Source: http://www.wfaa.com/localnews/news8/
stories/wfaa030218_am_haltomcity.222e93b7.html
By BYRON HARRIS / WFAA-TV - 02/19/2003
Now, a lawsuit has been filed against the entire Haltom City Council.
The lawsuit makes charges of a widespread pattern of unconstitutional
practices and conditions.
It repeats complaints....[and] named in this action are seven city
council members, Haltom City itself, and 36-year-old municipal
Judge Jack Byno.
Cited in the case is an unnamed 18-year-old male, charged with
truancy, who allegedly appeared before Byno. The judge fined the
18-year-old approximately $24,000. After he'd served five weeks,
the suit said, his grandparents had to take out a home equity loan
of $16,000 to pay the city to get him released.
Attorney Everett Newton tries dozens of cases in Dallas Municipal
Court each week. "I've never seen a municipal judge make that type
of decision," Newton said.
"....people have an expectation that the judge is going to be familiar
with the law and is going to be judicious....and be reasonable when
dispensing justice."
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But the attorney suing Haltom City, Michael Pezzulli, said that in Byno's
case, that didn't happen in perhaps thousands of cases.
"If you cannot pay the fine, you'll sit it out for $100 a day," Pezzulli
said. "And the law has been clear for years: you simply cannot do that."
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The suit said Byno misused what's called a capias warrant.
"It's not appropriate to say, 'I'm throwing you in jail unless you give
me all the money I want from you,'" Pezzulli said. "That's where he
stepped over the constitutional line. That's the
problem."
(
geocities.com/SouthBeach)