Attorney for bail bondsman suing Sheriff David Norwood issues statement


A bail bondsman has sued Ouachita County Sheriff David Norwood in federal court, alleging the elected official violated his rights when he suspended his ability to write bonds.

Norwood said earlier this month that he took the action because he believed the bondsman had an inappropriate relationship with a client.

Court documents show that Jay Hicks of Bryce's Bail Bonds is suing Norwood over an incident in which the sheriff discontinued his ability to work in the county.

Hicks' suit argues that he wrote a bond for a woman and when he surrendered her to the county jail, Norwood "called (Hicks) a pervert" and told him he "was not allowed to write bonds in his county any longer."

The suit goes on to state that Hicks' livelihood has been affected as a result of the sheriff's actions and argues that Norwood does not have the legal authority to suspend him from writing bonds.

Judge Spencer Singleton on Monday granted an injunction to Hicks allowing him to write bonds and preventing Norwood from "prohibiting, barring, or suspending" Hicks' ability to write bail bonds in the county in a separate suit filed locally.

Norwood said on June 16 he suspended Hicks from writing bonds due to inappropriate conduct with the female prisoner and that criminal charges may be filed in the case.

"Right now, the case that we're investigating, he bonded this person of the opposite sex out, and takes her to the casino and she comes back and alleges she's been raped after he surrenders her back in his shirt and underwear. I suspended him from doing any bonding from this county, which is what the (Arkansas Professional) Bail Bondsman (Licensing) Board suggests, and that's what I did," Norwood said earlier this month.

"I think it's pretty inappropriate for a bondsman to bond a female out, get her drunk and bring her back in his clothes," the sheriff added.

Norwood said in mid-June that the sheriff's office was still investigating the incident, including seeking video from the casino and subpoenaing phone records.

Hicks' lawsuit denies any sexual assault and claims that the woman in question "has maintained that she never accused the plaintiff of rape." It also maintains that Hicks found her intoxicated in public.

In the federal suit, Hicks' lawyer, Clint Lancaster, argues that the woman refused to get out of Hicks' vehicle after he found her drunk in public and tried to take her home, instead insisting on going to the Saracen Casino in Pine Bluff.

The suit goes on to state that on the way back to Camden, the woman vomited on her shirt, took it off -- leaving her bare breasts exposed -- and Hicks gave her a shirt he had in his vehicle to wear. The woman subsequently refused again to let Hicks drop her off at home, so he took her to the sheriff's office, according to the suit.

Lancaster said the sheriff brought two lawyers, a law clerk and a legal intern "from one of the most powerful employment law firms in the state" to the hearing that was held Monday, while he was the only attorney representing Hicks.

"After the hearing, Judge Spencer Singleton granted the motion for restraining order and enjoined the sheriff from prohibiting my client from writing bail bonds. In issuing the order, he specifically said that the sheriff is 'running amuck' in Ouachita County," Lancaster said in an email to the Camden News.

Lancaster said attempts to settle the original suit -- which would have required a financial settlement and an apology and retraction by the sheriff -- failed.

"My clients just wanted the sheriff to do the right thing after he had done something wrong--and we gave him that chance," Lancaster said, leading Hicks to file the federal suit.

"This lawsuit represents what will be a financial recovery against the sheriff for a clear, bright line constitutional rights violation. The suit seeks punitive damages and cases of this nature have a history of returning verdicts for the plaintiffs. This means that the people, the taxpayers, of Ouachita County will have to foot the bill because the sheriff cannot stop from 'running amuck,'" Lancaster said.

"My clients' position is that is a tragedy for the citizens of the county, but so is the willful violation of their civil rights and this is the only way to protect people from an out-of-control law enforcement officer. If the people of Ouachita County will not reign in their out-of-control top cop, we will do it for them," Lancaster added.

Norwood said on Wednesday that the criminal investigation is ongoing and a Bail Bondsman Licensing Board hearing will determine Hicks and his employer's ability to write bonds.

Norwood said, "We more than welcome the lawsuit, because we will fight this all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, because people like that do not need to be in that type of business. They want to stand with their employee, they can go down with the employee."


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