ST. LOUIS, December 28, 2009 - The American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri today filed suit on behalf of Michael Bauer, alleging Bauer was held in the Jefferson County and Madison County jails for more than a month earlier this year on a body attachment that had been withdrawn in 2007. A body attachment is similar to a warrant but issued in a civil proceeding rather than a criminal proceeding. The suit alleges that unlike persons picked up on a misdemeanor or felony warrant, Bauer was never given an opportunity to appear before a judge to say that he was being held mistakenly.
Bauer came into contact with the police when he went to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to obtain a background check for a perspective employer. When the background check revealed a body attachment, Bauer was arrested and transported to Jefferson County. He was jailed primarily in Jefferson County but also in Madison County because of overcrowding in the Jefferson County Jail. He was released after a prosecuting attorney noticed the error and brought it to the attention of the court. During his 37 days in custody, Bauer lost his job and was evicted from his apartment.
“It is shocking that a man can be held in jail for more than a month without being given any chance to tell a judge there has been a mistake,” said Brenda Jones, executive director of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri. “If a person can be jailed here in Missouri without any recourse, then we might as well throw the constitution, due process, and everything that America stands for out the window.”
The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Bauer is represented by cooperating attorney Robert King of St. Louis and ACLU of Eastern Missouri legal director Anthony Rothert.
