Jury rules in favor of Ravalli County in pretrial fees due process case

A jury ruled in favor of Ravalli County on Thursday afternoon in a class-action civil suit in federal court, finding the county hadn't violated the due process rights of defendants mandated to pay fees to its pretrial supervision program.

The Ravalli County Jail Diversion Program is a pretrial services program started by the Ravalli County Sheriff's Office in 2018. When a defendant is allowed to bail out of jail, a judge may also impose pretrial conditions, such as GPS monitoring or regular alcohol and drug tests. Those tests come with fees charged by the sheriff's department the defendant must pay for.

Over the course of this week, plaintiffs argued before U.S. District Court Judge Dana Christensen in Missoula federal court that clients of the Ravalli County Sheriff's Office pretrial supervision program were forced to pay steep monthly fees, some as high as $1,000, without judicial oversight or proper notice. Attorneys for the county argued the fees were linked to judge-imposed conditions and the sheriff's department showed leniency for those who couldn't pay.

Over the first three days of the trial, several plaintiffs testified about their experiences with pretrial services.

Heidi Hutchison testified she lived paycheck to paycheck and had to get help from friends and family over the three months she had to pay $593 to pretrial supervision.

"If my landlord wasn't so lenient with me, I would have been out on the street with my boys," Hutchison said.

Charles Post testified he is unable to find a place to live because he pays $1,073 out of his $1,100 Social Security check in pretrial fees.

Former Ravalli County managing public defender Ryan Archibald testified that he saw many of his clients forced to choose between basic necessities and pretrial fees.

Ravalli County Sheriff's Office staff called to the stand testified that the pretrial program offers leniency and payment plans rather than requiring all the money at once, and that they didn't send people back to jail just for being unable to pay.

During examination, Ravalli County's lawyers Mitch Young and Maureen Lennon called the witnesses' credibility into question, such as presenting evidence that one client who claimed she was jailed for nonpayment had tested positive for methamphetamine use.

For its case in chief, Ravalli County began with district court judge Jennifer Lint, who said she considered someone's inability to pay pretrial fees when setting bail amounts and was flexible when imposing the conditions themselves. Lint said she had never seen a defendant actually present evidence of financial hardship, such as pay stubs or expense receipts, when arguing for a reduction in pretrial conditions.

Parties put forth their closing arguments on Thursday afternoon.

"This case is not about pretrial services. This case is really about dissatisfaction with the judge's decisions," Young said.

Young pointed out the pretrial fees are attached to pretrial conditions, which are ordered by a judge and can be appealed in court.

"The evidence in this case shows that Ravalli County provides due process to the people who are ordered to the program," Young said.

Plaintiffs' counsel Phil Telfeyan said while pretrial conditions are ordered by a judge, the fees themselves are not, and judges have no power to alter or waive the fees. Most court orders assigning someone to pretrial conditions don't mention fees at all, Telfeyan argued, violating due process.

"The one thing that remains uncontested is that the fees are exorbitant," Telfeyan said. "Everything else is a distraction."

Closing arguments ended and the jury entered deliberation around 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. At 4:49, the jury returned its verdict, finding in favor of Ravalli County. Lawyers and witnesses for the county hugged and smiled in the aftermath as bailiffs ushered everyone out of the courthouse, while counsel for the plaintiffs expressed disappointment.

"It's always an uphill battle when you're fighting on behalf of the people against the government," Telfeyan said.

Telfeyan said he thought the plaintiffs' case was quite solid, but that the jury didn't see the injustice of the situation. He said that he plans to appeal the verdict, which could go either to a Montana district judge or the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In the meantime, Ravalli County's pretrial fees are set to increase by 34% over the next two years.

This story will be updated.