell, $20,000 for Caleb Lawson — another named plaintiff — and a “base award” of $500, plus additional “escalating” compensation for the number of hours they were detained beyond the prescribed 48 for the other members of the class. Attorneys fees of up to $405,000 also were requested in the motion asking the district court judge to approve the deal.
The motion also says shortly after the lawsuit was filed both the court and jail instituted policies to ensure “arrestee’s time in custody at the Butler County Jail is tracked in accord with the 48-hour rule” and “the court is accessible such that any arrestee is able to receive a probable cause determination within 48 hours of arrest.”
Court documents note Campbell had a “policy or custom” of not conducting arraignments on Mondays or Fridays so people were sitting in jail “as long as five days” before having an opportunity to be released.
The case originated when Caddell, a U.S. Marine combat veteran, was stopped by a state trooper on Nilles Road in the early morning hours of Feb. 23, 2017, for an alleged traffic violation.
Court documents say he was licensed to carry concealed weapons and had firearms in the trunk. He was arrested “upon suspicion of criminal activity” and transported to the county jail. That was a Thursday and he wasn’t brought before Campbell until Tuesday morning.
Campbell released him on his own recognizance and charges were “either ignored by the grand jury or withdrawn by the prosecution,” according to the complaint.
Lawson was added to the lawsuit in July 2020 after police responded to a disturbance call at his residence in the early hours of Jan. 25, 2019. It was a Friday and he appeared in Campbell’s court on Tuesday.
“The actions, policies, or customs of defendants Jones, Fairfield, and Campbell deprived Mr. Lawson of his clearly established rights conferred by the United States Constitution including the prompt determination of probable cause by a neutral and detached magistrate and timely access to counsel and bail,” the amended complaint reads.
None of the attorneys for the parties in this action could be reached for comment.
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