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$250,000 Awarded to Woman Who Spent 96 Days in Jail

Loaded on June 17, 2019 by Douglas Ankney published in Criminal Legal News July, 2019, page 41
Filed under: Wrongful Imprisonment, Overdetention. Location: Mississippi.

by Douglas Ankney

A jury in Aberdeen, Mississippi, awarded Jessica Jauch $250,000 after she spent 96 days in jail without seeing a judge. Jauch was arrested on traffic charges in 2012 but was held in the Choctaw County Jail after being served with a drug indictment. While locked up, Jauch was forced to sign over her daughter’s custody rights to the child’s grandmother. Upon seeing a judge and being appointed counsel, Jauch quickly made bail. She was cleared of the drug charge after undercover video showed she did not commit any crime.

Jauch’s suit was initially dismissed by federal district Judge Sharion Aycock. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reinstated her case, calling her incarceration “unjust and unfair” and “alien to our law.” Aycock then ruled that the county and Sheriff Floyd Halford were liable before submitting the case to a jury to determine damages. After a two-day trial, the jury awarded $200,000 against Halford and $50,000 against the county. Halford claimed that the problem was that in Choctaw County the circuit court meets only twice a year. Mississippi has ongoing issues with people being jailed and then waiting months or years with little access to a lawyer or bail. Since Jauch’s arrest, the state’s Supreme Court has changed the rules of criminal procedure. Among other changes, the rules now require that anyone arrested before indictment must be brought before a judge within two business days, and anyone arrested after indictment must be arraigned within 30 days. 

Daniel Griffith, the lawyer who represented Choctaw County, said Mississippi needs a statewide system of public defenders instead of the part-time defenders in most counties. But lawmakers failed to act on such a proposal put forth this year by a task force. 

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Source: nypost.com

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More from this issue:

