Lawsuit calls Allegheny County probation detainer system unconstitutional

Six people being held in Allegheny County Jail filed a federal lawsuit this week alleging that the probation detainer system violates their constitutional due process rights.

The suit, filed by the Abolitionist Law Center and Civil Rights Corps, seeks class-action status to represent all people held on a probation detainer in Allegheny County now and in the future.

It seeks a declaration that the county’s policies are unconstitutional and should be prohibited, as well as money for damages and attorney fees.

Defendants named in the suit include:

• Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jill E. Rangos, criminal division administrative judge.
• Frank Scherer, the county’s director of adult probation.
• Common Pleas Judges Anthony M. Mariani and Kelly E. Bigley.
• Probation hearing officers Charlene Christmas, Robert O’Brien, Stephen Esswein and Renawn Harris.
• Allegheny County Jail Warden Orlando Harper.

The lawsuit accuses Mariani and Bigley of requiring probation hearing officers to order mandatory detention for all violations. It also accuses Rangos and Scherer of approving that policy without regard to the circumstances of an alleged probation violation.

Spokespeople for the court administration and jail said they could not comment on pending litigation.

Bigley said she has not been served with the complaint, but added: “I do not have a blanket policy that my detainers cannot be lifted. That is absolutely false. I don’t ever want someone in jail unnecessarily.”

Rangos said she had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment. Mariani did not return a message.

The lawsuit claims that probation detainers are the “single largest driver of incarceration at the Allegheny County Jail.”

Statistics cited in the complaint said an average of 622 people a month — or 35% of people in Allegheny County Jail — have a probation detainer against them.

The lawsuit said that people being held on probation detainers are often jailed for months before a final determination is made on the merits of an alleged violation.

Their lives can be turned upside down, including losing employment, housing and custody of their children, not to mention what they experience during incarceration, the lawsuit said.

In Allegheny County, if a person on probation is arrested on new charges and detained, they are required to have an initial hearing called a Gagnon I proceeding, where a hearing officer determines if there is probable cause that a violation occurred.

The lawsuit said people jailed on probation detainers often wait as much as 14 days after arrest to have their initial Gagnon 1 proceeding.

Those hearings, the lawsuit said, are largely perfunctory. In a sample of 2,259 Gagnon I proceedings observed by volunteer court watchers between Jan. 10, 2021, and Sept. 16, 2022, the lawsuit said 19% were under two minutes. Another 25% were between two and five minutes, 36% were over five minutes and only three proceedings lasted more than 10 minutes.

Although public defenders are available, the lawsuit said they don’t get to speak to clients beforehand or do any research or investigation.

“Despite the appearance of a hearing, they are devoid of basic, constitutionally required procedural and substantive safeguards,” the lawsuit said. “Hearing officers render a decision on the detainer without making any finding that detention is necessary to prevent flight or to ensure public safety.”

Sumayya Saleh, who represents Civil Rights Corps, said at a news conference Tuesday at the City-County Building that there is no meaningful opportunity for a person to defend themselves.

“These so-called hearings are farcical,” she said.

If the hearing officer decides the person should be detained, they are entitled to a Gagnon II hearing on the merits of the violation before their original sentencing judge. That judge decides whether to revoke probation, resentence or release the defendant.

There is no time requirement for when the Gagnon II proceeding occurs, and in some cases, it can take months, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit accuses Bigley and Mariani of having “no-lift policies,” which are “categorically refusing to recommend a detainer lift for anyone supervised by these judges.

“Even drinking a single can of light beer has been enough to trigger this provision in the past,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit accuses Rangos and Scherer of sanctioning that policy through their inaction.

The six plaintiffs in the case were all on probation when arrested on new charges:

• Dion Horton, 22, of Atlanta, pleaded guilty to DUI, possession of marijuana and driving on a suspended license in March 2021 before Judge Susan Evashavik DiLucente. He was ordered to serve probation. While on probation, on Feb. 8, he was arrested on drug and gun charges. The next day, additional counts of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and carrying a firearm without a license were filed. The magistrate judge in the new cases set unsecured bond at $5,000. Horton remains in custody.
• Damon Jones, 23, of McKees Rocks, pleaded guilty before Rangos on Jan. 26, 2021, and was ordered to serve 6 to 12 months’ incarceration followed by five years of probation for statutory sexual assault. On Feb. 18, Jones was arrested on two new firearms charges after a traffic stop. He posted a $25,000 bond but was not released because of a detainer.
• Craig Brownlee, 51, pleaded guilty to theft and was ordered by Mariani to serve two years of probation in July 2020. He was arrested in Washington County in February 2021 on a new theft charge. A magistrate judge there set unsecured bond at $10,000, but Brownlee remained in custody because of the alleged probation violation.
• Rahdnee Oden-Pritchett, 23, of Verona, was on two years of probation from Bigley after he pleaded guilty to carrying a firearm without a license in October 2020. He was arrested and charged after a March 4 incident in which police said he broke into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment through a front window and attacked her. Although the magistrate judge set bond at $10,000, Oden-Pritchett remains in custody because of a probation detainer.
• Tate Stanford, 22, of Duquesne, pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment and drug charges before Mariani and was ordered on March 30 to serve three years of probation. He was arrested by Allegheny County Police on Sept. 27 on charges of receiving stolen property and firearms counts. The magistrate on that case set bail at $2,000, but Stanford remains in custody because of a probation detainer.
• Elijah Bronaugh, 23, of Moon, was sentenced to 6 to 12 months’ incarceration followed by two years of probation by Rangos after pleading guilty to theft, reckless endangerment, harassment, a firearms count and escape. He was arrested on Sept. 26 on a burglary warrant. Police said when they spotted Bronaugh, he walked down an alley, bent down and placed something on the ground. Police said when they retraced his steps, they found a black and purple handgun that had been reported stolen from a car earlier that day. The magistrate judge in the new cases set bail at $2,500 and $5,000, respectively, but Bronaugh cannot make bail because of probation detainers.

Bethany Hallam, an Allegheny County councilwoman and member of the Jail Oversight Board, said at Tuesday’s news conference that she supported the lawsuit and condemned the use of probation.

“Probation detainers serve no function of public safety,” she said.

If a magistrate judge makes a determination that a person can be released on bond, which was the case with all six plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Hallam said “it means the person is safe to return to their community.”

“We need to end detainers now,” she said.