City of Jackson served class-action lawsuit

JACKSON, Tenn. — A class-action lawsuit has been filed against the city of Jackson.

Both the chief of police and city court clerk have been listed as defendants.

In January, we spoke to District Attorney General Jody Pickens about numerous warrants out of Jackson City Court that were allegedly not properly sworn in.

“Warrants that are not properly attained are void. It’s as if they never existed,” plaintiff attorney Mark Donahoe said.

“It is a technical procedural safeguard that should be done, and the city probably has an increased awareness of how important it is to be done,” city attorney Lewis Cobb said.

Now a lawsuit has been filed against the city by Steven Cox and Kelly Freeman, who faced charges in city court in 2017 and 2018.

“It creates an issue for anyone who was arrested that went through city court, even if it was a felony case where you were later convicted,” Donahoe said.

Donahoe says this is a civil lawsuit involving damages and potential money recovery, and a different suit will need to be filed in order for those affected to attempt to clear their record.

According to documents filed in federal court, the plaintiffs do not believe the city of Jackson met the requirements of the 4th and 14th Amendments while arresting and detaining numerous individuals.

“We think we will be able to prove that, should this case proceed to trial,” Donahoe said.

He also says the suit is not against any specific individual.

“Chief Wiser and Clerk Hubbard are served only in their official capacity as representatives of the city,” Donahoe said.

“None of this was any type of intention or deliberate,” Cobb said. “It was just some oversights.”