William Mitchell’s Legal Assistance to Minnesota Prisoners (LAMP) Clinic won a major case at the Minnesota Supreme Court on Dec. 3, 2009. The case impacts counties and people accused of crimes across the state. The Court ruled in Jones v. Borchardt that county jails must stop charging inmates for room and board before they are convicted of a crime.

The case challenged the interpretation of a Minnesota statute that allowed counties to charge offenders for the costs of their confinement both before and after their conviction, commonly known as “pay for stay.” Mitchell’s LAMP Clinic represented Andrew Tyler Jones, who was unable to post bail after his arrest for aggravated robbery and spent 286 days in the Olmstead county jail. He was billed $25 per day—for a total of $7,150—even though only seven of those days were after he’d been convicted of robbery.

Before it reached the Supreme Court, Rashmi Seneviratne ’09 argued the case before the Olmstead County District Court and the Minnesota Court of Appeals. She was a Mitchell student at the time. Then Bradford Colbert, resident adjunct professor and LAMP Clinic director, argued the case before the Minnesota Supreme Court when it held proceedings at William Mitchell on Sept. 19, 2009.

Colbert and Seneviratne argued that the statute was unconstitutional because charging someone before they are convicted violates their rights to equal protection and due process. The Court examined the language of the law and agreed that it did not allow counties to charge for confinement before convictions.

"This is a big problem for the clients we represent,” Colbert said. “They are indigent and can’t post bail. They end up owing money for their stay in jail.”

William Mitchell’s LAMP Clinic helps low-income inmates with all types of legal matters. Students represent clients from interview through trial. Seneviratne took on the Jones case during the second semester of her first year of law school. She appeared before the district court—her first court appearance—during the first semester of her second year.

“Not many students get a chance to argue before the Minnesota Court of Appeals on something that affects Minnesota counties,” Seneviratne said. “I went to law school because I wanted to make a difference. This case actually changed something in the state.”

Seneviratne said her three years of work on the case helped her land a job as a clerk at Yaeger, Jungbauer& Barczak after graduation. During law school, she also clerked at the public defender’s offices in Dakota and Washington counties.

“My real-world experience gave me a leg up,” Seneviratne said. “I learned things they don’t teach in a classroom.”
Colbert, who has argued dozens of cases before the Minnesota Supreme Court for LAMP clients and is also a part-time Minnesota public defender, said the Clinic teaches students about client relationships and helps them understand what it is like to be incarcerated.

“We say a law school is supposed to represent people who need it,” Colbert said. “Mitchell’s LAMP Clinic—the only one of its kind among the four area law schools—helps this population.”

William Mitchell’s Legal Assistance to Minnesota Prisoners (LAMP) Clinic won a major case at the Minnesota Supreme Court on Dec. 3, 2009. The case impacts counties and people accused of crimes across the state. The Court ruled in Jones v. Borchardt that county jails must stop charging inmates for room and board before they are convicted of a crime.