Apparently

displeased with the disposition of his case last

year, a former defendant in Fayette County State

Court has filed a federal lawsuit against

virtually everyone involved in the prosecution of

the case.

Joe

T. Young alleged that he was "falsely

arrested" and held for about 15 days in the

Fayette County Jail in July 1998, according to

documents filed in U.S. District Court July 20 of

this year.

He

has named State Court Judge Fletcher Sams,

Probate Judge Martha Stephenson, Superior Court

Clerk W.A. Ballard, probation officer Tamara

Anderson and solicitor-general Steven Harris as

defendants in the suit.

Charging

violation of his Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and 14th

Amendment rights, Young said that the defendants

"as a rule enjoy absolute exemption or

judicial immunity from civil liability for any

act committed, even if the acts are taken in bad

faith."

Charged

with three counts of defective equipment, Young

was convicted of one count and sentenced to 12

months probation and a $1,000 fine. Young claims

in his suit that he filed an appeal, but Ballard

did not record it properly and Young was arrested

July 4 of last year on a probation violation

warrant.

Young

said that he appeared before Stephenson July 8

and "informed her the appeal was in the

record. But despite this and at the request of

[Harris], she sentenced plaintiff to 20 days in

the Fayette County Jail with no subject matter

authority. Prosecutor Harris was served a copy of

the notice of appeal, so he knew he had no

authority. [Anderson] said there was no notice of

appeal in the record, but it was there."

Young,

who lists on the suite only a post office box in

Forest Park as his address and could not be

reached for further comment, is asking for

$200,000 in compensatory damages and $200,000 in

punitive damages from each defendant.

According

to records in the State Court office, one of the

conditions of Young's probation was that he not

operate his vehicle unless he had written

certification from a licensed mechanic. He never

got that, so he was in violation of his

probation, Harris said.

Young,

who Harris said admitted in court to the

defective equipment charge (a broken tail light),

waived his right to counsel and insisted on

representing himself. He rejected a $100 fine and

demanded a jury trial, which resulted in the

guilty verdict and much stronger sentence, Harris

said.

ruling on the suit is not expected anytime soon.

<!--

-----------