On April 4, 2008, immigrant detainees in Maricopa County filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona against the County of Maricopa and head staff. The plaintiffs claimed that the Count of Maricopa violated the plaintiffs' rights under the Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The plaintiffs, represented by the ACLU and MALDEF, asked the court for declaratory and injunctive relief, requesting an immediate bail hearing and declaration that Proposition 100 violated the plaintiffs' constitutional rights.

Specifically, the plaintiffs claimed that Proposition 100 did not limit pretrial incarceration or provide procedural protections for the criminal defendants.
Plaintiffs also alleged that Proposition 100 violated their constitutional rights at several stages of the criminal proceedings, including allowing police to forego advising detainees of their Miranda rights and allowing the County of Maricopa to hold immigrant detainees categorically ineligible for bail and legal counsel.

On March 29, 2011, the Court (Judge Susan R. Bolton) granted summary judgment in favor of defendants on all charges but the one. On May 13, 2011, the Court dismissed the remaining count without prejudice.

On June 10, 2011 the plaintiffs appealed the summary judgment order to the 9th Circuit. The plaintiffs stated at this time they were unsure as to whether they would refile their claim challenging Proposition 100. The case has been inactive since September 19, 2011.

Meredith Osborne - 10/16/2013


compress summary