Judge withdraws from costly legal representation in $3.5 million bail lawsuit Defendant looks to save county money in fight against bail suit

County Court Judge Michael Fields (also goes by Mike Fields) undated file photo provided by his office. County Court Judge Michael Fields (also goes by Mike Fields) undated file photo provided by his office. Photo: Houston Chronicle Photo: Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Judge withdraws from costly legal representation in $3.5 million bail lawsuit 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

One of 15 Harris County judges challenging a federal order altering the cash bail system for low-income misdemeanor defendants has dropped out of the group that hired a pricey Washington, D.C., law firm to appeal the lawsuit.

Criminal Court-at-Law Judge Mike Fields, a Republican who has been on the bench since 1998, opted out of the appeal prepared by $550-an-hour lawyer, Charles "Chuck" Cooper, who was just retained as private counsel for Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Fields said Wednesday that he still supports the appeal but prefers to use Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan's office for his legal representation. Ryan's office put Assistant County Attorney Bruce S. Powers on record with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as Fields' lawyer.

Fields said he doesn't want the county to spend more money on his behalf. The county's legal bills have already reached $3.5 million in the case.

"I know the average Harris County taxpayer makes $20 an hour - $550 an hour is a huge jump from there," Fields said.

The bail suit was brought on behalf of Maranda ODonnell, a young mother who was held in the Harris County Jail because she couldn't afford to post $2,500 bail after being arrested for driving with a suspended license. Similar lawsuits filed on behalf of two other people were merged into the case in August.

On April 28, Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal ruled that a "wealth-based" bail system for misdemeanor defendants was unconstitutional. Her order went into effect earlier this month.

Fields, 52, said he cannot justify spending more money for the appeal, especially after the district circuit and U.S. Supreme Court all denied the county's request for a temporary halt to Rosenthal's order. He said he supports the idea of a settlement, as do several of his colleagues.

"All county officials involved would like to settle this lawsuit in a way that balances the rights of the arrestees with the safety of the public," said First Assistant Harris County Attorney Robert Soard. "We have been unable to reach an agreement with the plaintiffs on how to handle arrestees charged with serious misdemeanors, such as domestic violence or driving while intoxicated, or those who may consistently fail to appear in court."

The suit names all 16 criminal court at law judges as defendants, and one, Judge Darrell Jordan, previously opted to not to participate in the fight. Besides Fields, Jordan, who is a Democrat, is the only other African-American jurist on the Harris County criminal courts at law.

Neal Manne, a Houston attorney who joined with two civil rights groups in filing the lawsuit on behalf of indigent defendants, said Fields' decision about legal representation evokes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"The arc of the moral universe is long," he said, "but it bends toward justice."