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ACLU challenges bail bonds system after bounty hunters charged with assault [View all]
Source: The Guardian
ACLU challenges bail bonds system after bounty hunters charged with assault
Advocates hope suit over 2017 incident where men broke into a Montana home after a missed court date will effect the industry’s legality
Jamiles Lartey
Fri 3 May 2019 06.00 BST Last modified on Fri 3 May 2019 15.48 BST
Eugene Mitchell and his wife, Shayleen, were sleeping comfortably in their bed at home in Lolo, Montana, when they were startled awake by the sound of their front door being busted down.
“Two seconds later they were in our bedroom, all wearing tactical gear, camouflage, assault rifles,” Mitchell said, recalling five men in total.
They had “badges”– but they weren’t the police, they hadn’t sworn an oath of public office and they weren’t certified or registered in any way.
The men who burst in that night were bounty hunters – at least that’s what they called themselves – and they had been dispatched to capture Mitchell after a missed court date for driving on a suspended license – a misdemeanor.
-snip-
Now, the April 2017 incident is at the center of a lawsuit that advocates hope may have sweeping implications for the bail bonds industry – which in many parts of the US, including Montana, endures as an unregulated and archaic throwback to a bygone era of frontier justice.
-snip-
Advocates hope suit over 2017 incident where men broke into a Montana home after a missed court date will effect the industry’s legality
Jamiles Lartey
Fri 3 May 2019 06.00 BST Last modified on Fri 3 May 2019 15.48 BST
Eugene Mitchell and his wife, Shayleen, were sleeping comfortably in their bed at home in Lolo, Montana, when they were startled awake by the sound of their front door being busted down.
“Two seconds later they were in our bedroom, all wearing tactical gear, camouflage, assault rifles,” Mitchell said, recalling five men in total.
They had “badges”– but they weren’t the police, they hadn’t sworn an oath of public office and they weren’t certified or registered in any way.
The men who burst in that night were bounty hunters – at least that’s what they called themselves – and they had been dispatched to capture Mitchell after a missed court date for driving on a suspended license – a misdemeanor.
-snip-
Now, the April 2017 incident is at the center of a lawsuit that advocates hope may have sweeping implications for the bail bonds industry – which in many parts of the US, including Montana, endures as an unregulated and archaic throwback to a bygone era of frontier justice.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/03/montana-bail-bondsmen-bounty-hunters-aclu-lawsuit
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