The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Sheriff sues county again
Lawsuit makes claims on jail overcrowding and boarding inmates
By Austen Smith, Editor
PUBLISHED: January 11, 2007
For the second time in less than six months, Sheriff Dan Minzey is suing Washtenaw County.
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In a previous lawsuit, Minzey unsuccessfully attempted to block layoffs of more than 40 deputies and support staff throughout three townships — Ypsilanti, Augusta and Salem — that were locked in a dispute over police contracts. Township and county officials were able to reach an 11th-hour agreement to avoid layoffs.
In his latest action, Minzey is suing county officials over their handling of jail overcrowding issues and accuses the county of not using $62 million in unreserved discretionary funds to expand the jail.
While the lawsuit is aimed at shedding light on the county's inability to properly maintain the jail thereby causing the chronic overcrowding, Minzey said he also wants people to know that the current $21 million bond plan that will add 96 beds to the 332-bed facility "won't even come close," to solving the overcrowding problem.
When asked whether he will try to stop the bond process through litigation, Sheriff Minzey said that wasn't the purpose of the lawsuit.
"I'm not working toward to trying to stop (the bond)," Minzey said. "Somebody needs to point out the law to them. They're wanting to deflect blame and point to the sheriff and say, 'You're not managing your population.'"
He added, "I will not stand by and watch that happen, somebody needs to take them court."
As of press time the county hadn't responded to the lawsuit. Once the county does respond and acknowledges they were served, there will be a preliminary exam scheduled.
Attorneys for the county will be responding to the lawsuit but County Administrator Bob Guenzel said they have already discredited claims about the $62 million in discretionary funds.
"All along we've been saying that these issues are without merit," Guenzel said.
"We've just about discredited all of the claims that he is making as far as the stuff about the $62 million in discretionary funding is concerned. We dealt with that last summer when we described how each of those funds are committed."
And as for the boarding out, Guenzel said it is up to the sheriff to fulfill his obligations according to state law in order to mitigate the jail population.
"The sheriff joined in a recommendation joined in a recommendation to stop the boarding out," Guenzel said.
Under Section of 7 of the State Jail Overcrowding Act, the sheriff is allowed to reduce sentences of inmates not charged with violent or drug-related crimes. That section reads, "…the original sentences, not including good time, of all prisoners sentenced to and housed in the county jail…shall be equally reduced by the sheriff by the least possible percentage reduction necessary, not to exceed 30% to reduce the county jail's prisoner population to the level prescribed in section 6(1)."
In a recent Writ of Mandamus stemming from a lawsuit filed by three inmates of the county jail, Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge Melinda Morris ordered that the sheriff enact Section 7 if the jail remains in overcrowding on the date that the writ was issued.
Commander Dave Egeler said the jail dipped below overcrowding on the day or a day after the writ was issued so the mandate has now become moot.
"There's only one current lawsuit regarding the jail and it's the new lawsuit jail filed by Minzey (on Dec. 29) so far there are no orders of any kind ordering that (Minzey) reduce sentences."
But Guenzel disagrees.
"As far as I know, I don't think that has been appealed. And as far as we're concerned it's still governing," Guenzel said. (The jail) went to 315 inmates on Dec. 20 somehow. But we just got notice from the jail administrator that they will be in overcrowding again. Hopefully, I think the writ still governs. I'm just not sure what the sheriff will do."
When asked if Minzey had requested that the county pay for his attorney fees similar to the previous lawsuit, Guenzel said that he hadn't made a formal request at the time.
Boarding Out
Several months ago, county board members discontinued the long-held practice of boarding inmates out to other facilities which was a common tool used to reduce inmate population. County officials say they stopped the boarding out after they received a bill from Minzey and discovered he was boarding out inmates to facilities that didn't have a contract with the county.
In a previous report, Sheriff Minzey said he boarded out those inmates to non-contracting facilities in order to reduce the population and that he found deals that were too good to pass up.
In this most recent lawsuit, Minzey accuses the county of tying his hands on boarding out which has contributed to overcrowding.
"People need to know that they're tying my hands because they stopped the boarding out," Minzey said.
"I think (lawsuit) will force the all of this stuff to the forefront.
"I'm outraged they're going to bond this plan out. There's a statute; when you read into the statute it's very specific about what the county responsibility is as far as the jail. It states that the county shall have a jail facility suitable and sufficient.
These 96 beds won't even come close to what it says it should be today and by that time it's built, the jail is still going to be critically overcrowded."
Minzey continued, "I know the public perception is going to be that the county is doing something, especially when they see all that construction going on at Hogback road. But in a couple of years when we're right back where we started, people are going to ask, 'Didn't they do something already to fix that jail?' Well, I am doing something to let people know what's going on."
Commissioner Rolland Sizemore, D-Ypsilanti (District 5) said this latest action against the county is just another one Minzey's smokescreens.
"As far as eliminating the boarding out, it's my recollection that was a joint thing between (Undersheriff Herb Mahoney) and the administration," Sizemore said. "And the reason we did that was because Dan was going out and boarding inmates at facilities that we didn't have contracts with."
Sizemore, who was re-elected in the November general election, said he doesn't see a resolution for jail overcrowding or the worsening relationship between county government and the sheriff's office.
"I really don't know what the answer is," he said. "I do know that it needs to come to a head and something needs to be done."
But despite the riff between Minzey and county officials, Commander Egeler said the sheriff is eagerly looking forward to working with the incoming board.
"The sheriff feels that his authority is being eroded," Egeler said. "Hopefully we'll find some kind of resolution."
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