Legal Question in Criminal Law in Washington

False Incarceration

My friend was charged and is being held right now at the county jail. He has been since 4/1/05. Today the court appointed lawyer finally realized that he has already been tried and convicted of this crime previously. The charge is forgery. They brought him in on a bench warrant on 4/1/05, his omnibus hearing was today 4/26/05, and the charges were dismissed today. He still has'nt been released

but, supposedly he will be within 10 days. His court appointed lawyer said to him that its possible he has a case against them (not sure exactly who yet). His lawyer said that he could stand to receive approx. $18,000 per day that he has been in custody. Can you please tell me if

he has a case, against who, and for how much, please.

Thank-you very much for your time.


Asked on 4/27/05, 5:23 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
James J. White, attorney Law Offices of Smith & White, PLLC

Re: False Incarceration

Terrible what happened to you friend. Although this arose out of a criminal charge, this is not actually a criminal law question. You are talking about suing the county which is a civil matter. The question is whether the county/jail was negligent in imprisoning your friend when the charge no longer existed. The next question is how much damage was done to your friend in terms of missed work, etc... You should repost your question to the civil lawsuit section looking for someone who brings actions against government entities.

At your service,

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Answered on 4/27/05, 11:04 am


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