Woman took urine tests and paid court fees months after dismissal of case, lawyer says
Tameka Hicks hadn’t had been able to reach her court-appointed lawyer for months, she says.
He was also a no-show at a court hearing in her Tyler, Texas, aggravated assault case, reports KYTX.
But the judge allowed her to remain free on bond so long as she remained in Smith County, met with a probation officer and provided weekly urine samples, the station says. There were also a number of fees, adding up to over $800, which Hicks dutifully paid.
However, when she hadn’t heard from her lawyer in eight months, she asked another attorney to help find him and got startling news—her case had been dismissed back in June, when a grand jury refused to indict.
“They’ve been taking her money, depriving her freedom and invading her privacy for eight months,” attorney Thad Davidson, who helped Hicks figure out what was going on, told the station. Meanwhile, “her lawyer … absolutely failed to communicate with his client.”
The director of Smith County Adult Probation said he would investigate but declined to comment in detail.
Hat tip: New York Daily News