  1. News in Brief
  2. Another Life Ruined as a Result of a Bad Cop and Failure to Follow Policy, by Douglas Ankney
  3. Stop Peeking Inside the Black Box
  4. Over a Year After Cook County Bail Reform, Jails Are Still Full, by Dale Chappell
  5. $250,000 Awarded to Woman Who Spent 96 Days in Jail, by Douglas Ankney
  6. Getting Rid of the ‘X’, by Jayson Hawkins
  7. FBI Using Private Ancestry Databases to Zero in on Suspects, by Edward Lyon
  8. Misconduct Suits Against New York City Police Department on the Rise, by Douglas Ankney
  9. Study: Technology Creates and Embeds Bias in the Criminal Justice System, by Douglas Ankney
  10. Modern Forensics Findings Not Always 100 Percent Reliable, by Edward Lyon
  11. Police Want Unfettered Access to Consumer DNA Databases, by Kevin Bliss
  12. Court’s in Session: The Honorable Algorithm Presiding, by Douglas Ankney
  13. Prosecutors Use Blacklists to Keep Dishonest Officers out of the Courtroom, by Kevin Bliss
  14. Taking Pictures in the Dark: Florida Police Not Forthcoming About Investigations Using Facial Recognition Software, by Douglas Ankney
  15. Killer Cops and Vilified Victims, by Jayson Hawkins
  16. Ohio Mayor’s Courts Are Huge Sources of Unjust Revenues, by Edward Lyon
  17. In a Rare Move, California Court of Appeal Discharges Prisoner from All Forms of Custody, Including Parole, After Finding Time Served in Prison Grossly Disproportionate to His Offense, by Douglas Ankney
  18. Fourth Circuit Tosses Evidence Discovered by Illegal GPS Tracker, by Dale Chappell
  19. Hawai’i Supreme Court: Cumulative Effect of Multiple Instances of Prosecutorial Misconduct Requires Reversal, by Douglas Ankney
  20. D.C. Circuit Holds Expert’s False Testimony ‘Material,’ Allowing Challenge to Four-Decade-Old Murder Conviction, by Dale Chappell
  21. Ninth Circuit Rules Robbery Committed Alone by Gang Member Not Enough for California Gang Enhancement, Despite Testimony of Gang Expert, by Dale Chappell
  22. Fourth Circuit Rules Assault on Government Official Under North Carolina Statute Not a ‘Crime of Violence’, by Chad Marks
  23. Eighth Circuit: Forfeited Claim of Miscalculated Criminal History Score Is Reviewable Under Plain Error Standard, by Douglas Ankney
  24. Violence in the House: Studies Find Cops’ Families Live Dangerous Lives, by Edward Lyon
  25. Ohio Supreme Court: Plea Defendant Must Be Informed of Maximum Penalty for Postrelease-Control Violation Prior to Pleading Guilty to a New Felony, by David Reutter
  26. Police Avoid Negative Publicity by Routinely Withholding Body-Cam Footage, by Kevin Bliss
  27. Indiana Supreme Court: IAC Where Lawyer Marks ‘Not Applicable’ to Immigration Consequences Warning on Court’s Advisement Form Without Knowing Client’s Immigration Status, by David Reutter
  28. Hawai’i Supreme Court Announces New Rule Requiring Tachibana Colloquy in All Trials, by Douglas Ankney
  29. Kansas Supreme Court: Correcting Illegal Sentence After Fully Served Violates Prohibition Against Double Jeopardy, by Matthew Clarke
  30. Missouri Supreme Court Issues Writ of Prohibition Prohibiting Circuit Court From Revoking Probation After Probation Term Had Already Expired, by Douglas Ankney
  31. Forced Self-Incrimination, by Larry N.
  32. Second Circuit Holds Government’s Misleading Disclosure of Inculpatory Statement Requires New Trial, by Dale Chappell
  33. Prosecutorial Power Used Too Often to Stop Prisoners From Getting Second Chance at Life, by Chad Marks
  34. 11th Circuit Holds Conviction Under Georgia’s Aggravated Assault Statute Is Not a ‘Crime of Violence’ When Based Upon a Mens Rea of Recklessness, by Douglas Ankney
  35. Attempted Felony-Murder Is Not a Cognizable Crime in West Virginia, by Douglas Ankney
  36. Arkansas Supreme Court Rules Justification Defense Available When Charged With Manslaughter, by David Reutter
  37. Washington Supreme Court Rules Attenuation Doctrine Inapplicable Where Police Illegally Seize Person Followed by Ferrier Warnings and Consent to Search, Evidence Must Be Suppressed, by Douglas Ankney
  38. Fifth Circuit Rules Evidence of Counsel’s Dual Representation of Defendant and Codefendant Results in Possible Actual Conflict of Interest Requires Evidentiary Hearing, by Dale Chappell
  39. North Dakota Supreme Court Reinstates Postconviction Relief Application Dismissed Without Notice of Motion for Summary Disposition, by Matthew Clarke
  40. Oregon Supreme Court: State Constitution Requires Warrant to Specify When Internet Searches Occurred, by Mark Wilson
  41. Maryland Court of Appeals Holds Valid Prescription Constitutes ‘Verbal Act’ Thus Not Barred From Evidence as Hearsay When Basis for Statutory Defense, by Dale Chappell
  42. Second Circuit Rules District Court Improperly Denied Coram Nobis Petition Claiming Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, by Douglas Ankney
  43. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces in Case of First Impression That Police Causing Cellphone to Reveal Its Real Time Location Is a Search Under State Constitution, by Douglas Ankney
  44. Eighth Circuit Finds Child Porn Sentence ‘Substantively Unreasonable’, by Dale Chappell
  45. Fourth Circuit Rules Government Breached Plea Agreement When It Failed to Honor Its Drug Conduct Stipulation at Sentencing, by Chad Marks
  46. Compelled Decryption Primer, by National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Fourth Amendment Center
  47. Illinois Enacts Youthful Parole for Some, by Clifford Powers
  48. Judge Weinstein Holds that an Appeal Waiver Provision in a Plea Agreement that Seeks a Waiver of All Collateral Rights Is Impermissible Under the Constitution Unless it Specifically Enumerates All Exceptions Required by Law So that a Defendant Has Notice, by Punch & Jurists
  49. Ninth Circuit: Washington State Accomplice Liability Drug Offenses Not ACCA Predicates, by Mark Wilson
  50. Locking Up Drug ‘Dealers’ to Save Users Doesn’t Make Anyone Safer, by Alyssa Stryker
  51. Jury Takes Just 9 Minutes to Find Man Who Blared ‘F--k tha Police’ Toward Cops Not Guilty, by Dale Chappell
  52. Policing for Profit: Justice Reformers Chip Away at Civil Asset Forfeiture, by Noreen Marcus

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