Civil Rights-Bail Hearings-Denial of Counsel-Standing

Defendant appealed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of plaintiffs in their class action alleging that defendant’s bail hearing practices violated the class’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel and their Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process and equal protection. On appeal, defendant argued that plaintiffs lacked standing because they failed to show they suffered an injury redressable the prospective relief.

Where the prospect that plaintiffs would again be arrested and brought before defendant for a bail hearing was too attenuated, they failed to establish standing to bring their action.

Judgment is vacated and remanded.

Farella v. Benton County District Court, Div. 4 (MLW No. 84782/Case No. 24-2914 – 9 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Shepherd, J.) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Western District of Arkansas, Brooks, J. (Mary Erica Crouse, AAG, Little Rock, AR for appellant; Dylan L. Jacobs, Washington, D.C. and Christine Ann Cryer, Senior AAG, Little Rock, AR on the brief) (Frank Cody Kahoe III, San Francisco, CA for appellees; Norman Douglas Norwood, Rogers, AR; Jeffrey L. Fisher, Stanford, CA; Jo Alison Lee, Rogers, AR; Joshua Revesz, Washington, D.C.; and Ellie Hylton, Washington, D.C. on the brief)