Sherwood sued over hot-check court fines, arrests

LITTLE ROCK— A central Arkansas city is effectively operating a debtors' prison that imposes hefty fines and jail time for thousands of poor people whose checks bounce, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday.

The lawsuit accuses the city of Sherwood and Pulaski County of violating the constitutional rights of thousands of residents through the prosecution of hot-check cases. The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law filed the lawsuit on behalf of four people who were jailed because they couldn't pay fines related to bounced checks and a Sherwood resident who is challenging the practice as a misuse of taxpayer funds.

"Through a labyrinthine — and lucrative — system, a single check for $15 returned for insufficient funds can be leveraged into many thousands of dollars in court costs, fines and fees owed to Sherwood and Pulaski County," the groups said in the lawsuit.

Pulaski County and Sherwood officials did not immediately return messages Tuesday morning. Sherwood District Court Judge Milas Hale III, who's also named as a defendant in the suit, said he had not seen the lawsuit yet and did not have an immediate comment.

The plaintiffs in the case include a 40-year-old Arkansas woman who is in jail because she was unable to pay more than $2,600 in court costs, fines and fees related to a bounced check she wrote in 2011 for $28.93.

The lawsuit accuses Sherwood and Pulaski County officials of requiring defendants to waive their right to counsel before entering the courtroom and closing court proceedings to the public and the media. The groups also claim that the hot-check court issues an arrest warrant each time a person fails to make a payment, regardless of their ability to pay, and uses each warrant as an opportunity to assess more fines and fees against the individual.

Pulaski County has sent misdemeanor hot-check cases to the Sherwood District Court since the 1970s, according to the lawsuit. The groups in the lawsuit also suggest that the practice is more widespread than just one county.

Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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