Booking Fee Ruled Unconstitutional

SPOKANE, Wash. — A federal judge ruled that Spokane County’s practice of charging jail-booking fees is unconstitutional.

U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle struck down the state law that authorized counties to levy up to $100 in booking fees from inmates on the basis that it violated an individual’s constitutional protections of due process.

Booking fees of up to $10 were originally authorized by the state legislature in 1999, but the limit was raised to $100 in 2003. Fees were to be refunded if the charges were dropped or in the event of an acquittal.

Van Sickle issued his ruling in a case brought by a former Spokane inmate who was booked, but later released after the charges were dropped. The former inmate sued when a $39 booking fee was not refunded.

In a case that has ramifications for several other counties that similarly collect booking fees, Van Sickle’s decision could pave the way for a class-action lawsuit that could cost the county more than $1 million in refund payments, experts say.