U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. granted class certification Wednesday in a federal lawsuit filed in 2012 by a former Phillips County jail inmate who was held in the facility for 39 days before he finally received a first appearance before a judge.
"It's undisputed that [the inmate] was denied a prompt first appearance," the judge wrote in his order. "And he has recently provided the court with a list of at least fifty-two persons allegedly denied the same right."
Marshall denied, however, plaintiff Gary Covington's request for class certification regarding allegations of poor conditions suffered by those confined at the Phillips County jail.
"The Phillips County jail was, indeed, in poor condition," the judge wrote in his order. "But each putative class member's claim will rise or fall depending upon the specific conditions he or she encountered and the length of confinement."
Marshall already granted partial summary judgment in the case in March, saying that Covington's constitutional rights were violated when he was held for the 39 days without an initial appearance in court. He noted in his ruling that it was unclear who was responsible for the delay in getting Covington before a judge.
In his lawsuit, Covington accused then-Sheriff Ronnie White of having an unconstitutional policy at the jail in which he waited for the district court to "call" for defendants to appear, but the filing said that in many cases, the court didn't know that defendants had been arrested and needed initial court appearances. Neal Byrd has since become sheriff.
Covington was arrested after a traffic stop for a broken taillight. Police accused him of being combative, and he accused them of beating him.
State Desk on 10/17/2014