Lawsuit over Baker County Sheriff's handling of ICE detainers awaits judge's decision

Life for noncitizens held at the Baker County Detention Center in Macclenny has deteriorated since the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida first sued the Baker County sheriff in September 2022, their attorneys say.

Suspected undocumented immigrants arrested by federal or local law enforcement in Northeast Florida are held at the jail during investigations and deportation proceedings. The facility is one of dozens of city and county jails that have a contract with ICE, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Baker is in worse shape now than he was when we filed the lawsuit,” ACLU attorney Amy Godshall told U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan on Monday.

From his bench on the 10th floor of Jacksonville's Bryan Simpson Courthouse, Corrigan heard arguments from ACLU of Florida v. Baker County Sheriff's Office et al. and is now tasked with deciding whether to allow the case to proceed unless an agreement is reached between the two sides before a July 15 deadline.

Lawyers for the sheriff's office and other defendants are asking Corrigan to dismiss the case without prejudice. They say the agencies broke no laws.

In addition to the Baker County Sheriff's Office, the complaint also names Sheriff Scotty Rhoden, Undersheriff Randy Crews, Capt. Evelyn Blue and the jail's financial management arm, Baker County Corrections Management Corp. It alleges the sheriff's office violates inmates' rights by denying them access to counsel and interfering with their communication with their attorneys and families.

The ACLU says some inmates have suffered so many disconnected calls that they have been forced to abandon contact with their families at times, and some have had their legal mail significantly delayed or intercepted.

According to the ACLU, all legal mail should be opened and inspected, but not read, in the presence of an inmate.

In the motion to dismiss, the sheriff's office claims that this would constitute a violation if true, but it did not.

“The Constitution … does not permit the reading of correspondence between an attorney and his or her client,” Justin Levine, an attorney for Baker County Corrections Management Corp., wrote in a court filing. “However, mail sent and received by a court or other entity, including civil rights groups or law schools, does not constitute ‘legal mail.’”

The ACLU alleges that all of these issues, taken together, amount to retaliation against the ACLU for its work to ensure that detainees are fully aware of their rights.

The attorney representing the sheriff's office, Matt Carson, denied the ACLU's allegations.

“With all due respect, they have no idea what it takes to run a detention center,” Carson told the judge before explaining that security concerns led to the decision to cancel a presentation the ACLU planned to hold for inmates.

Godshall responded that this was the “first time the ACLU had heard” that the sheriff's office had safety concerns.

The complaint says the Baker County Sheriff's Office approved the “Know Your Rights” presentations and legal visits “well in advance, but then canceled the presentations and legal visits without explanation at the last minute.”

The organization also alleges that the sheriff's office denied attorneys access to their clients “and stated that it would reevaluate future visits that had already been scheduled, signaling the continued denial of individuals' right to counsel.”