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$389,548.55 Total Award in Texas Jail Strip Search Suit
On February 5, 2009, a former jail prisoner in Wood County, Texas was awarded $60,000 by a federal jury after being subjected to an unlawful strip search. She had previously settled claims against the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) for $135,000.
Chandra Rae Jimenez, 45, co-owned a bar with her husband. She was arrested during a raid on the bar and taken to the Wood County Jail, where she was strip searched by jail personnel under the supervision of Sheriff Dwaine Daugherty.
Jimenez hired Dallas attorney Edwin E. Wright III to file a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil rights lawsuit against the county and Sheriff Daugherty. She claimed the strip search constituted an unreasonable search and seizure done for retaliatory purposes, and the sheriff had failed to properly supervise and train his employees. The defendants argued they had reasonable suspicion that she had a weapon or contraband hidden on her body which justified the strip search.
Jimenez reached a pretrial settlement with the TABC for $135,000. At trial, the jury awarded her $55,000 in actual damages for pain and suffering plus $5,000 in punitive damages against the county and Sheriff Daugherty. Her husband’s claim for loss of services was unsuccessful. On August 25, 2009, the district court awarded Jimenez an additional $157,394.60 in attorney’s fees and $37,153.95 in costs. See: Jimenez v. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, U.S.D.C. (E.D. Tex.), Case No. 2:07-cv-00154-TJW-CE.
Chandra Rae Jimenez, 45, co-owned a bar with her husband. She was arrested during a raid on the bar and taken to the Wood County Jail, where she was strip searched by jail personnel under the supervision of Sheriff Dwaine Daugherty.
Jimenez hired Dallas attorney Edwin E. Wright III to file a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil rights lawsuit against the county and Sheriff Daugherty. She claimed the strip search constituted an unreasonable search and seizure done for retaliatory purposes, and the sheriff had failed to properly supervise and train his employees. The defendants argued they had reasonable suspicion that she had a weapon or contraband hidden on her body which justified the strip search.
Jimenez reached a pretrial settlement with the TABC for $135,000. At trial, the jury awarded her $55,000 in actual damages for pain and suffering plus $5,000 in punitive damages against the county and Sheriff Daugherty. Her husband’s claim for loss of services was unsuccessful. On August 25, 2009, the district court awarded Jimenez an additional $157,394.60 in attorney’s fees and $37,153.95 in costs. See: Jimenez v. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, U.S.D.C. (E.D. Tex.), Case No. 2:07-cv-00154-TJW-CE.
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Related legal case
Jimenez v. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission
| Year | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Cite | U.S.D.C. (E.D. Tex.), Case No. 2:07-cv-00154-TJW-CE |
| Conclusion | Jury Verdict |
| Attorney Fees | 194,548.55 |
| Damages | 60,000.00 |
| Injunction Status | N/A |