Being held in jail over warrent that was lifted

[dayna3d2]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

My fiance missed a hearing that he was never notified of in September and a bench warrent was issued. When he spoke to his probabtion officer she explained that she had simply sent the notification of the hearing to the wrong address, rescheduled the hearing and had the bench warrent lifted on Sept.24. Last week he was in a car accident and apparently the system had not been updated because they said the bench warrent was still active and took him to the county jail. He has now been there for six days and has not seen a judge. I have contacted his probation officer and she is of no help although she did confirm that the warrent was in fact lifted. Can we file a lawsuit for false imprisonment? Also he is disabled and being denied medical treatment.My fiance missed a hearing that he was never notified of in September and a bench warrent was issued. When he spoke to his probabtion officer she explained that she had simply sent the notification of the hearing to the wrong address, rescheduled the hearing and had the bench warrent lifted. Last week he was in a car accident and apparently the system had not been updated because they said the bench warrent was still active and took him to the county jail. He has now been there for six days and has not seen a judge. I have contacted his probation officer and she is of no help. Can we file a lawsuit for false imprisonment? Also he is disabled and being denied medical treatment.

[dave33]

A lawsuit is almost always a possibility,but probably useless in this case. An attorney would almost certainly cost you more than you stand to recover. As far as medical treatment goes, something disasterous would have to happen in order for him to be eligible for some consideration. I know that it seems plain wrong. What you need to understand is that the prison system has it's own rules and regulations.Being convicted of a crime and sentenced to prison, you forfeit many rightsw. Although they must adhere to most state laws, they are almost never held accountable for a violation. Regardless, if you feel compelled to act,goodluck I hope you succeed in getting a monetary award and/or proper medical treatment for your fiance.

[dayna3d2]

Thank you for your reply, I think we will look into it.

[HighwayMan]

Speak to an attorney rather than relying exclusively on dave33 who has a rather negative view of the world.

When we stop someone and get a hit for a warrant, the originating agency must be contacted to confirm the warrant. If we can't get in touch with them the person gets held until we can.

If the warrant was vacated then they get released. It shouldn't take so long to verify the warrant.

You are taking the probation officer's word that the warrant was vacated. Best bet is to contact the court to find out for sure.

[dave33]

Wow, I think realistic would be more accurate, but as they say "each to his own". Also, after 6 days I think you could confidently say he still has a warrant. Another possibility is that even if that warrant was lifted,he could have another. It is possible, but I think unlikely that his p.o. would extend her the courtesy of a full explanation. I guess anything is possible but could you even entertain the notion of the court clerk saying "the warrants been lifted, but we are going to continue to hold him illegally indefinitely". If he has access to a law library in jail than he should try and habeus himself in, or as Highwayman said and contact an attorney. Also having an attorney advocate for your medical condition while in jail is priceless. The problem is that I suspect if the finances were readily available to you than you would probably be together right now. You get as much justice as you can afford. Equal protection under the law my foot! Some may say that is negative,personally I consider it realistic. Anyway,goodluck.

[dayna3d2]

We have contacted an attorney and are meeting with him this week. He had no other warrents and was simply held over a computer glitche. When they finnally released him he was not put before a judge at all but was simply told to get his things and get out. Also his po signed 3 orders of release the first was last Friday and they did not comply untill weds. of this week.

[dayna3d2]

Originally Posted by HighwayMan

You are taking the probation officer's word that the warrant was vacated. Best bet is to contact the court to find out for sure.

I aslo pulled up the docket online the night he was taken in and it clearly stated that the warrent was lifted by the judge in Sept.

Also I'm really begining to wonder whether all of the unnesscary delay had something to do with this week being an election week, which seems like no excuse for not doing your job to me.

[HighwayMan]

What you see on a public access website may not correspond to what is in the NCIC computer files.