Lawsuit seeks return of booking fees

A federal judge Friday heard arguments in a lawsuit that could force Spokane County to return booking fees to thousands of inmates who have been booked into jail since May 2004, because the charges may be based on a law that is unconstitutional.

The case is based on a claim filed by a Spokane man, Shawn Huss, who was arrested Oct. 31, 2004, on a domestic violence charge that was later dismissed. When Huss was booked, jailers took the $39 out of his wallet but didn’t return the money upon his release.

The seizure of those funds was based on a 1999 law, amended in 2003, that allows Washington counties to charge inmates up to $100 in booking fees to recoup the cost of that process. In April 2004, the Spokane County Commission authorized jailers to begin assessing a fee of $89.12 per inmate.

However, as in Huss’ case, jailers weren’t required to tell inmates that those fees could be recovered from the county if their charges were dropped or if they were acquitted, according to court files.

The attorney for Spokane County, Frank Conklin, argued that the county’s booking fee is simply a tax, and there is no obligation to tell inmates that they can get that money back if their charges are dismissed or if they are acquitted.

U.S. District Judge Fred Van Sickle, who is hearing the case, is required by law to ask the Washington State Attorney General’s Office if it wants to join the case before he decides its merits. He gave no time frame for his decision.

Huss’ lawsuit came about after he contacted the Center for Justice, and the county returned his $39 and changed its policy. Jailers now give inmates a form advising them that all claims must go to the county’s risk manager.

Conklin argued that Huss was no different from any other resident who is struck by a county vehicle. All claims must go to the risk manager. Since Huss didn’t follow that procedure, he can’t argue that it’s inadequate.

“There is an argument being suggested,” Conklin said, “that somehow the county has an obligation to instruct inmates what the law is. But everyone is presumed to know the law, and anyone who wants to file a financial claim must follow that procedure. Mr. Huss did not do so.”

John Sklut, who argued the case on behalf of Huss and the Center for Justice, said the lawsuit is seeking to make the county provide a hearing for inmates to contest the fee or to impose the fee only after the inmates are convicted. He also asked Van Sickle to force the county to repay every fee collected to date.

“I want to make clear that we are not contesting the power of the counties to impose a booking fee,” Sklut said. “It is the collection of this fee without any due process that we are challenging.”

Based on the challenge, six Eastern Washington counties have stopped collecting the fees, but Spokane County has continued.

Conklin argued for the county that the fee is essentially a tax to reimburse the county for the cost of booking inmates into jail.

“It’s like a theater ticket,” Conklin said. “You pay to get in. And if you are found not guilty, you are given (the money) back.”

He continued: “It’s a matter of grace that the money is given back. … It’s not a matter of constitutional right. That’s their critical flaw in their argument.”

Sklut said his client was denied due process first when he wasn’t informed that the money could be returned. Sklut also argued that seeking the money from the county’s risk manager does not replace due process.

“Any due process requires a hearing,” Sklut said. “Submitting a claim is not a hearing.”