Quote:
Several places are now reporting a very disconcerting claim about the justice system in Waco Texas requesting detainees sign waivers promising not to sue the city for unlawful arrest, detention, and civil rights violations.
Quote:
Waco, Texas – Earlier today, detainees in the Jack Harwell Detention Center in Waco were told that in exchange for bond reductions, they must sign a document stating the Waco police “had the right to arrest the inmate and that he/she will not file a lawsuit against McLennan County and/or the City of Waco.”
Quote:
If this is true, this is a very alarming demand by local authorities. The requirement to sign a liability release waiver prior to a bond hearing is quite possibly unlawful by itself.
It would appear, at least on the surface, to be completely unenforceable. I doubt you could find a more succinct example of “signing under duress”, which essentially negates any validity to the waiver itself.
Secondly, the implication of requiring the waiver prior to release, is itself a tacit admission of wrongdoing on behalf of the arresting authority. It just makes no sense.
If the detainee represents such a significant threat of non-reappearance, and -in a larger sense- toward the general public; and the detainees’ violation of law so serious as to set their bond at $1,000,000 – how can the simple process of signing a waiver mitigate the underlying premise of their risk/danger?