08-3413 Harper v. Sheriff of Cook County

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Civil Procedure
Class certification

A claim that the sheriff unconstitutionally holds detainees after bond has been posted is not appropriate for a class action.

"Failing to take issue with any particular intake procedure, Harper is left with a claim that the Sheriff is unconstitutionally holding detainees after bond has been posted. But the constitutionality of this detention depends on whether the length of the delay between the time the Sheriff was notified that bond had been posted and the time that the detainee was released was reasonable in any given case. See Chortek v. City of Milwaukee, 356 F.3d 740, 747 (7th Cir. 2004) (delay in processing is actionable if unreasonable). That is an individual issue that will depend on how long each detainee was held after bond was posted and what justifications there might be for the delay on that particular day or for that particular detainee-the time of day, whether the jail was processing an unusually large number of detainees at that time, whether other events occurring at the jail legitimately slowed processing times, whether the detainee's lack of cooperation delayed processing, etc. See Lewis v. O'Grady, 853 F.2d 1366, 1370 (7th Cir. 1988) (what is a reasonable time for detaining prisoner after grounds for detention have ceased depends on facts presented in each case). Liability, to say nothing of damages, would need to be determined on an individual basis. Thus, common issues do not predominate over individual issues, making this case inappropriate for class disposition. Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(3)."

Vacated and Remanded.

08-3413 Harper v. Sheriff of Cook County

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Darrah, J., Bauer, J.

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