Statement on Oral Arguments in Black Hawk County Lawsuit

Roberts et al. v. Thompson et al. is a class action lawsuit filed by Public Justice, the ACLU of Iowa, Fredrikson & Byron, PA, and Frerichs Law Office on behalf of Leticia (pronounced Luh-TEE-see-uh) Roberts and other individuals who were charged “pay-to-stay” fees by the Black Hawk Co. Jail, made to sign antiquated agreements to pay those fees and giving up all their rights to due process before being released from jail, then subjected to heavy-handed collection by law enforcement officers.

The government then collects on those fees without any court reviewing whether the fees are even lawful — and the money collected isn’t even used for jail costs. Instead, the sheriff uses the fees collected to fund a shooting range for the enjoyment of department employees and families, outfitted with ice cream and cotton candy machines as well as laser tag.

• Details about the initial lawsuit and the sheriff's wrongful practices can be found here.
• Details about the appeal can be found here.
• A press packet with a video and photos of Charles Moore with Public Justice making a statement, a photo of him outside the courthouse, headshots, logos, and more is available here.

The following statement can be attributed to Charles Moore, senior staff attorney with Public Justice:

"We appreciated the opportunity to present our oral arguments today in front of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of our clients, who are bravely trying to fix things in Black Hawk County.

"We filed this lawsuit in May 2024 to challenge the practices of the sheriff’s office and the county collecting these fees without providing any due process of law. Then in November 2024, a U.S. district court dismissed the lawsuit, a decision we believe was in error, and that is why we filed this appeal.

"We remain profoundly concerned about Black Hawk County's deeply harmful practice, which continues. Today we asked the Court of Appeals to reverse the district court’s dismissal of our case so that we can continue our lawsuit to try to end this abusive practice for good. We believe what Black Hawk County is doing to residents there violates their constitutional rights.

"We hope that today we demonstrated that imposing fees like the ones at issue in this case, with no opportunity to have a fair hearing to even contest them, can have disastrous effects for people. Strapping someone with pay-to-stay debt after they leave jail makes it so much harder for them to successfully return home after a disruptive period of incarceration. But when counties and sheriffs choose to impose these fees, they must be sure their actions comply with the law and the Constitution. In Black Hawk County, that is not happening — and that’s why we are fighting this practice."