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| Time runs out for jail lawsuit |
| By Albany Times Union |
| Published: 11/03/2003 |
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A lawyer who missed the deadline to certify an $800 million class-action lawsuit that claims thousands of Rensselaer County, N.Y. Jail inmates were illegally strip searched is now out of luck, a federal judge said, after rejecting his appeal for more time. In a harsh 10-page decision, U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy said Attorney Bob Keach requested and received three extensions to submit paperwork on behalf of Nathaniel Bruce et al, and still failed to get it in by the Sept. 2 deadline. McAvoy upheld a July 25 order by U.S. District Judge David Homer that told Keach no further extensions would be granted after Sept. 1. Keach also was denied access to a preliminary injunction prohibiting the jail from conducting any more strip searches. McAvoy said Keach's lapse, "was evidence of being remiss in one's duties. Waiting until the proverbial eleventh hour to take action is always risky business, as evidenced in the negative outcome in this case." The judge also said Keach's assertion that it was in the best interest of the class to try to negotiate a settlement before filing the certification motion was a risk he must now live with. Keach said he and his associates have compelling proof about illegal strip searches at Rensselaer County Jail and they are prepared, at a minimum, to proceed forward and try individual cases to prove a blanket strip-search policy exists. He also plans to seek permission to certify the class action with the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, along with a renewed request to certify the original class action. Keach brought the original action in June 2002 on behalf of Nathaniel Bruce, a 31-year-old Troy resident who said he was humiliated by officers upon being arrested for minor offenses. Bruce filed the federal claim with three others on behalf of at least 4,000 inmates over the past 12 years who also allegedly were subjected to visual body cavity searches despite being charged with misdemeanor offenses, including DWI. Bruce admitted to having been jailed at least four times but said that didn't give officers a free pass to mistreat him. A state correction inspector told Rensselaer County Jail officials just days after the class action was filed that their strip-search policy didn't comply with acceptable rules and regulations. County officials were instructed to write a new policy and, in July, a spokesman for the state Commission of Correction said a draft policy was under review. |
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