A Chicago federal appeals has refused to upset a jury’s verdict against onetime Cook County Jail inmates, who alleged in a lawsuit the sheriff violated their constitutional rights by not protecting their possessions when they were booked, saying plaintiffs failed to show any crime was committed, much less a breach of their rights.
The Aug. 24 decision was authored by Judge Frank Easterbrook, with agreement from judges Kenneth Ripple and David Hamilton, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Their ruling went against Leoncio Elizarri and several other one-time Cook County Jail inmates, who brought a class action against Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and the county.
The group sued in 2007, saying when they were booked into the jail, belongings they had on their persons were taken by jail staff and put in property bags for safekeeping. Such possessions included jewelry and identification cards. They later sought return of their property, but were told the property was not available, leading them to believe the property was stolen or lost, they said.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart
Plaintiffs claimed 23,000 property bags have vanished from the jail.
Plaintiffs accused Dart of violating their right to due process by depriving them of property without process, in that he did not take adequate measures to prevent the thefts and-or losses.
The case went to trial in January 2016, with the jury deciding in favor of Dart and the county. Plaintiffs appealed, but the Seventh Circuit agreed with the jury.
For starters, Judge Easterbrook noted plaintiffs misdirected their suit in more than one way.
“Plaintiffs do not contend that the Sheriff personally stole anything or even tolerated a known thief — and none of the guards is a defendant. Failure to prosecute thieves does not violate the Constitution,” Easterbrook wrote.
“Likewise a guard’s negligent loss of belongings, while potentially tortious under state law, does not violate the Constitution. A distinctive feature of this case is that plaintiffs wanted the jury to find the Sheriff liable without showing that any of the Sheriff’s subordinates violated the Constitution,” Easterbrook observed.
Easterbrook acknowledged plaintiffs demonstrated there was a problem at the jail, but he noted improvement had been made.
“Evidence showed that the loss-or-theft rate, while substantial, had been falling as the Sheriff implemented additional controls. The jury evidently concluded that the Sheriff had done enough — had taken ‘reasonable measures,’” Easterbrook said.
Easterbrook further noted plaintiffs contended on appeal the sheriff breached the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, which protects against unlawful search and seizure, but pressed the case at trial as an alleged violation of the constitution’s due process clause. Easterbrook said plaintiffs cannot change the basis of their suit on appeal.
Plaintiffs have been represented by the Chicago firms of Kenneth N. Flaxman P.C., O’Connor & Nakos and Thomas G. Morrissey Ltd.
The sheriff has been defended by Cavanaugh Law Group, Sinars Rollins LLC and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office
Elizarri filed a similar suit in 2017 against Cook County, in connection with his arrest in December 2015 on a petition for violating probation, for which he ended up in prison until December 2016, according to court papers.
Elizarri said jail staff again took his possessions, some of which were not returned when he went to prison, because the items are not allowed in prison. Other items that are allowed in prison, should have been forwarded to prison, but were not. Neither category of items have been released to him, Elizarri alleged.
Elizarri alleged the sheriff violated the Fourth and 14th Amendments, which protect against unlawful search and seizure, and equal protection under the law.
This suit remains pending in Chicago federal district court. Elizarri is also represented in this suit by the Flaxman firm.