WOMAN SUES, CLAIMS FALSE ARREST, INCARCERATION

Every year, in myriad ways, thousands of criminal cases are disposed of in
Spartanburg County. The paperwork flow between agencies of the criminal
justice system can be staggering.

When mistakes are made, whether due to human error or computer glitch, the
consequences for individuals can be catastrophic.

Gaffney resident Lisa Michelle Thompson claims she is just such a victim,
and now she wants Spartanburg County and the county Clerk of Court's Office
to pay.

Thompson has filed a lawsuit alleging that in 2000 she was falsely arrested
and incarcerated overnight on a bench warrant charging her with failing to
show up in court for a roll call on a drug charge that had been disposed of
six years earlier.

The suit says Thompson was arrested on the bench warrant at her home on
Dec. 11, 2000, as she returned from her mother's funeral, that she was not
allowed to go inside to produce paperwork proving her case had been
disposed of, and that she missed her mother's wake as a result.

She seeks unspecified actual damages for "extreme emotional distress" and
overnight incarceration that included being fingerprinted and photographed
at the Spartanburg County jail.

Spartanburg attorney Ronald H. Colvin, who represents the county and the
Clerk of Court's Office, declined through a spokeswoman to comment on the
case. No formal answer has been filed.

Neither Clerk of Court Mark Hammond nor Solicitor Trey Gowdy were in office
in 1994, and neither is named as a defendant in Thompson's lawsuit.

Criminal defendants who are picked up on bench warrants typically are held
without bond until their cases are heard. Thompson's lawsuit says she was
released on Dec. 12, 2000, after she produced proof that her drug

case had been disposed of. Jail records confirm that she was held overnight
and released on that date.

The drug charge against Thompson -- possession with intent to distribute
marijuana -- was filed on Feb. 12, 1994. The charge was later reduced to
simple possession of marijuana, and the case remanded to Spartanburg County
Magistrate Court.

Magistrate Court records show that Thompson was found guilty on March 23,
1994. On May 2 she paid a $279.25 fine and her case ended.

But Thompson's case inexplicably remained on the active roster of pending
criminal matters because someone - the 7th Circuit Solicitor's Office, the
Clerk of Court's Office or Magistrate Court - failed to amend the roster to
reflect the guilty verdict.

When the Solicitor's Office held a roll call on May 31, Thompson didn't
show up. Her lawsuit says she never even knew there was to be a roll call.

The Clerk of Court's Office issues bench warrants at the direction of
circuit judges. The judges, in turn, act on information provided by
prosecutors.

A June 16, 1994 bench warrant request signed by then-Assistant Solicitor
Anthony Mabry attests that Thompson "failed to report to court on 5-31-94."
Then-Circuit Judge Gary Clary signed the form on June 20, authorizing the
requested bench warrant.

Mabry did not return a telephone message seeking comment.

Greenville attorney Rodney F. Pillsbury, who represents Thompson, said the
lawsuit names the Clerk of Court's Office, not Mabry or Clary, because "we
weren't really sure who dropped the ball."

Other individuals or agencies may be added to the lawsuit as the case
unfolds, Pillsbury said.

Tom Langhorne can be reached at 582-4511 Ext. 7221 or at tom.langhorne@shj.com.