Filed Date: 2010
Case Ongoing
Clearinghouse coding complete
In 2010, four people formerly jailed by the town of Harpersville brought suit against the town and the private probation company Judicial Correctional Services, Inc. (JCS), in Alabama state court, challenging the city's failure to provide adequate counsel to poor defendants, failure to hold hearings before imposing fines, setting of unreasonable bond amounts, and automatically incarcerating indigent defendants for failure to pay fines and costs, including "monitoring fees" charged by a private probation company contracted by the city to collect fines.
On July 11, 2012, the circuit court of Shelby County, Alabama (Judge Hub Harrington) granted the plaintiffs' motion for a temporary restraining order, prohibiting the city from incarcerating anyone who: is subject to post-conviction proceedings, has received a suspended sentence; or has been placed on probation, without first getting the court's (Judge Harrington's) permission. The judge called the municipal court system "a debtors prison" and "a judicially sanctioned extortion racket."
On August 8, 2012, the Harpersville Town Council voted to abolish the municipal court, with all cases to be transferred to the county district court over the next several months. The day after that, the Sheriff of Shelby County executed a search warrant on the Municipal Court and City Police Department. These events led Judge Harrington to order the immediate abolition of the Municipal Court.
After succeeding on their TRO, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint which included several class action allegations, including claims for damages. However, the status of those claims is not clear from public records. In August of 2015, they remained pending.
Several individuals who had been "supervised" by JCS and the Town later filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court. That case, is Carden v. Town of Harpersville.
Summary Authors
Denise Heberle (7/31/2012)
Priyah Kaul (11/9/2014)
Jonah Hudson-Erdman (9/7/2021)
Carden v. Town of Harpersville, Northern District of Alabama (2015)
Harrington, Hub (Alabama)
Harrington, Hub (Alabama)
Last updated Aug. 30, 2023, 1:33 p.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Alabama
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: 2010
Case Ongoing: Yes
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Four individuals previously incarcerated by the City of Harpersville, Alabama.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: No
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
Harpersville, AL (Harpersville), City
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Issues
General: