Lead plaintiff in Galveston County bail lawsuit wants fairer process for defendants

Defendants are seen during a probable cause hearing Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017, in Houston. ( Jon Shapley / Houston Chronicle ) Defendants are seen during a probable cause hearing Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017, in Houston. ( Jon Shapley / Houston Chronicle ) Photo: Jon Shapley, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle Photo: Jon Shapley, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Lead plaintiff in Galveston County bail lawsuit wants fairer process for defendants 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

GALVESTON -- The lead plaintiff in an ongoing federal lawsuit challenging Galveston County's cash bail system as unconstitutional took the stand during a hearing Tuesday, testifying about his experience as a felony detainee and making his case for changing the bail process.

Aaron Booth, 37, testified that when he was processed for bail after his April 2018 arrest for felony drug possession he was "under-informed and overwhelmed." He said he accepted a magistrate judge's decision to set his bail at $20,000 -- a sum he could not afford -- without determining whether he was a flight risk.

"(The judge) just read my rights and told me what I was charged with, really," Booth said. "I wasn't represented by an attorney or anything like that. I didn't know which way to go."

The ACLU of Texas and the Arnold & Porter law firm filed the lawsuit in April on Booth's behalf, accusing Galveston County -- including local judges and magistrates as well as District Attorney Jack Roady -- of operating an arbitrary, two-tiered system of justice based on wealth. The system violates the constitutional right to counsel, the right to due process and equal protection under the law, the suit alleges.

Booth was arrested April 8 in Galveston when police stopped him after responding to reports he was looking into other people's cars in a parking lot. Booth told the arresting officers he had marijuana and methamphetamine in his bag. He was booked on drug possession charges that day.

The ACLU contacted Booth shortly after his arrest in April and asked him to be the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. Booth, who was released from jail in June after striking a deal with a bail bondsman, said he wanted to fight for a fairer process for other defendants.

Booth said the bail process should be "a little more individualized for people instead of being treated like a number."

Galveston County Magistrate Judge Kerri Foley, who set Booth's $20,000 bond, testified that "nobody dictated to me where to set bond." Foley said she had always been "very conscientious" in considering felony and misdemeanor defendants.

Foley testified that she never asks defendants if they have the means to pay their bail, and that Booth's financial situation -- he stated he makes roughly $238 per week -- would not have affected her decision.

"I felt in Mr. Booth's case it was a fair amount because of his criminal history and the circumstances of the arrest," Foley said.

Tuesday's injunction hearing before Magistrate Judge Andrew Edison came one week after a federal district judge upheld Edison's denial of the county's motion to dismiss the lawsuit. In that same ruling, Edison wrote that the ACLU sufficiently argued that under the Constitution's 6th Amendment, Booth and all defendants are guaranteed a right to counsel at any bail hearing.

Edison also previously ruled that Roady, who controls the county's bail schedule, is liable for his role in perpetuating a wealth-based detention system, noting that county magistrate judges "always strictly adhere" to the bail amounts recommended by the district attorney.

Galveston County Judge Mark Henry, who was called to testify by the defense, maintained that the county is already instituting reforms to its bail system, including requiring a bond reduction hearing for detainees within 24 to 48 hours of incarceration.

"It's not just a fiscal benefit to (the county), I do agree it's a community benefit to have pretrial defendants back with their families," Henry said.

Henry added that the ongoing lawsuit was hurting the county's bail reform process.

Edison is expected to make a ruling on a preliminary injunction in the coming days.

Nick Powell covers Galveston County for the Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and send him tips at nick.powell@chron.com