A Warren county man has filed a federal class action lawsuit against a number of Warren County officials challenging the practice of using bail bond funds from inmates to pay for jail incarceration expenses. Christopher Shive, the plaintiff, alleges that the practice of seizing cash bonds to pay for a prisoner’s “board bills” without their consent is unconstitutional. Shive filed a similar class-action suit against Lincoln County last year. Named in the lawsuit are 12th Judicial District Circuit Judge Keith Sutherland, Associate Circuit Court Judge Wes Dalton, Warren County Sheriff Kevin Harrison and the Warren County Commission. According to the petition, Shive was incarcerated in the Warren County Adult Detention Facility on numerous occasions from 2003 through 2008. He was assessed jail board bills of $258 on Nov. 5, 2003, and $731 on Jan. 8, 2007. The petition states that a $1,500 cash bond was posted to secure the release of Shive. The bond was posted in Shive’s name alone. Subsequent to the disposition of the case, Shive discovered that the defendants seized $989 of the $1,500 bond as payment toward his board bill. Shive alleges that using the bond to pay for his incarceration without a court judgment constitutes an illegal seizure under the Fourth Amendment and unlawful taking in violation of the Fifth Amendment. He also alleges that those who are incarcerated and later released pursuant to a bond posted by a surety or a bail bondsman or those individuals who posted property bonds were never subject to a lien or seizure for housing fees. Shive argues that the practice of taking the money, without any discussion or negotiation, and only from those whose bond is posted in the individuals name obviates the need to challenge the original bond guarantor’s possessory interest in the bond. In other words, Shive alleges in the suit, the county simply takes the money without any attempt to seek a judgment against the original guarantor because the possessory interest has now been transferred to the incarcerated individual’s name. The petition requests that the court certify the case as a class action and seeks a permanent injunction against the county to prevent them from continuing the practice and total damages in excess of $5 million. The lawsuit was filed March 14.